The title of my article-based PhD thesis was ‘Exploring the Human Dynamics Affecting the Intergenerational Family Farm Transfer Process in Later Life: A Roadmap for Future Policy’. Passed PhD Viva with no corrections.
Three separate, yet interrelated peer-reviewed journal articles made up the core of this PhD thesis. Each interconnected article explored the various human dynamics influencing and hindering farm succession and retirement from a different theoretical base. Article 1 theoretically pioneered the use of Bourdieu’s notion of symbolic capital to comprehend the psychodynamic and sociodynamic factors influencing the unwillingness and reluctance amongst older farmers towards the process. Article 2 explored the micro-politics and hierarchical power dynamics at play within family farm households through the analytical lens of Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic power, and the exercise of symbolic violence. Finally, article 3 applied Rowles’ concept of insideness as a theoretical framework to present an insightful, nuanced analysis of the deeply embedded attachment older farmers have with their farms.