Uses and Abuses of the Nation: Toward a Theory of the Transnational Cultural Exchange Industry

Abstract

At a recent academic conference entitled Globalization and Culture,' I came upon a curious flyer advertising an international essay competition. The essay question read: How can nations or individuals internationalize without sacrificing their cultural identity? Sponsored by Intersect Japan, an international business magazine, AT&T, and Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, the first-place winner could expect to win a $5,000 cash prize. Next to several academic journals and the conference reader, the innocent flyer seemed oddly out of place. But, then again, corporations and universities have always had a lot in common, not least of which being the questions they ask. One reason for this is that questions are produced not simply by individuals but by history. And our own historical moment of late capitalism-in which political and economic decisionmaking power has been quickly transferring from nation-states to transnational corporations-has prepared us to ask the question of how culture functions within an emerging network of globalization. If the nation-state is declining then is there a new global imaginary being produced? What is the network of production and consumption that shapes this new transnational space, this new transnational imaginary? What will happen to older national identities and those which still have much invested in the nation as a site of resistance? Who will profit and who will lose from globalization? These were the questions contested by many of the conference's participants. As the conference developed, what seemed clear was that although the transnational corporation is the driving force of economic production, on the level of consumption the nation-state is far from dead. In fact, cultural/national identity is one of the most valuable products transnational corporations sell. But why does the nation as an imaginary construct need to be resold like so many newly improved products that are now bigger, more durable, and extra-strength? And how is this repackaging accomplished? These last two questions return us to the flyer at the conference. Can we not view the contest itself as just another way to resell the nation? Here, I'm referring to the post-Cold War cultural exchange industry-a network of international organizations that focuses on national exchange,