New Regionalism and Cultural Policies: Distinctive and Distinguishing Strategies, from Local to Global

Abstract

This article aims at showing how cultural policies contribute to New Regionalist strategies, especially considering two main lines: – A New Regionalist cultural identity, from heritage to creativity: culture is often mobilized to consolidate the institutional capacity and ‘identity’ of regions, as most of the regionalisation processes in Europe are quite recent. The different dimensions of such regional cultural identity show that New-Regionalist references can impact cultural policies – Culture as a ‘soft factor’ for region branding: the development of regions' external cultural relations links territorial marketing with the projection of a cultural image and artistic productions. The cultural cooperation developed at the specific cross border scale of euroregions illustrates the interactions between construction and projection of a cultural identity, and the evolution of such processes within the framework of a knowledge-based economy focused on immaterial and creative activities. Through these analyses, this article also questions the territorial and cultural dimensions of European construction, within a double movement of States' regionalisation and European supra-national integration.

Keywords:

• new regionalism
• culture
• policy
• identity
• Europe

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Nathalie Rivère de Carles, University of Toulouse and Camille Prado, United Nations Organization for editorial help.

Notes

¹ The EGTC is a new co-operation instrument introduced by the EU as part of the reform of regional policy for the period 2007–2013. Regulation (EC) No. 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on a European grouping of territorial co-operation (EGTC) (Official Journal L 210 of 31 July 2006).

² INTERREG programmes are financed with the structural funds of European Union. They were launched by European Commission from the 1990's to foster cooperation projects between territorial authorities throughout Europe. Cf. http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/index_en.cfm (accessed 6 November 2012).

³ See Study on the Economy of Culture in Europe. Available online at: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/key-documents/doc873_en.htm (accessed 6 November 2012).

⁴ Thomas Perrin, PhD Thesis (Grenoble University, 2010): Culture and euroregions: institutional issues of euroregional cultural action. Available online at: Grenoble University Library and from http://www.diffusiontheses.fr. Post-doctoral research in the University Institute of European Studies of Barcelona in 2011 (fellowship from Région Rhône-Alpes).

⁵ This fund is one of the Structural Funds allocated by European Union. It aims at correcting the main regional imbalances and participating in the development of regions at the EU scale.

⁶ It was not until 1997 that devolution was effectively implemented in this country with the creation in 1998 of the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

⁷ The present-day Land of Saxony must not be confused with Old Saxony, which is the original homeland of the Saxons in the north-west corner of modern Germany and roughly corresponds today with the contemporary Länder of Lower Saxony, Westphalia and western Saxony-Anhalt.

⁸ From the beginning of the 1990s, ‘Pays Cathare’ has been a registered trademark that belongs to the conseil général de l'Aude (County Council of Aude district).

⁹ Co-operation with neighbouring counties, where Cathare sights can be found, and use of European funds.

¹⁰ See Study on the Contribution of Culture to Local and Regional Development: Evidence from the Structural Funds, Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Services [in collaboration with ERICARTS], 2010. Available online at: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/key-documents/doc2942_en.htm (accessed 23 January 2012).

¹¹ With at EU level the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy for a ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’.

¹² Occitano-catalan cultural areas, external projection of the Catalan Generalitat, French ‘Midi-Languedoc’, etc.

¹³ Speech of Estanislau Vidal-Folch at the Rencontres de Luxembourg, association of European cities and regions for culture, 12 and 13 October 2007. Available online at: http://www.europaforum.public.lu (accessed 23 January 2012).

¹⁴ It comprises the French regions Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the Italian regions Valle d'Aosta, Piemonte and Liguria.

¹⁵ Between the Kent County, the Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais in France and the three Belgium regions: Bruxelles-Capitale, Flandres and Région wallonne.

¹⁶ See http://toolquiz.org (accessed 23 January 2012).

¹⁷ Lille3000 was launched in 2006, following the success of lille2004 when the city was European Capital of Culture, which ‘changed the image of the City of Lille and the Euroregion. lille2004 revealed the tremendous creative energy of its territory … Neither festival nor biennale, lille3000 invites us to discover cultures through the most contemporary artists from near and afar, while sharing its events with the greatest possible number in the heart of the city.’ http://www.lille3000.eu/lille3000/en (accessed 23 January 2012).