Cultural Imperialism Vs Cultural Diplomacy

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Cultural Imperialism Vs Cultural Diplomacy

• LECTURE 7
• Philip M. Taylor
• Professor of International Communications

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The Pertinent Issues

• Communications/Media scholars have been obsessed
  with cultural imperialism since 1970s
• Part of the context of the Cold War but did
  they miss the point because of ideological
  blinkers/agenda?
• So is there any evidence about cultural
  dissemination by governments to foreign peoples?
• Yes! But the discipline has been looking in the
  wrong place hence cultural diplomacy.

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The Obsession with cultural imperialism

• Sees cultural transfer as negative, aggressive,
  unwanted and damaging
• Sees this as part of a one-way flow of
  information from north to south
• Calls to redress the balance by a NWICO through
  UNESCO

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OED Definitions

• Imperialism the rule of an emperor, espec. when
  despotic the principle or spirit of empire
  advocacy of imperial interests
• Empire supreme and extensive political
  dominion (i.e. domination)

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OED Definition of Culture

• 'improvement or refinement by education and
  training the training and refinement of mind,
  tastes and manners the condition of being thus
  trained and refined the intellectual side of
  civilization'.
• Cultural imperialism is thus a contradiction in
  terms.

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The heart of the matter

• the issue can be summarised as the process by
  which communications are used to disseminate
  cultural products from one society to another
  with the effect that they displace or dominate
  indigenous cultural norms in the recipient
  country
• 'the use of political and economic power to exalt
  and spread the value of a foreign culture at the
  expense of a native culture' (Tomlinson, Cultural
  Imperialism).

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Wrong questions, muddle thinking, confused
terminology

• Media Imperialism -domination by films, tv,
  radio, video, news organisations news agencies,
  advertising (i.e. the software)
• Communications Imperialism - embraces the
  hardware as well as the software (i.e. the
  equipment, maintenance and technical support)

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What is the evidence for this?

• Coca-colonialism and attempts to McDominate
• Media and cultural imperialism
• Predominance of western media products
• Seeing the Third World through the eyes of the
  west coups and disasters
• Western values predominate

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What is wrong with this evidence ?

• Look around you
• Hollywood yes, but Bollywood no
• Local TV programming prevails in prime-time
• Western news values are about bad news
• Microsoft yes, but hardware?
• Japanese dont suffer same assault
• Nor do Chinese restaurants!

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Globalisation and anti-Globalisation

• Current war on terrorism and a war against
  Islam
• Anti-capitalist, anti-modern, anti-western
• imperialism of the mind vs. imperialism in
  reality?
• MNCs/TNCs rather than governmental driven (but
  WTO, G8 etc)
• The triumph of free-market, democratic capitalism
  at the end of the Cold War

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So whats it all about?

• The triumph of free-market, democratic capitalism
  at the end of the Cold War
• Democracies and non-democracies
• A clash of civilisations?
• Have-nots and haves
• Power!

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But wait there IS some evidence

• Looking in the wrong place
• Cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy
• International Public Information
• What is the objective?
• Who are the target audience?

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But wait there IS some evidence!!!

• Exchange of ideas in support of foreign policy,
  not imposition
• Mutual understanding in support of peace
• British Council, Alliance Francaise, Dante
  Allighieri Society, Goethe Institute, Tokyo
  Foundation
• International Broadcasting

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Target audience?

• Elites not masses
• Movers and shakers of tomorrow
• Economic benefits?
• Ideological benefits?
• In light of the current war on terrorism, is
  this the wrong audience?

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Conclusions

• States do spend taxpayers money on exporting
  culture, values and products abroad
• Telling their truth, selling their values
• Does this have a negative impact?
• Is the global village a bad thing?