European Union Cultural Policy Research Articles

ГЛАВНЫЕ НАПРАВЛЕНИЯ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ЕВРОПЕЙСКОГО СОЮЗА В СФЕРЕ КУЛЬТУРЫ И ИХ ИЕРАРХИЯ

Based on the analysis of official documents of the European Union, the article considers the lat-est trends in determining the main directions of the EU's activities in the field of cultural policy. It is established that despite the absolute importance and attention to the classical European cultural herit-age, the information age makes significant adjustments to management paradigms that today require innovation even in the most traditional areas. It is shown that the heritage of classical culture today exists and develops as a contradictory unity of traditional and innovative, and the role of the latter is steadily growing, obeying the logic of the development of information society. In the process of achieving these goals, economic benefits be-come inseparable from social benefits, primarily aimed at improving the quality of life. The author argues that the phenomenon of heritage, which is the Foundation of the EU's cultural policy, is still a system-forming one, but the post-industrial society certainly makes adjustments to the approaches that have been established for decades. And today, the European Union's activities in the field of cultural policy are no longer possible outside of digitalization. The latter, on the one hand, appears as a completely Autonomous entity, but in relation to cultural heritage, it undoubtedly acts as a means for preserving and expanding the latter in the context of information realities. The scale of the use of digital processes to optimize the functioning of the European classicist heritage is currently so large that there is every reason to assert that the basic direction of the European Union's cultural policy has been differentiated into heritage as such and its digitalization. The study reveals that in the process of its non-existence in the space of cultural heritage, digital-ization itself has acquired new functions, becoming a kind of intermediary between the presentation of new forms of vision of European classics and modern culture in its innovative and industrial hyposta-ses. Digitalization equalizes and unites heritage and cultural industries on a new level, as well as pro-moting modern creativity and stimulating innovation in this area. The legacy of classical culture today exists and develops as a contradictory unity of traditional and innovative, and the role of the latter is steadily growing, obeying the logic of the development of information society. It is established that if today in the official documents of the European Union heritage and digi-talization are postulated as the main directions of the cultural policy of the Association, then there are good reasons to believe that in the future, initiatives to promote the dynamics of cultural industries and expand innovations in the field of culture will take their proper place in the system of basic manage-ment actions of the EU. In conclusion, the author emphasizes that this will in no way detract from the role and place of traditional European cultural heritage, but will only expand the space of its potential possibilities.

Cultural Heritage in European Union Law and Policies

The purpose of this article is to explore how the European Union (EU) has been confronted with cultural heritage. What powers have been attributed to the European institutions in the field of cultural heritage and how have they been exercised? The article discusses the EU’s competences and available means of action with respect to cultural heritage, and scrutinizes the ways they have been used. The analysis examines the cultural heritage provisions of the EU constitutional texts and the definitional complexities that surround them, it presents early activity in the field of cultural heritage, before the adoption of the Treaty of Maastricht which provided the EU with a formal cultural competence, and it disentangles the cultural heritage policy practice of the European institutions in a post-Maastricht context, looking first at the EU cultural policy proper and secondly, at a broader range of EU policies with a cultural heritage dimension. The article verifies consistency in the development of EU cultural heritage action and expands on the instrumental logic that drives it forward and on the effects of economic integration on the measures adopted.

‘A few sparks of inspiration’?: analysing the outcomes of European Union cultural policy coordination

ABSTRACTThis article examines the outcomes of cultural policy coordination in the European Union using a case study of one policy priority in the 2011–2014 Work Plan for Culture. The Open Method of Coordination brings Member States together to exchange and cooperate on key policy priorities. Drawing on interviews with key actors as well as participant observation material, the article demonstrates the limited influence of the culture OMC on domestic policy, showing that domestic usage tends to be on the scale of individuals and organisations rather than Member State-wide. The article finishes by contextualising the outcomes, highlighting the constraints and challenges of intergovernmental coordination in fields where the EU holds a supporting competence.

Copyright (and) Culture: the governance of audiovisual archives

Purpose This paper asks the following research question: What are the policy dynamics of copyright regulation for digital audiovisual (AV) archives in Europe and what is their potential impact? The paper aims to discuss the social relevance of archives, European cultural policies targeting operationalisation of these archives and underpinnings and sought implementation of copyright policies. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon three European cultural policy approaches, namely, democratisation of culture, cultural democracy and governmentalisation of culture, the discussion aims to situate current legislative attempts within digital content governance and examine policy as to its proclaimed aims of broadening access. The authors deployed macro-level legal analyses of key legislative acts of the European Union (EU) with direct relevance to the availability of and accessibility to digital historical content by European citizens. The authors juxtapose relevant cultural policy interventions with the corresponding legal rules and norms in copyright legislation. The authors evaluate the ways in which normative arguments are reflected in these acts and propose reflections on documented and possible impact. Findings The authors argue that the EU’s legal direction is characterised by uncertainty of conviction and internal tensions regarding the place of common cultural heritage in EU policy, and they present a restrictive acknowledgement of what culture and heritage policy entail and, by extension, how cultural matters should be governed. Cultural heritage AV archives are examples of digital content whose governance was almost “automatically” linked to copyright. Originality/value The paper links copyright and cultural policy and demonstrates that although the EU cultural policy is based on access, availability and usability, copyright is unnecessarily restraining them with the improper design and implementation of exceptions and limitations. This reflects EU’s focus on the single market, which, in this case, is pursued at the expense of building of a European identity with shared memories.

