International Cultural Policy Research Articles

Things, practices & policies: relationality and the early stages of the international promotion of Dutch design, 1920s–1970s

ABSTRACT This article takes a practice theory approach to explore the little-known history of the Dutch government practices that, between the early 1920s and mid 1970s, preceded explicit Dutch international cultural policy in organizing the promotion of the Dutch arts abroad. Advancing from an understanding of international cultural policy as a ‘hybrid’ (socio-material) practice of meaning production, it examines how those government agencies defined ‘Dutchness’ and ‘design’, and how the specificities of the things being promoted influenced those definitions. From this detailed empirical study, I propose a theorization of the relationship between policy, practices, and things as relational, meaning the understanding of things and policy as both shaping – and being shaped by – practices of international promotion. This theorization has broader relevance to cultural policy research since it suggests that policies and practices promoting different domains of culture may develop differently depending on the specificities of the artefacts that they seek to disseminate, and vice-versa.

Naturalizing culture—time for an ecological understanding of “culture” in international culture and sustainability policies

The current hegemonic understanding of culture and sustainability leans strongly on the conceptualization of ‘culture’ as profoundly anthropocentric. ‘Sustainability’ in cultural policies again means often the potential of creative industries in contributing to economic growth. This approach can be seen as very problematic in the era of extending the environmental crisis, which urgently calls for not only new kinds of policies on sustainability but also new thinking on the relationship between culture and nature. The main purpose of this article is to analyze how recent theories and concepts concerning the rethinking of nature–culture relationship and ecological citizen-subjectivity could challenge the hegemonic economist sustainability discourse of cultural policies. The article presents the results of discourse analysis on how the economic side of sustainability has recently become the mainstream signification in international cultural policies and what are the major documents and institutions maintaining and strengthening this approach. The discourse analysis focuses on the questions: how is cultural sustainability systematically signified, and what are the arguments and justifications for the main significations the documents make? The data consist of the conventions, declarations, and program papers of the G20, OECD, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, and WTO from “Brundtland report” (1987) until now. Theoretically, I go through the recent ideas of social theories on the ecologization of economy, society, culture, and citizenship/subjectivity as proposed by Tim Jackson, Bruno Latour, Andreas Malm, and the Planetary Wellbeing Research Group. I consider how the hegemony of economism and anthropocentrism in cultural policies could be changed with their help.

ENHANCING ACCESS TO CULTURAL SERVICES FOR VULNERABLE GROUPS IN MUNICIPAL CULTURAL CENTRES

In recent decades, the concept of access to culture has been increasingly highlighted on the international political agenda, gradually coming to the attention of Latvian policymakers, to state cultural policy documents, funding programmes, municipal cultural development planning documents and the daily work of cultural organizations. In the article, the issue of access to culture is analysed both in the context of cultural policy of Latvia and the legal regulation of cultural centres, and in the context of international cultural policy and cultural rights, which are represented by the documents developed by the UN, UNESCO and the European Union in the field of cultural rights, cultural protection and development. The aim of the article is to evaluate to what extent the internationally and nationally determined political and legal framework regarding the promotion of access to culture for vulnerable groups is implemented in Latvian municipal cultural centres. The research methodology: mixed research strategy, which involves both quantitative and qualitative data collection. The qualitative research methods are content analysis, including analysis of relevant literature, official reports and documents of state institutions, as well as secondary data analysis. An electronic survey of municipal cultural centres and cultural organizers was conducted to obtain quantitative data. Findings: the outcome of the study shows that a number of specific issues must be addressed to improve access to culture for vulnerable groups in Latvia. Analysis of survey data shows, that cultural centres pay special attention to ensuring the availability of cultural services for the following vulnerable groups, which are the focus of this study: older persons, children and people with limited financial means. Whereas, minorities, persons with disabilities and migrants are involved much less in the activities of cultural centres. One of the most significant obstacles affecting the accessibility of cultural services in cultural centres is the accessibility of the environment, which is primarily important for people with disabilities; moreover, people with disabilities have very limited opportunities to access the content of events.

