The paper deals with an old topic of regional science, how the position in space and power can influence the development path of the settlements and regions.
It is commonplace that peripheries have limited access to development resources, information, decision-making actors. The spatial centres are in the most favourable situation designated as development poles, supported by public subsidies and these are attractive places for the investors offering suitable infrastructure and human capacities.
Our research assumed that the connection between the peripheral situation in space and power is not a single determinism, regions and settlements can be developed based on their own, bottom-up sources and efforts.
We conducted empirical research in a Hungarian county alongside the southern border being far from the capital, the only development and power pole of the very centralized country. Our survey among the local elite provided signs of the importance of local networks and leadership. The public money distribution and planning mechanisms are, however, centralized, channels to the upper-level decision-making platforms dominate the development policy arena. Success stories in the peripheries unfold rarely. Unfortunately, even the EU cohesion policy principles were not able to contribute to catching up the regions lagging behind, and to the emergency of strong local partnerships.
The research involved both centres and peripheral settlements providing examples for failure and success stories based on different models of governance.
Mots clés : Governance|periphery|Hungary
A102763PI