The Trade And Culture Debate In The Context Of Creative Economy

The trade and culture debate has been a long tension without a definite result. It has been widely argued that neither the existing WTO regulatory framework nor the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression (UNESCO CDCE) can address the debate. More recently, some new emerging domains in the digital age, including digital technology and intellectual property rights, have posted crucial challenges as well. These new trends invite the careful reconsideration of the role of law, the dominant legal responses and regulatory approaches, however they have not been paid due attention. To this end, this paper attempts to investigate a possibly more adaptive regulatory approach for the trade and culture debate under the changed regulatory environment. Compared with cultural industries, it appears that creative industries tend to more properly reflect the status quo of the current economy, and the concept of creative economy could be employed as the concept to design a new regulatory approach for the debate in the digital age. Building upon this, the global governance debate seems to be a holistic approach for the trade and culture debate in the digital age. For the WTO regulatory framework, a two-steps approach could be considered. The first step is to formulae the 'creative economy' as a legal concept, followed by the second step of introducing the concept into the WTO regulatory framework. It is suggested that such approach could be a more adaptive and coherent regulatory approach for the trade and culture debate in the digital age.

Throughout the 20th century, the culture and trade debate evolved with the emergence of related concepts, such as cultural industries, cultural specificity, and cultural diversity. Traditionally, the dominant regulatory method in approaching the relationship between cultural concerns, on the one hand, and of trade concerns, on the other, consisted in the formulation of general or particular exceptions aimed at separating culture from trade. Only gradually, and backed by drastic advances in technologies affecting the cultural industries, the traditional regulatory method shifted towards a more inclusive approach by virtue of the use of so-called “integration clauses”. Put briefly, the dominant approach changed from one of “exclusive inclusion” towards one of “inclusive exclusion”, given that the greater integration of cultural concerns in commercial contexts at the level of substantive law was, at the international level, not matched by a major shift towards greater institutional coherence. The recent concept of the “creative economy” can thus be regarded as a new opportunity to rethink not only the scope and content of the cultural and trade debate but also the principal features of the role of law in tackling the challenges that lie ahead.

Governments that seek to liberalize trade can find that doing so is often in tension with their desire to achieve the objectives of cultural policy. This is because measures like local content requirements can seem like discriminatory practices when viewed through the lens of trade liberalization. This tension has prompted a long-standing debate, with great variation in how countries have approached it. Trade and Culture: The Ongoing Debate explores this variation across geographic space. It also seeks to explain the evolution in these various policies over time. Policies are not static, largely due to domestic politics, shifts in the international trading system and technological developments. The chapters in this volume explore the different approaches to the trade and culture debate and provide an up-to-date look at current versions of these policies in Canada, the European Union, South Africa, Latin America, South Korea, the United States and China. This book will be of great value to scholars and researchers interested in cultural policies and the politics of international trade. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Cultural Policy.

Global Cultural Economy critically interrogates the role cultural and creative industries play in societies. By locating these industries in their broader cultural and economic contexts, Christiaan De Beukelaer and Kim-Marie Spence combine their repertoires of empirical work across four continents to define the ‘cultural economy’ as the system of production, distribution, and consumption of cultural goods and services, as well as the cultural, economic, social, and political contexts in which it operates. Each chapter introduces and discusses a different theme, such as inclusion, diversity, sustainability, and ownership, highlighting the tensions around them to elicit an active engagement with possible and provisional solutions. The themes are explored through case studies including Bollywood, Ghanaian music, the Korean Wave, Jamaican Reggae, and the UN Creative Economy Reports. Written with students, researchers, and policy-makers in mind, Global Cultural Economy is ideal for anyone interested in the creative and cultural industries, media and cultural studies, cultural policy, and development studies.

This dissertation, "The Trade and Culture Debate in the Digital Age: Towards an Adaptive Regulatory Approach From Fragmentation to Coherence" by Zhijie, Chen, 陈志杰, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: The trade and culture debate has been a tension with a long history and yet with indefinite result. The essence of the debate is the dual nature of cultural products (goods/services), which embodies the commercial value and cultural value simultaneously and seems not easy to synthesize both together. Traditionally, the dominant regulatory approach towards the trade and culture debate 1.0 is the particular or general exceptions under the WTO regulatory framework. However, it has been widely argued that the existing WTO regulatory framework cannot provide sufficient flexibilities to accommodate cultural policy measures. The over politicized bifurcation of regulatory regime of trade and culture renders the possible suggestions mere academic projects, which lack of political incentives and are highly unlikely to implement. Gradually, the second dominant regulatory approach for the trade and culture debate 1.0 relies on the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression (UNESCO CDCE). This convention marks that the dominant regulatory approach has shifted gradually from negative exceptions (exclusive inclusion) to more positive integration clauses (inclusive exclusion). A critical analysis on the context and substantive norms of the UNESCO CDCE reveals that the legal value of the convention under international law and its role in the trade and culture debate are negligible. The recent development of international trade law, the dispute of China-Measures Affecting Trading Rights and Distribution Services for Certain Publications and Audiovisual Entertainment Products, has questioned the overall suitability and accuracy of the well-established convention. Except for the old problems pertaining to the trade and culture debate remain unresolved, some new emerging domains in the digital age, including digital technology and intellectual property rights, have posted crucial challenges as well, which however has not been paid due attention. Therefore, along with the update of the debate, the overall complexity has increased in the changed regulatory environment, rendering even the acceptance of the dual nature of the cultural industries obsolete. These new trends invite the careful reconsideration of the role of law, the dominant legal responses and regulatory approaches. It has been recognized that the cultural industries have transformed to the creative industries, marking that the dual natured cultural products have shifted to multifaceted natured creative products. This illustrates that creative industries tend to more properly reflect the status quo of the current economy, and the concept of creative economy could be employed as the concept to design a new regulatory approach for the debate in the digital age. Building upon this, the global governance debate seems to be a holistic approach for the trade and culture debate 2.0. For the WTO regulatory framework, a two-steps approach could be considered. The first step is to formulae the 'creative economy' as a legal concept, followed by the second step of introducing the concept into the WTO regulatory framework. It is suggested that such approach could be a more adaptive and coherent regulatory approach for the trade and culture debate in the digital age. Subjects: Cultural policy

