ESR 6

Project: Public leaders shaping peripheral regions? A comparative case study focusing on the role of public leaders in peripheralising regions of Estonia and the Netherlands

ESR 6: Martiene Grootens (Host: UT)

Description: Regarding the studies on leadership of place, the great emphasis that has been placed on successful cases does not help to understand the role of leaders in regional development processes and merely result in a confirmation of what is assumed to be successful leadership. Therefore in this project I will go beyond identifying the “stars” of regional development and point attention to the role of public leaders, embedded in (various) institutional environments, and in their (co)shaping of “peripheral” regions. The focus hereby is on the practices and relations of these leaders (within and beyond the region), since this can provide understanding into the more political and social elements of peripheralisation processes.