Remote Control: Governance Lessons for and from Small, Insular, and Remote Regions

How does one transform small size and relative isolation into a powerful combination for sustainable growth and prosperity?Some islands and rural regions have already done so. Winning tools and strategies deployed by these middle-level governance structures include: 'scaling up' of municipal units; developing tourist and computer-driven industries; engaging strategically with their diaspora; branding niche products and services; facilitating 'boutique', small-scale manufacturing; limiting local firm rivalry; and, overall, deploying a creative 'resourcefulness of jurisdiction'.

The papers in this collection flesh out these tools and strategies. They do so by unpacking and challenging received wisdom; charting out the parameters of effective government; teasing in the critical role of empowered local communities and the engagement of civil society with the multiple levels of decision-making of the state.

The book's message emphasizes a proactive, creative, and assertive approach to governance; one that aims to instill a sense of efficacy to achieve remote control.

Godfrey Baldacchino is Canada Research Chair in Island Studies and Professor of Sociology at the University of Price Edward Island, Canada.

Rob Greenwood is Director of the Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.

Lawrence Felt is Professor of Sociology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.