"Moving from age-old warnings about the influence of the cultural industry to a tentative embrace of a global creative society, Terry Flew′s new book provides an excellent overview of this exciting field. Warmly recommended for students and policymakers alike." - Mark Deuze, Indiana University "A comprehensive text on the state of the art of the creative industries... a running commentary on the ebb and flow of both the academic debates (from cultural studies, cultural economics, organisational studies, economic geography and urban sociology) and the policy initiatives that seek to frame the field for outsiders. An ideal primer." - Andy C Pratt, King′s College London The rise of creative industries requires new thinking in communication, media and cultural studies, media and cultural policy, and the arts and information sectors. The Creative Industries sets the agenda for these debates, providing a richer understanding of the dynamics of cultural markets, creative labour, finance and risk, and how culture is distributed, marketed and creatively re-used through new media technologies. This book: Develops a global perspective on the creative industries and creative economy Draws insights from media and cultural studies, innovation economics, cultural policy studies, and economic and cultural geography Explores what it means for policy-makers when culture and creativity move from the margins to the centre of economic dynamics Makes extensive use of case studies in ways that are relevant not only to researchers and policy-makers, but also to the generation of students who will increasingly be establishing a ′portfolio career′ in the creative industries. International in coverage, The Creative Industries traces the historical and contemporary ideas that make the cultural economy more relevant that it has ever been. It is essential reading for students and academics in media, communication and cultural studies.

Exploring the connection between culture and broader goals of human development, this research focuses on cultural and creative industries in what is commonly referred to as 'developing countries'. Christiaan De Beukelaer offers a thorough exploration of how the concepts of cultural and creative industries are constructed and implemented across African countries and evaluates various policy implications of his findings. Combining an empirical study of the cultural industries of Africa with an understanding towards broader insights regarding global implications of the European debate surrounding creative industries, De Beukelaer's work will greatly benefit our thinking on 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.

The spread of Islam around the globe has blurred the connection between a religion, a specific society, and a territory. One-third of the world’s Muslims now live as members of a minority. At the heart of this development is, on the one hand, the voluntary settlement of Muslims in Western societies and, on the other, the pervasiveness and influence of Western cultural models and social norms. The revival of Islam among Muslim populations in the last twenty years is often wrongly perceived as a backlash against westernization rather than as one of its consequences. Neofundamentalism has been gaining ground among a rootless Muslim youth—particularly among the second- and third-generation migrants in the West—and this phenomenon is feeding new forms of radicalism, ranging from support for Al Qaeda to the outright rejection of integration into Western society. In this brilliant exegesis of the movement of Islam beyond traditional borders and its unwitting westernization, Olivier Roy argues that Islamic revival, or "re-Islamization," results from the efforts of westernized Muslims to assert their identity in a non-Muslim context. A schism has emerged between mainstream Islamist movements in the Muslim world—including Hamas of Palestine and Hezbollah of Lebanon—and the uprooted militants who strive to establish an imaginary ummah, or Muslim community, not embedded in any particular society or territory. Roy provides a detailed comparison of these transnational movements, whether peaceful, like Tablighi Jama'at and the Islamic brotherhoods, or violent, like Al Qaeda. He shows how neofundamentalism acknowledges without nostalgia the loss of pristine cultures, constructing instead a universal religious identity that transcends the very notion of culture. Thus contemporary Islamic fundamentalism is not a single-note reaction against westernization but a product and an agent of the complex forces of globalization.

As the first exporter of cultural goods and services, the United States has long held that such products should be treated like any other merchandise and be liberalized. On the other hand, for countries such as France and Canada who are concerned about the impact of economic globalization and the digital revolution on their cultural identity, cultural products should be exempted from economic liberalization or subject to a cultural exception. conflicting views and interests between states as to the treatment of cultural products in international economic law lie at the hearth of the trade and culture debate. These differences have led to serious tensions over the liberalization of cultural services within the World Trade Organization, as well as to a Convention within UNESCO to recognize the economic and cultural character of cultural products and the states’ right to pursue cultural policies. With most states still not keen on liberalizing the cultural sector and the stalemate in the Doha Round, the United States has turned to preferential trade agreements to secure its policy preferences on the treatment of cultural products. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the US government has concluded eleven trade agreements grouping sixteen countries and has been involved in three sets of plurilateral negotiations, with major implications for the evolution of the trade and culture debate.