East-West Cultural Exchange in the Coldest Years of the Cold War: A Case Study of Poland and the Netherlands (1950–1956)

Abstract: This article explores international cultural relationships between the Netherlands and Poland in one of the coldest periods of the Cold War, namely the first half of the 1950s. Even though in the analysed period, East-West cultural relations remained overshadowed by growing international tensions, they did exist, as exemplified by the two countries in question and their relations between 1950 and 1956. This case study aims to illustrate how the 'smaller powers' of the Cold War conflict shaped and implemented their international cultural policies, as well as to shed light on the scale and nature of cultural relations that took place across the Iron Curtain at that difficult time.

Cuban representation at the Biennial of Graphic Arts and non-aligned cultural policy

ABSTRACT The article examines how the policies of international cultural exchange of socialist Yugoslavia are reflected at the level of biennial crossroads, using the example of the Ljubljana International Biennial of Graphic Arts (IBGA). Our research is based on the analysis of archival materials, existing literature, and interviews with the participants of the Biennial in the studied period. The Cuban example is highlighted in this paper to examine the example of the renowned designer and graphic artist Félix Beltrán to show that there was no firm international cultural policy on the Yugoslavian institutional level. With the transition to market socialism and the liberalization with which Yugoslavia began to approach the Western capitalist economy, something similar happened at the level of international cultural policy. The West held the leading position in global cultural politics, which managed to preserve capitalism and make it part of the culture with its hegemonic cultural code. This also announced the beginning of the decline of international socialist history, which was very noticeable in the field of cultural crossings, such as biennials.

Cultural Diplomacy: Transformation of Concept Definition in the Context of World Community Evolution (1930s – Early 2020s)

The purpose of the article is to reveal the essence of the «cultural diplomacy» concept at the current stage and trace the transformations of its definition in the context of the world community development during the 20th and first decades of the 21st century. Research methodology. The method of terminological analysis, the method of interpretation and operationalisation of concepts have been applied to ensure the understanding of the content essence of the «cultural diplomacy» concept. The method of historical and cultural analysis has enabled considering the definitional transformations that took place during the 1930s – early 2020s in the context of the development of the world community and international relations, as well as the method of systemic analysis to identify the specifics of the phenomenon of «cultural diplomacy» at the current stage. Scientific novelty. The definition of the «cultural diplomacy» concept has been studied in historical retrospect and at the present stage; considered and analysed the development and transformation of the concept in the context of the specifics of the evolution of the world community; a proper definition of the concept of «cultural diplomacy» is proposed. Conclusions. Cultural diplomacy is directly related to the use of culture as an object and means of achieving the fundamental goals of the state's foreign policy, creating a favorable image of the country, popularising culture and language. At the current stage, in the conditions of globalisation processes of an interdependent world, in which the spread of information and communication technologies facilitates communication between people from different countries, cultural diplomacy is an extremely important aspect for ensuring international peace and stability. In the context of the specifics of the current state and development trends of international relations, cultural diplomacy is considered as a direction of foreign policy carried out by national states in cooperation with state and/or private entities with the aim of spreading the culture of this country abroad, as well as the development of international cultural policy with the aim of cultural exchange and cooperation between various international subjects – states, international organisations, and individuals. Key words: cultural diplomacy, international relations, world community, transformation of the concept.

Culture as Litmus Paper: The Impact of the 1968 Events on the East-West Cultural Relations

ABSTRACT This article explores the intertwinement of politics, international affairs and culture during the Cold War through a case study of Polish-Dutch cultural relations and the heterogeneous factors that shaped them. The study centres around the turbulent events of 1968 in Poland, and their impact on the international cultural policies of the Polish People’s Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It demonstrates that the cultural field suffered the most immediate consequences of the political decisions taken by both parties – consequences which lasted for a considerable time – thus making it a metaphorical litmus test for the Cold War international relationships. This article reconstructs and analyses Polish and Dutch reactions to the 1968 events and their use of culture for the sake of their own policies – both as a form of protest and as an anti-crisis tool meant to influence the authorities and citizens of the target country.

