Responsible local communities - A neoliberal regime of solidarity in Finnish rural policy

- EU's rural policies form an illustrative case of neoliberal modes of governance.
- Such modes are well manifest in Finnish rural policy thinking.
- Communities are moral domains used for the responsibilization of the rural citizens.
- Rural development, thus, challenges the traditional welfare state approach.
- This has also implications on political subjectivity and democratic accountability.

This article contributes to the geographical literature on neoliberalism with a case study of Finnish rural policy. Through a close reading of policy documents and within the analytical framework of Foucauldian governmentality, we show how notions of local community and locality are being produced as intimate allies in the existence of rural citizens to allow more responsible local communities. The promoted approach speaks highly of civic participation but also appeals to the neoliberal ethos of finding new and cheaper ways for dealing with social problems. Thus the suggested approach is about producing an apolitical form of collective mobilisation for partnership in various governance projects. Neoliberal approach to solidarity presents a challenge to the still dominant Nordic (social democratic) understanding of welfare in Finland.