This thesis examines Scottish community land ownership through the lenses of power and community. It asks what impact Community Land Initiatives (CLIs) have on power relations, particularly at local level; and, if and how their conception as “community” initiatives affects that. These questions are addressed through in-depth qualitative case studies of two emerging CLIs on the Isle of Skye, in the context of the wider community land movement. The thesis finds that one of the CLIs studied have contributed some measure of additive empowerment to local residents. These are increasing in significance and social reach as the scale of asset ownership and associated development projects expands. The other is at an earlier stage in terms of land ownership, but has some collective power through a focus on the cultural and convivial aspects of community that has considerable local resonance. It is also clear that, where CLIs acquire land and assets, they shift visible power from landowners to community groups. They also are beginning to shift cultural perceptions of who and what land is for. However, despite some efforts by activists to address them, power relations at local level shape participation in CLI decision-making spaces. These are closely connected to experiences and ideas of community at local level. More broadly, the thesis shows how CLIs owe their power both to organising at local level, and to a network of relationships with actors elsewhere, including funding and support agencies. Maintaining and balancing all these relationships can be challenging. As an in-depth but narrowly focussed case study, this thesis aims at exploring these issues, rather than producing definitive judgements about the entire community land movement. The final chapter therefore situates the thesis in the context of other studies of this movement, and within the wider literature on power and development. It concludes with suggestions for further research and testing of the ideas it has developed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1995. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 534-557).