В. С. КЕМЕНОВ. ЗАКОН О ДВОЙНОЙ СОПРИЧАСТНОСТИ. ПОНЯТИЕ, ОБЛАСТЬ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ. (ПО МАТЕРИАЛАМ АРХИВНОГО ФОНДА МУЗЕЯ-УСАДЬБЫ В. И. СУРИКОВА)

The article provides a transcript of the manuscript of the Soviet art historian V. S. Kemenov, an extensive archive of which is kept in the Museum-Estate of V. I. Surikov. Manuscript sheets 1–3 from F. 1, Inv. 1, C. 12 contain materials that allow you to look at the range of scientific interests of the “colossus of international cultural policy" (Fofanov, 2016) from a new point of view. The term “dual engagement” (“the law of dual engagement”) is introduced and analyzed into scientific circulation as a method of searching for an essential connection between the past and the present in a historical picture by artistic means. The issue of actualization of various aspects of the research activity of V. S. Kemenov is considered.

КУЛЬТУРНА ДИПЛОМАТІЯ ЯК ВАЖЛИВА СКЛАДОВА ЗОВНІШНЬОЇ ПОЛІТИКИ ДЕРЖАВИ

The article highlights the place of cultural diplomacy in the system of foreign policy of states. It considers different models of cultural diplomacy, its forms and instruments of implementation. New tendencies of the cultural diplomacy development nowadays, as well as the correlation of notions of public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, international cultural policy, are analyzed.

Problematic issues in constructing the common space of “knowledge societies”: resources of international cooperation in the field of culture

The article is devoted to the analysis of problematic issues of strategic lines’ realization within the international cultural policy and management. New challenges of modern realities of coexistence require a change in the usual established format of policy in the field of culture, creativity of its semantic and instrumental capital, in particular a new view on the discourse of international management in the field of culture. International cultural cooperation is considered as a constructed and organized knowledge exchange process and experience of sharing this knowledge. In this context, cultural management is a fundamental organizational and practical component of the universalization of the new accumulated knowledge about the experience of harmonization between global and local. The article raises questions concerning the effectiveness of methods and mechanisms of knowledge transfer, the search for resources of international cultural cooperation for the creation, accumulation and sustainable development of joint cultural capital.

‘Demand’ for culture and ‘allied’ industries: policy insights from multi-site creative economy research

ABSTRACT This paper draws policy insights from the first comparative analysis of multiple hotspots of regional cultural and creative activity across Australia. Focussing on the state of Queensland, it provides three interlinked findings relevant to international cultural policy debates. The first – municipal agency – goes to the crux of the value of studying small regions. We examine the degree to which Cairns, an isolated, small regional city, can exercise effective cultural agency in a tripartite system of government, demonstrating that policy ambition and asset management at the local level can deliver outsized cultural infrastructure benefits through a focus on demand from the local community. The second further illuminates the question of demand for cultural infrastructure as a critical enabler, in conjunction with allied infrastructure, in a very remote, distressed community–the Central West region. Cultural tourism’s surprising prominence as support for mainstream tourism on the Gold Coast, an international mecca for surf, sand and sun, is the third example, deepening the significance of allied industry connectivity. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in 2019, the trend data and analysis offered here will be significantly impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

Promoting tangible and intangible hidden cultural heritage: local communities influencing civic decision-making and international cultural policy

ABSTRACT This paper explores international policy approaches to inclusive cultural heritage within urban centres and communities. It defines and identifies hidden cultural assets, tangible and intangible, and examines how, and why, some cultural assets are hidden. We explore the use of two complementary digital methods: digital cultural asset mapping and digital storytelling to reveal hidden heritage and engage the local citizen’s voice. The paper draws on a local city example that had ambitions to influence international reach and policy agendas; a year-long practice-based research project in Paisley, a large town on the edge of a major city conurbation in Scotland, as set within the context of wider cultural heritage policy discussion. The research reveals how hidden cultural heritage can be used to inform governmental decision-making on a national and international stage and simultaneously inform policy and practical step changes in peri-urban cultural regeneration whilst contributing significantly to sustainable development goals.

The Komsomol of Mordovia held festivals of youth and students in the second half of the 1950s.

