Post-socialist community action in Lithuania

This paper highlights the main determinants of community action in the post-socialist setting, using case-study analysis conducted in the rural district of Ukmerge in Lithuania, where 19 community organisations were formed under the impetus of a Rural Partnership Programme (RPP). The paper summarises key features of the EU governance and rural development model and the circumstances of the initialisation of a Rural Partnership Programme (RPP) in 2000. The second section presents an empirical analysis of community action in the Ukmerge District, identifying primary influences and determinants on the operation of 19 newly formed community organisations. The third section presents emergent conclusions for understanding community action in the wider post-socialist context.