Industrial Rural Development Paradigm Shift-Focused Social Movements

Systematic analysis of key ideas on rural development through the prism of industrial paradigm shift framework shows that the initiatives of social movements dealing with a generation of radical non-technological innovations for rural development are mainly concentrated on revision and change of industrial mode of relationships in the context of the growing multifunctional role of the countryside. Many newly formed social movements shifted the focus from the organization of collective protests claiming to redistribute profits, land and rights to practical actions for design, delivering and sustaining radical non-technological innovations by place-based solutions. This book chapter contains five case studies from Lithuania that examine the characteristics of a new generation of social movements involved in post-industrial rural development, including goals, stakeholders, strategy and organizational structure. The set of case studies cover all major areas of societal demands to rural development that can be realized by a shift from competitive and exploitative relationships of the industrial era to collaborative and synergistic relationships of post-industrial concept, including relationships between humans and nature, food consumers and farmers, rural and urban areas.