Introduction. Festival forms of socio-cultural behavior, as an algorithm for displaying agitation, educational, and entertainment functions during mass events, have recently become the object of study. The need for scientific generalization creates an environment of mutual understanding to strengthen intercultural dialogue, have highlighted the attention to historical experience of such cross-cultural events, for analysis of strategies and mechanisms of translation of information and forms of behavior to create understanding in society and among the participants, promoting a positive image of the country. The subject of the study was the methods of youth mobilization used by the Komsomol in the Mordovian ASSR, during the VI (Moscow, July 28 – August 11, 1957; 3,400 participants; 131 countries; the motto “For peace and friendship”) and VII (Austria, Vienna; 18,000 participants; 112 countries; motto “For peace, friendship and peaceful coexistence”) of the World youth and student festivals (WFMS). Materials and Methods. Materials from the archives of the Republic of Mordovia, statistical data, as well as scientific literature were used to solve the research tasks. The research was conducted on the principle of historicism, objectivity and consistency. The statistical method was used for data processing. Results. Based on the study of archival sources and available scientific literature were the main problems of the festival movement, as well as the participation of Mordovia Komsomol festivals of youth and students in the second half of 1950-ies. Against the background of increasing participation of the Komsomol in the festival movement, the processes of self-organization and innovative activity of Komsomol organizations in conducting youth policy are shown. Discussion and Conclusion. As you know, such festivals have been held since 1947. They are organized by the world Federation of democratic youth (WFDY) and the International Union of students (IUS). The decision to create the WFDY and hold festivals was made at the world conference of youth and students in London in 1945. The tradition of holding irregular festivals of left-wing youth organizations is still attractive in modern youth politics. The XIX festival was held in Russia (Moscow/Sochi; October 14–22, 2017, 185 countries, the motto “For peace, solidarity and social justice, we fight against imperialism-respecting the past, we build the future”. VI world festival of youth and students 1957 (Moscow), still perceived as a unique event for the Soviet Union in the framework of international cultural policy during the cold war. In the article, through the activities of the Komsomol of Mordovia, an attempt is made to consider the goals and objectives of the VI and VII world festival of youth and students, in the context of the youth festival policy in the Soviet Union. As it is known, in the 1950s, the festival movement was organized in the format of traditional political, social and cultural events for the Soviet society. However, it should be taken into account that during their implementation, new forms of communication, methods of mobilization, and broadcasting of information were also born to create mutual understanding among young people.

Cultural policy, the public sphere, and public libraries: a comparison of Norwegian, American, and Japanese models

ABSTRACT This study compares cultural policy, public libraries, and the public sphere in Norway, the United States, and Japan. Results of the comparison indicate that Norway emphasizes physical meeting spaces and the public sphere. In Japan, there is more emphasis on the literary public sphere. Norway and Japan have strong centralized governance structures, which influence how public libraries function in the public sphere. In the US, cultural policy administration is more diffuse and local. There is not an explicit national cultural policy related to public libraries. In the US, legitimation of public libraries in the public sphere is strong and occurs locally. Public libraries in the US are used less as public sphere infrastructure and more for educational and recreation purposes. The results of this comparison are significant for understanding public libraries and the public sphere from an international cultural policy perspective.

Fue lo que empezó una vez, lo que después dejó de ser. Promoción musical y dependencia cultural en Latinoamérica

En Latinoamérica, la promoción musical organizada y/o institucionalizada señaló,desde el siglo XIX, a la dependencia cultural como un problema a resolver,aunque modificando el centro metropolitano identificado como dominador. Demanera paralela, dichas asociaciones se caracterizaron por la discontinuidad desus tareas, dificultad relativa al problema anterior. A los fines de luchar contra elretraso de los músicos locales, el asociacionismo y las fundaciones organizaronfestivales, conciertos, conferencias y cursos de formación superior sobremúsica. Sus acciones se entretejieron con políticas y con diplomacias culturalesinternacionales que, en torno a la música, operan bajo diferentes modelossociales. Este trabajo analiza las constantes de las asociaciones promotoras demúsica en Latinoamérica.

