Model Villages : Rural Transformation Between Aesthetics, Development, and Utopia
This dissertation explores the phenomenon of the ‘model village’ as a space of transformation, utopia, and rural development, tracing its historical trajectories and contemporary manifestations across different contexts. Given the limited scholarship on model villages, it critically examines what it means to be a model—and a model for what. Through empirical qualitative research in India and Germany, the study investigates the utopian visions of ideal rurality underlying these projects and how they are realised in practice. It examines how model villages function as arenas of social, economic, and spatial change, shaped by varying ideological and political frameworks. Central to this analysis are the tensions between idealised rural imaginaries and lived realities, as well as the broader implications for rural development discourse. Rather than treating these national contexts as directly comparable, the study draws on their differences to develop a deeper conceptual understanding of model villages. Employing a phenomenological approach, the research engages with three case studies: the Indian state-led initiative Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), which seeks to modernise villages through top-down intervention; the self-declared model village of Shelakewadi in India, where local agency and collective strategies drive transformation; and the Hitzacker/Dorf project in Germany, an experiment in cooperative rural living that challenges conventional notions of village life. Each case foregrounds different modes of intervention, governance, and social organisation, offering insights into the contested nature of model villages and their transformative potential. By positioning theoretical inquiry alongside concrete examples, the study advances a conceptualisation of model villages while critically assessing their role in shaping rural futures. It examines how model villages navigate tensions between transformation and constraint, exploring the emancipatory and restrictive tendencies within each case. In doing so, it contributes to broader debates on rurality, utopia, and the politics of transformation.
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