Ultimately, our findings nuance the idea that rural areas are less open, less progressive, or less connected to global issues. Instead, they reveal how rural cosmopolitanism can take root in decline and be fragilised by it.

That said, initiatives rooted in ideals of justice don’t just foster social change; they also reshape places, from the reuse of vacant housing to new community practices.

Yet, this cosmopolitanism is shaped — and sometimes constrained — by the social, spatial, and economic realities of these places leading to potential constraints for political action or increased needs for local assistance.

Local solidarity in welcoming refugees in places marked by territorial fragility is both diverse and complementary, with decline contributing to and/or strengthening rural cosmopolitanism in areas not typically associated with this concept: peripheral regions.

Through two case studies in regions marked by territorial fragility in France, we found that:

Thanks for writing this! I spent the morning sharing it with my academic friends :)

This looks so, so great, and I am learning about it way too late: any chance to attend some of the sessions online?