Palimpsests of Multiculturalism and Museumization of Culture

In 2010, the 1923 Greek-Turkish Population Exchange Museum opened its doors as part of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture (ECoC) project. Presented as the first migration-themed museum of Turkey, it is a site of cultural recollection focused on family histories. Yet the museum, Iğsız argues, beyond being a site of memory, also crystallizes larger dynamics of cultural policy and recognition of alterity. Concentrating on the European Union Cultural Policy and the Istanbul 2010 ECoC, two official institutions that fund the museum, Iğsız analyzes the transnational dynamics of institutional and official endorsements of diversity and how such endorsements “museumize” culture for display. The article examines the limits of liberal multiculturalism as promoted in the EU cultural policy, revealing how Turkish officials have “discovered” liberal multiculturalism in the Ottoman past as a history of tolerance, which is manifested as a mode of neo-Ottomanism.

Integration by Interpellation: The European Capitals of Culture and the Role of Experts in European Union Cultural Policies

AbstractIn analyzing the European Capitals of Culture programme, this article argues that transnational experts have had a large impact on this flagship of European Union (EU) cultural policy by forming a close‐knit advocacy coalition with official EU actors. Most recent developments, however, have added a new dimension. The Commission has now developed a subtle technique of governmentality focusing the programme more on its ‘European dimension’. The article discusses this evolution and the role of transnational actors, the limits to integration intrinsic to culture as a policy domain, and the attempts of both official actors and experts to work around such constraints.

Rhetoric of unity and cultural diversity in the making of European cultural identity

The fundamental aim of the cultural policy of the European Union (EU) is to emphasize the obvious cultural diversity of Europe, while looking for some underlying common elements which unify the various cultures in Europe. Through these common elements, the EU policy produces ‘an imagined cultural community’ of Europe which is ‘united in diversity’, as one of the slogans of the Union states. This discourse characterizes various documents which are essential to the EU cultural policy, such as the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Agenda for Culture and the EU’s decision on the European Capital of Culture program. In addition, the discourse is applied to the production of cultural events in European Capitals of Culture in practice. On all levels of the EU’s cultural policy, the rhetoric of European cultural identity and its ‘unitedness in diversity’ is related with the ideas and practices of fostering common cultural heritage.

European Cultural Policy and Migration: Why Should Cultural Policy in the European Union Address the Impact of Migration on Identity and Social Integration?1

This study attempts to examine why European Union cultural policy does not address the issue of migration of people from non-European countries to Europe with sufficient recognition of the major impact it has on European cultural identity, and what are some of the advantages of doing so. It is important to note that a strong cultural policy common to all members of the European Union does not exist and may be said not to be in the interest of European nation states. Nevertheless, the impact of European Union cultural policy on various aspects of cultural and social life in Europe is growing and is therefore assessed both in terms of its official description as stated by Article 151 of the Treaty of European Union and with regard to the variety of programmes it establishes. The remit and implementation of cultural policy are found to be constricted by various supranational and national issues, and their relation to the impact of migration, while in existence, is limited. Cultural initiatives already being run within the framework of European Union cultural policy and which address issues related to migrant cultures and European citizenry are assessed. This analysis leads to suggestions and recommendations, the aim of which is to foster a greater recognition of the importance of the value of cultural difference due to the influence of migration on European social settings, and to encourage the formulation of European cultural policies that aim at more reciprocity and mutuality. This paper joins a growing number of calls for a change in the perspective of policy-making to reflect the transnational reality of migration and its impact on and contribution to culture in Europe. It does this while at the same time acknowledging the fact that nation states play a largely determining role in the ideation and implementation of European Union cultural policy. This research is based on a theoretical framework that provides the discussion with a foundation from which to assess contemporary models of multiculturalism and integration as well as grapple with the implications of cultural policy on European self-identification and representation. This analysis roots its critical perspective in a close reading of Ziauddin Sardar’s propositions of “mutually assured diversity” and “transmodernism” which are applied to the context of cultural policy. This paper is based on research carried out through the collection of secondary data, with resources that provide information which is recent and relevant to current issues of migration, social integration and European culture and identity.

Promoting Europe through ‘Unity in Diversity’: Avignon as European Capital of Culture in 2000

AbstractThis article examines the reception of European Union cultural policy through Avignon's experience as European Capital of Culture (ECOC) in 2000, focusing specifically on the EU objective of achieving “Unity in Diversity” through culture. Some recent studies argue that ECOC projects have served as media for conceptions of culture that are less essentialist and more centered on transformation and border‐crossing than those promoted by national and regional cultural policies of the past. Assuming that one of the primary obstacles to overcoming social divisions in urban centers is the alienation of the residents of low‐income, peripheral neighborhoods, this article focuses particular attention on a website created to promote Gypsy heritage. Consideration of this case underscores the uneasy balance struck between the goal of redefining cities as attractive to potential tourists and residents and the goal of overcoming the “democratic deficit” affecting disadvantaged urban populations. The case of Avignon highlights obstacles within cities to the broad diffusion and acceptance of more cosmopolitan models of European culture centered on dialogue and exchange.

Culture, policy, and subsidiarity in the European Union: from symbolic identity to the governmentalisation of culture

Abstract This paper critically assesses the discourse of cultural policy initiatives of the European Union (EU) during the 1990s. It focuses upon the formulation of so-called ‘cultural action’ following the recognition of culture in the Treaty on European Union in 1992. It explores the multiple instrumentalities ascribed to culture as a medium for the management of European integration, and suggests that the evolution of policies to promote cultural co-operation is indicative of a progressive ‘governmentalisation’ of culture at the EU level. The paper argues that the focus of critical evaluation of EU cultural policy should be upon practices of citizenship participation in emergent network polities.