Exposure diversity as a new cultural policy objective in the digital age

Diversity has been conceptualized as a key objective of national and international cultural policies. The 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions is a clear proof of this. The UNESCO Convention is a culmination of the efforts of the international community to secure regulatory space for domestic policy-makers in the field of culture, on the one hand. On the other hand, it goes beyond this and the inherent trade versus culture, international versus culture contestations and tries to promote diversity as a matter of global law and policy. One flaw of the Convention that has been rarely thematized is that in this endeavour, the primary focus has been placed upon analogue means of communication. This flaw of the Convention is natural rather than triggered by political economy contexts, and has to do with the conventional evolution of law and its tendency to lag behind technological advances. Indeed, this ‘error’ flows from the similar ‘errors’ made at the national level in formulating and implementing cultural policy tool kits for the protection and promotion of diversity. This chapter argues that a peculiar characteristic of all these policies has been the almost concentration on the diversity of supply – that is, on the availability of diverse formats, outlets, media owners, etc. The chapter casts some doubt upon the both the viability as well as the efficiency of such policies in the digital age. It will on the one hand question the underlying presumption for a causal link between source diversity, diversity of content, and the actual consumed diverse content. On the other hand, it should be underscored that the chapter is not intended to criticize past and existing policies. Learning from past mistakes, it is rather meant to serve as a forward-looking analysis of the possibilities offered by digital technologies and how these can be best utilized to ensure exposure diversity – that is, a palette of diverse contents, as actually consumed by users. The chapter argue that although the balance between state intervention and non-intervention in the digital media certainly is precarious and individual rights are to be safeguarded, there may be subtle ways of intervening and promoting exposure diversity, such as for instance by fostering serendipity or facilitating exposure. It will explore a number of tools as potentially more efficient instruments of cultural policy aimed at diversity.

Global aspirations and local talent: the development of creative higher education in Singapore

This paper explores higher education development and policy shifts in Singapore over the last decade, within a landscape of an increasingly globalised creative economy and international cultural policy transfer. Using qualitative interviews with key players in policy and higher education institutions, the paper aims to explain the push and pull factors behind investment in creative higher education. It considers the emerging dynamics and diverse patterns, embedded in a society where higher education interactions with economic development have a long history and pragmatic rationale. While still in the early days of these investments, the paper argues that there are some global policy lessons to be learnt from the case of Singapore and the role that higher education can play in developing a creative economy, while striving to overcome issues of over-supply and innate vulnerability of creative careers.

Going beyond Preservation: How to Support Technology-Enhanced Learning in ICH Education

The issue of protection and promotion of cultural heritage has become a central topic of European and international cultural policy, especially in recent decades. Beside more ‘tangible’ cultural manifestations (like archaeological sites, natural parks or museum collections) there is a huge heritage, made up of intangible live expressions like performing arts, social practices, oral traditions, etc. which is threatened by the globalization process. The i-Treasures project looks at some of these intangible cultural expressions with the aim not only of preserving them, but also of providing innovative solutions to education in this field. In order to do this, the project explores the potential of cutting edge technologies for capturing the specificities of the considered Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) expressions, analyzing and modeling data and making these resources available for preservation, research and educational purposes. With this aim an open and extendable platform is developed in the project framework. This paper deals with the process of user and system requirements definition and explains how this was necessarily influenced by the specificities of the ICH expressions considered. This process encompassed the identification of the specificities of rare traditional know-how, the discovery of the existing teaching and learning practices and finally the identification of the most cutting edge technologies able to support innovative teaching and learning approaches to ICH.

Did manga conquer America? Implications for the cultural policy of ‘Cool Japan’

This paper explores the efficacy of an international cultural policy based upon the export of a nation’s popular culture through the case study of Japanese comic books, called manga, in the USA. I begin by exploring the origin of the historical and theoretical underpinnings of ‘Cool Japan’ and providing a concise account of the Japanese cultural policies in this vein. Then, drawing upon participant observation and seventy in-depth, semi-structured interviews from informants in and around the American manga publishing industry, I discuss in detail what is actually involved in publishing Japanese comic books in the USA post-2007. Arguing that what they do is first and foremost to make manga American, I conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the likely fortunes of ‘Cool Japan’ and any other cultural policy premised upon exporting popular culture.

Heritage studies and the privileging of theory

Heritage studies is yet to have a debate about its theorisation at the global level. Many of the core ideas that shape the field are rooted in the contexts of Europe and the USA and geographically rolled out in normative ways. This paper argues it is important we embark on pluralising how heritage is studied and theoretically framed, in ways that better address the heterogeneous nature of heritage, for both the West and the non-West. The themes of modernity, cities and international cultural policy provide evidence of why we need to better position the academic study of heritage in relation to the rapid geo-political and geo-cultural shifts now taking place.