A strategic dilemma of cultural policies: Direct control or detachment from the political process

Abstract

The subject of this paper is a strategic dilemma of cultural policy concerning the issue of direct control or isolation from the political process (a dilemma regarding the implementation of cultural policies); whether cultural management must be fully integrated into the established system of budget financing from the state budget or if it is needed to reduce state control of the means of cultural production and distribution. The aim of this study is to arrive at possible measures and recommendations that need to be implemented in order to reduce political influence and excessive government intervention in cultural and artistic fields. The state is the most important factor in defining cultural policy and government intervention (except when it comes to the liberal model of cultural policy, which means a state policy of non-interference in cultural development) is of crucial importance to establish a continuous cultural development in a particular community. Complete state control leads to the risk of political interference as a result of different interests that do not correspond to the strategic objectives of cultural policy, while neutral stances and a lack of control can lead to the commercialization of culture. Analyses of objectives, priorities and instruments of the state model of cultural policy in France, the para-state model of cultural policy in the Netherlands and the transition model of cultural policy in Croatia and Serbia, as well as the analysis of activities undertaken in the field of practical politics, leads to conclusions which reflect advantages and disadvantages of direct state control and intervention in the field of cultural policy, as well as the ways the detachment from the political process by using various instruments of cultural policy and the transfer of competencies to the para-state bodies can contribute to cultural development of the community and democratization of culture.