Legitimising the Laird? Communicative Action and the role of private landowner and community engagement in rural sustainability

Privately-owned estates dominate Scotland's uplands, and their owners' decisions greatly influence rural communities. The research reported here, involving in-depth case studies of six upland, private estates, aimed to investigate the dynamic relationships between landowners and rural communities, considering the influence of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. The research questions were explored through interviews with key actors (in the local community and in estate management) and participant observation. Evaluation of current and potential landowner/estate-community partnership-working illustrates the opportunities for mutual benefits, and the need for greater community empowerment to ensure partnership success. These findings are interpreted from a Habermasian perspective, reiterating the apparently insurmountable challenge of power inequalities in the public sphere. Nonetheless, in order to pursue a democratic discourse, private landowners and ‘estate communities’ are recommended to adopt principles of Communicative Action (where mutual understanding is supported through the creation of an ‘ideal speech situation’), to contribute positively to ‘estate community’ sustainability, and subsequently, to private estate sustainability and public legitimacy. This research is highly policy relevant in Scotland during a period of review of land reform legislation. The conclusions have international significance in terms of understanding power relations in rural contexts and identifying opportunities for community empowerment. Finally, outcomes for the practice of communication in the context of Scottish private estates are considered, as well as wider theoretical applications in the era of ‘post-participation’, not least the importance of maintaining the ‘public sphere’, seeking to reduce inequalities and maximise trust.