Convergence in British Cultural Policy: The Social,the Cultural,and the Economic

It is increasingly the case that cultural policy at all levels of governance is expected to address a suite of concerns much broader than those traditionally associated with the arts and creative practice. Indeed, in many nations, including most notably Britain, the concerns of cultural policy now embrace the economic and the social, as well as the cultural. In Britain, this convergence is occurring as part of a broader policy concern to ameliorate social exclusion by providing people with opportunities to participate in the creative economy. Drawing on the findings of a major study of the factors shaping cultural policy internationally, this article identifies and maps the priorities, key intersections, and convergences associated with these priorities in British cultural policy. The article argues that, in spite of taking different forms and having varying emphases depending on the constituency and the level of governance involved, the convergence agenda currently dominating British cultural policy is nevertheless remarkably consistent in terms of the discourses surrounding culture, the remit of the cultural sphere, and strategic policy implementation.     

“Just Describing is Not Enough”: Policy Learning,Transfer, and the Limits of Best Practices

Despite widespread use in the cultural field, best practices remain theoretically and empirically under-researched. The aim of this article is to achieve better understanding of their use and effectiveness in policy learning and transfer, using a case study of a cross-national policy coordination process in the European Union, the Open Method of Coordination. Using empirical data from interview and participant observation material, the article highlights several fundamental challenges of best practices, such as issues of contextualization, representativeness, and critical analysis. It finishes by offering six critical reflection questions on the use of best practices.     

The Fight Against Organised Crime in Europe: A Comparative Perspective

This article provides an overview of the measures and actions taken by the Member States of the European Union in their fight against organised crime and transborder crime. The Action Plan to Combat Organized Crime adopted by the Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs during the Dutch EU Presidency, submitted some 30 recommendations with respect to greater harmonisation regarding the fight against organised crime in the EU Member States. The author gives a concise summary of the most relevant changes and the structural characteristics per Member State, paying attention to developments in the specific countries and the organisations involved. One of the conclusions reached is that few or no reforms within national investigative and prosecution authorities may be directly traced back to the regulatory impulses of the EU. Although the EU Action Plan has not yet realised a convergence of the systems, the European process of integration has increased the mutual transparency and knowledge of one another's systems.     

Rational lobbying and EU climate policy

Using a simple rational choice model as a heuristic device, this paper explores the lobbying behaviour of environmental and business organisations in the field of climate policy and discusses why their lobbying behaviour differs. I find that environmental organisations lobby less than what would be considered rational according to the simple rational choice model, and argue that this might largely be explained by tight budget constraints. I also find that business organisations lobby more than what would be considered rational according to the model, and argue that this might be explained if one applies a long-term perspective on rational lobbying in the policy field rather than a short-term perspective on single policy decisions. Moreover, I find that the type of lobbying differs. While environmental organisations focus on single policy decisions, business organisations also invest in general lobbying. The analysis is based on interviews with interest organisations lobbying in the field of climate policy at the European Union (EU) level.

PERFORMING ARTS MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

The aim of this article is to analyze the impact of EU cultural policies on a EUropean (capitalized "EU" meaning only EU member states) cultural identity. Although EUropean integration began as an economic project, the EU has developed more and more statelike features over time and has brought the question of democratization to the fore. Such questions, in turn, led to questions of what constitutes the EUropean demos and how to conceive of its collective identity. The EUropean identity has developed in addition and as a complement to the national identities of the member states. The article argues for EU cultural policies that foster plural, multiple, and dynamic identities instead of a unified EUropean identity. The EUropean cultural policies should not be based on assumed common roots expressed in the cultural heritage of Europe, but rather should focus on contemporary and critical cultural and artistic expressions.     

Toward Subnational Comparative Cultural Policy Analysis: The Case of Provincial Cultural Policy and Administration in Canada

Comparative policy analysis is an underdeveloped field of study in Canadian policy scholarship at the national and subnational levels. Cultural policy research is also underdeveloped in Canada, particularly at the provincial level. This article aims to contribute to the development of subnational comparative cultural policy analysis by assessing the analytical value of utilizing national-level cultural policy approaches as referents for provincial comparative analysis. We develop four main approaches to cultural policy and administration—the French, British, American, and hybrid (mixed) approaches—and explore their applicability to analyzing the origin and evolution of cultural policy and administration in five Canadian provinces. The article draws on a recently concluded three-year national study of provincial and territorial cultural policy and administration codirected by authors Gattinger and Saint-Pierre.     

