The Impact of UNESCO on States' Cultural Policies focuses on the impact of the 2005 Convention on Diversity of Cultural Expressions on the cultural policies of eight states and substates, examining how they have integrated it into their own cultural policy. Cultural diversity presents a challenge for all governments. As migration increases and technology makes access to worldwide cultural products easier, governments seek to maintain a vibrant culture within their states or substates so that their populations can keep a strong sense of identity. Cultural policies become key to balance cultural diversity and national identity, or to promote them in parallel. The book addresses three main themes: how governments deal with cultural diversity, especially in their cultural policies; what the impact of an international convention on individual states’ policies is; and how different states’ status (i.e. size) on the international scene affects their implementation of an international convention. Providing a systematic comparative analysis, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of public policy, cultural policy and international organizations. It will also be useful to policymakers involved in cultural policy.

The Impact of UNESCO on States' Cultural Policies focuses on the impact of the 2005 Convention on Diversity of Cultural Expressions on the cultural policies of eight states and substates, examining how they have integrated it into their own cultural policy. Cultural diversity presents a challenge for all governments. As migration increases and technology makes access to worldwide cultural products easier, governments seek to maintain a vibrant culture within their states or substates so that their populations can keep a strong sense of identity. Cultural policies become key to balance cultural diversity and national identity, or to promote them in parallel. The book addresses three main themes: how governments deal with cultural diversity, especially in their cultural policies; what the impact of an international convention on individual states' policies is; and how different states' status (i.e. size) on the international scene affects their implementation of an international convention. Providing a systematic comparative analysis, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of public policy, cultural policy, and international organizations. It will also be useful to policy makers involved in cultural policy.

There is a growing recognition of the role that culture can play in sustainable development strategies. This development has generally been welcomed, but also raises a number of questions: What are the implications in policy and practice? Who are the most influential voices in promoting a global agenda for culture and development, and to what extent has the creation of new international policy instruments reflected a consensus? More fundamentally, what is meant by "culture" in these discussions and who has the power to give particular definitions political and legal authority? The Politics of Cultural Development seeks to provide a theoretically and historically informed response to such questions, illustrated by reference to case studies (including the European Union, the Caribbean and China). Particular attention is paid to the formation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and the Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, a landmark instrument in debates about culture and development. The book goes on to explore some of the practical implications that this international treaty is beginning to have for the ways that culture is (and is not) being integrated into contemporary development policy and practice. This book will be useful for students, academics and policymakers in the fields of international development, international relations, international political economy, cultural policy and cultural theory.

Cultural diversity, because it is perceived to have significant security, developmental, and social implications, is fast becoming one of the major political issues of the day. At the international level, it overlaps with the now extensive debates on multiculturalism within states. This work shows how cultural diversity challenges the understanding of international relations as relations between states and, by looking at the issue through the magnifying glass of an international organization, offers innovative insights into the interplay between various levels of international society. The book examines in particular the role of UNESCO, the only United Nations agency responsible for culture and the main forum for international diplomacy on the issue of cultural diversity.

What happens when UNESCO heritage conventions are ratified by a state? How do UNESCO’s global efforts interact with preexisting local, regional and state efforts to conserve or promote culture? What new institutions emerge to address the mandate? The contributors to this volume focus on the work of translation and interpretation that ensues once heritage conventions are ratified and implemented. With seventeen case studies from Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and China, the volume provides comparative evidence for the divergent heritage regimes generated in states that differ in history and political organization. The cases illustrate how UNESCO’s aspiration to honor and celebrate cultural diversity diversifies itself. The very effort to adopt a global heritage regime forces myriad adaptations to particular state and interstate modalities of building and managing heritage.