Rural areas development - local needs and external forces

Compared to urban regions, rural areas can be seen as historicaly marginal space. They, as a rule, leve behind in the process of participation in general developmental trends, mainly due to lack of local capital stock and personalities. Marginality, however, is a context dependet phenomenon and some of its formating features can be converted into factors local development can be based on. The process of commodification of 'non-marginal parameters' may, in the end, lead to opening of rural areas to general trends of globalisation. Embedding of rural areas into global context raises at least one question - what is the role of local communities in decision making proces on future development of a region or locality they live in? Should such a decision be taken primarily on local level or is the future of a particular locality predetermined by decisions taken on national or even international levels? In this context, the article disusses problem of distribution of power in decision making process between local community and representatives of 'external force' by use of empirical evidence taken from two examples -blocking of foreign investment aimed at building of huge leisure park in pristine landscape of South Bohemia, and long term clashes between Sumava national park administration and local communities.