The Effectiveness of the EU's Ozone Policy

Has the EU's ozone policy been effective? In other words: What caused the 90 per cent phase-out of ozone depleting substances (ODS) within the EU? Was it due to an EU-wide regulatory approach, to national circumstances, or to the Montreal Protocol? As EU's environmental policy has not been overly successful so far, it would interesting to know why ozone policy is an area where the EU and its Member States have reached targets effectively over a relatively short time. We suggest that the effectiveness of EU's ozone policy is due to two factors that together secured this rapid phase-out. First, the ozone policy was enacted by means of an EU regulation – rather than by directives – which required all Member States and all larger ODS-generating corporations to implement a ban simultaneously. Second, with the US administration making a u-turn and the increased availability of ODS-substitute chemicals, Europe saw a political opportunity to speed up the phase-out process. A limited study of the phase-out of ODS in Spain supports this argument. While the EU's ozone policy has been effective, its success owes much to particular economic and political circumstances associated with the issue of ozone depletion.     

European Law Beyond ‘Ever Closer Union’ Repositioning the Concept,its Thrust and the ECJ's Comparative Methodology

The article investigates competing understandings of European law. It supports, against the prevailing EU‐centred understanding, an ecumenical concept that embraces EU law, supplementing international instruments, the European Convention on Human Rights and, importantly, various domestic laws enacting or responding to such transnational law, as well as European comparative law. To keep the concept in sync with European politics, it posits a new idea that binds the parts together: to provide for a European legal space rather than further European integration (the ever closer union). This idea can also serve as European law's functional equivalent to forming one legal order. European law thus conceived grasps the puzzling complex of interdependent legal orders, sets a common frame for corresponding reconstructions (European composite constructions, legal pluralism, network theories, federalism or intergovernmentalism) and allows forces with diverging outlooks to meet in one legal field, on one more neutral disciplinary platform. Within this framework, European comparative law finds a new mission as well as a sound legal basis.     

Context and Continuity: Philistines,Pharisees and Art in English Culture

Cultural identity is an important facet of globalization, and cultural policy involves an international network of policymakers at the subnational, national, and supranational levels. It is often unclear what cultural identity means and who effects policy change, especially in a fast-changing world. The author examines one of the most important cultural policy conflicts of the last two decades to suggest that the intersections among multiple policymakers led to considerable learning through interaction and clear articulation of policy preferences. The author examines the culture war between the European Union (EU) and the United States over trade in cultural products.¹ The conflict played out in international organizations and allowed the EU to come together to articulate a somewhat coherent cultural identity policy, while the United States realized the difficulty of sustaining cultural exports in the context of provocative cultural identity frames.     

Outrunning the Past: European Influences in Building Cultural Policies in Romania and the Role of the Romanian Cultural Institute

ABSTRACT

Europeanization challenged the post-Communist countries with a series of difficulties and opportunities regarding the process of cultural policymaking. The exchange of information took place simultaneously with the process of national policymaking, influencing it. The article tackles this two-fold process and its implications in an endeavor to embrace sociocultural diversity on the one hand, and the attempt to harmonize national systems on the other hand. Culture is deeply linked to the perception of national identity, tradition, representation, and policy. Romanian culture and cultural policies have progressed through different stages in the last few decades: from Communist censorship and the disturbing period after the Revolution, to European pre-accession and post-accession, when cultural policies aimed to comply with the European directives for culture.     

论欧盟货币市场基金监管新规

2008年全球金融危机以来,欧盟对影子银行的发展深感担忧。货币市场基金作为影子银行的重要组成部分,仍然适用欧盟各个成员国的国内监管规则。随着欧盟内部市场的发展,欧盟货币市场基金的跨境投资与交易数量激增。因此欧盟将货币市场基金的统一监管提上议事日程。应欧洲议会的要求,欧盟分析与研究后,于2013年9月4日正式对外公布了《货币市场基金条例草案》。该条例草案是在金融危机背景下为加强影子银行监管和保护投资者利益而制定,是欧盟为建设金融市场统一监管体系所努力的一部分。《货币市场基金条例草案》在欧盟现有金融监管法律体系的基础上,对欧盟货币市场基金的营业核准、基金内部评级规则、信息披露义务、投资多样性与集中性原则设定了统一的监管标准。此外,《货币市场基金条例草案》首次在欧盟境内引入浮动净资产价值货币市场基金的概念,以及类似准备金制度的净资产价值缓冲机制,提高了传统固定净资产价值货币市场基金的准入门槛。当下的中国,其货币市场基金发展迅速,已成为社会各界的热门话题,因此中国的金融监管机构也正在研究如何完善货币市场基金监管规则。目前,有欧盟的《货币市场基金条例草案》在先,那么中国的金融监管机构可以从欧盟的实践中吸取经验教训,引导中国货币市场基金良性健康发展。     

Structural Funding in the Management of Cultural Heritage in Poland

ABSTRACT

This article concerns structural funding for Polish cultural heritage for the years 2007–13, focusing on the largest operational program, “Infrastructure and Environment,” financed by the European Regional Development Fund. It presents the results of empirical research based on a questionnaire study of a specifically selected group of projects funded under this program. The objective of the study was to analyze the outcomes of this funding upon completion of the financial perspective, presenting tangible and intangible results as well as potential external effects. The empirical data allowed the development of conclusions and recommendations, stressing the importance of the continuing improvement and development of the funding scheme.     

