It is suggested that LEADER displays a tension between network and hierarchy modes of governance, increasingly under control of hierarchy in this instance despite its origins as networked CLLD. Analysis of this case leads to questions about the extent to which apparent localism is constrained by ‘government at a distance’ and how this can affect the ability of LAGs to pursue spatial justice. This paper considers the extent to which LEADER constitutes local action addressing spatial justice through a case study in England. Recent papers have argued that spatial justice should be pursued through a place‐based approach which enables local people to assert their own capacity to act and to pursue their own positive visions: an approach fundamental to LEADER. This article translates these different disciplinary developments into a practical and integrated conceptual approach, in which local development processes result from three components: local resource systems, networks, institutions and enabling policies. New concepts can be drawn from this comparative analysis: 1) rural diversity cannot be explained exclusively by agglomeration forces and geographical distance from urban centres b) multiple functions of rural areas, often rooted into sustainable agri-food systems or other forms of territorial capital, contribute to explain more autonomous roles of rural areas c) organised or relational proximity is emerging in a context of a globalised economy and non-geographical networks, as a critical factor of connection between rural areas and distant regions/markets. The analysis carried out in this article acknowledges a gap between local development processes and the current representation of rural diversity by international organisations and national/regional authorities. The main objective of this work is to review the recent achievements on the mechanisms explaining local and rural development, which underpin the current definition of rural areas in the European literature.
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