Zusammenhalt als lokale Frage: Vor Ort in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt

Abstract

Challenged by demographic and socio-economic structural change, Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, a county in southern Thuringia, has been declared a shrinking region with all its consequential effects; nevertheless, it stands for resilience and self-assertion. The polarities to be found there make the region the subject of this regional study, which uses the example of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt to show that the production and maintenance of cohesion are closely linked to local activities and structural conditions. The theoretical and practical contributions it contains outline social, demographic and structural facets which show that social cohesion is decided locally and forms the basis of democratic stability. With contributions by Franziska Görmar, Martin Graffenberger, Sarah Herbst, Sabastian Heuchel, Ines Kinsky, Gudrun Kirchhoff, Dr. Burkhard Kolbmüller, Christian Kutschbach, Dr. Thilo Lang, Dr. Rüdiger Mautz, Prof. Dr. Claudia Neu, Ulrike Rose, Ulrike Rothe, Maike Simmank and Prof. Dr. Berthold Vogel.