The security and sustainability of any territory are fundamentally intertwined with rural functions. Nevertheless, national policymaking has paid limited attention to how rural capacities actually influence national resilience. The present study aims to explain the role of rural system functions in national resilience and to identify the pathways through which these two domains interact. In terms of purpose, this research is applied developmental, and in terms of nature, it is qualitative analytical. The proposed conceptual model draws on a systematic review of the theoretical foundations of resilience and sustainable livelihoods, and is formulated through qualitative Meta‑Synthesis, exploratory co‑occurrence analysis of codes, and theoretical synthesis. Based on the findings, the rural system is operationalised across economic, social, environmental, physical infrastructural, cultural identity, and institutional governance dimensions, each accompanied by corresponding composite indicators. In turn, national resilience is defined along the content dimensions of food security, water security, social cohesion, economic independence, spatial integration, and learning governance, together with the process capacities of absorption, adaptation, and transformation. The identification of "linkage pathways" as mediating links between the rural system and national resilience constitutes the main theoretical innovation of the research, clarifying the mechanism through which local capacities translate into national level outcomes. Finally, a comprehensive model of influence pathways is presented. The findings suggest that strengthening rural dimensions without addressing these mediating pathways is unlikely to have a significant effect on national resilience, and that targeted investment in these pathways could be considered an effective strategy for enhancing national resilience through rural development.