Eco‐Esteem and Depopulation: Broadening the Perspective on the Demographic Challenge in the Rural World*

The dynamics of contemporary rural depopulation have been explained and addressed mainly as a result of structural transformations brought about by economic globalization. The influence of cultural/relational aspects has been less present in the scientific literature, where much of the analysis has been concerned with questions such as the effect of bond and attachment to the local. In connection with this matter, our paper explores how the interactions between social capital and community resilience dynamics affect decisions to leave or stay. The paper finds that the link between social capital and local resilience strategies is mediated by interdependent pattern. To understand how these connections are shaped and operate, we propose the notion of eco‐esteem, understanding it as a pattern of linkages with the socio‐ecosystem, determined by relationships and practices, which conditions people's attitudes, behaviors, expectations and, ultimately, their decisions to stay in or leave the rural world. To demonstrate the usefulness of this theoretical‐methodological perspective, we present a qualitative ethnographic case study in two municipalities in Extremadura (Spain), which are similar in their socio‐demographic characteristics, but which experience significantly different depopulation dynamics.