EU Integration and Cultural Diplomacy in Times of Crisis: The Case of Greece

The economic crisis challenges the integration policies of the European Union (EU) and reduces its soft power. Developing from a discussion on cultural values, cultural diplomacy is proposed as a way for the EU and its member states to address the negative effects of the crisis on their soft power and integration process. Cultural values, identity issues, top-down and bottom-up stakeholders, policies, and prospects for cultural diplomacy are explored with a focus on Greece. A proposal based on the balancing of sociocultural with economic principles is presented as a conclusion that would address soft power deficits and further EU integration.     

法律趋同视角下的欧盟统一公司立法研究

欧盟统一公司立法创设了超国家层面的商事主体——欧洲公司和欧洲私人公司;资本制度更自由,公司治理更灵活,促进了各成员国公司法制度的趋同。统一公司立法也受制于各国的法律传统、利益集团和路径依赖等因素。欧盟成员国包括了大陆法系和英美法系国家,其公司立法的成果与争议,反映了两大法系公司法制度融合与竞争的发展趋势,值得在我国《公司法》修改完善中加以借鉴。     

Associations between national gambling policies and disordered gambling prevalence rates within Europe

Policymakers and other interested stakeholders currently are seeking information about the comparative effectiveness of different regulatory approaches to minimising gambling-related harm. This study responds to this research gap by exploring associations between gambling policies and disordered gambling prevalence rates. We gathered information about gambling policies for thirty European jurisdictions and past-year prevalence rates for disordered gambling for twelve of these jurisdictions. We present policy trends and prevalence rates and then describe the level of association between policy and prevalence. We observe one statistically significant association between policy and prevalence: rates of sub-clinical (i.e., Level 2) disordered gambling were higher within environments that mandated less strict regulation of advertising for online gambling. Finally, we discuss the implications of our research in the context of the current process regarding the pan-European regulation of gambling. Our findings do not offer evidence for certain assumptions made in the past by the European judiciary.     

Introduction

The eruption of the "culture wars" in 1989 pushed U.S. arts policy to the forefront of the public agenda, leading to extreme political scrutiny of and controversy over the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and its funding activities. As the premier national-level public agency charged with supporting the arts in the United States, the NEA stood at the heart of debates on related arts policy. With an empirical focus on the NEA in the 1990s, we delineate and examine the broader effects and implications of the surrounding debates and related policy outcomes. In general, in keeping with the conservative political agenda of the 1990s in the United States, the result was the development of policies ostensibly aimed at promoting access to the arts that demoted concerns over artistic excellence, along with direct attacks on the NEA's overall administrative philosophy and decision-making practices. Employing insights from critical theory and reflexive sociology, we analyze the dramatic organizational shifts and programmatic restructuring initiated by the NEA in response to this situation and its ultimate effect on the relationships between art, artist, and audience in U.S. arts policy and society today.     

Enforcing eAccessibility: is the current legal framework adequate?

Regulating the web and information and communication technology (ICT) is a hot-button issue that often becomes misconstrued as the self-interests of private parties. In fact, ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities is often not a priority for companies that provide ICT goods and services. In this manner, people with disabilities are excluded from the global ICT market, which presents a problem of rights assessment and a market gap. By examining the way law and policy implement and augment the state of eAccessibility, this article aims to critically assess the eAccessibility legal framework. It focuses on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the European Union relevant legislation, and on national legislation, taking as a case study two representative countries: Ireland and Spain. These countries have been chosen due to their high and low ‘Measuring eAccessibility’ scores, respectively. The particular technology chosen for examination includes websites, self-service terminals and mobile phone apps.     

Strategic Standardization in Europe: A Public Choice Perspective

In October 1990, the EC Commission presented a Green Paper in which it outlined a New Approach to European standardization. In particular, standardization was interpreted as a means of furthering the completion of the Internal Market. This paper discusses the impact of the modifications to the process of standard setting, as they have been proposed by the Commission, with respect to the incentives and goals of the major players in the European standardization game, i.e., national and European standardization bodies, industry and the EC Commission. Selected economic models of standardization are applied to investigate the policy impact of the New Approach.