Combining Stakeholder and Social Network Analyses to identify key intermediaries shaping agricultural landscapes: Insights from the Cap Bon case study, Tunisia

Abstract This study examines how stakeholder interactions and social network structures shape the governance of rainfed cereal agroecosystems in Cap Bon, Tunisia. Combining stakeholder and social network analyses, it identifies key intermediaries involved in coordination and knowledge circulation. Results reveal a highly connected but asymmetric network structured around differentiated intermediary roles performed by technical institutions, extension services, and pilot farmers. Knowledge circulation relies on selective relationships rather than uniformly distributed interactions. These findings highlight the importance of moving beyond extension-centred approaches and adopting a relational perspective to better account for the diversity of intermediary functions and support context-sensitive governance and sustainable pathways for Mediterranean rainfed agricultural landscapes.