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Abstract
The paper addressees the issues of integration and globalization in the Czech
agro-food chain. It describes the situation before 1989 when partial processes
of integration took place under strong influence of the state. The relatively
closed communist system disabled the globalization as understood by Western
sociologists. The paper also examines how the different types of agrofood
chain formed under the communist state encounter the integration and
globalization known in a market economy after 1989. The character of this
connection, and latent conflicts concerning the struggle to influence and to
control agro-food chain are documented. Newly emerging types of relations
between farmers and food processors with indications as to some factors
influencing the action of both groups (especially the role of cultural and social
capital), are discussed. The conclusions consider the role of the state, the
market and the civil sector (where an important role is played by the grass-root
cooperatives) in balancing the relations between local and global levels.