Introduction

Abstract

Talking about community often raises critical questions. It is claimed that communities no longer exist, and that modern life consists of autonomous individuals living in fragmented realities, surrounded by quickly changing environments and free from the stable social structures of local communities. The importance of local communities has indeed been diminished in various ways. Mass migration to new localities and even to new countries has been breaking the communal ties for several generations. Today’s international media and commodity markets create a feeling of global citizenship. The same products can be bought in supermarkets worldwide, the same television programmes can be watched all over the world.