University Book Review: Global Cultural Policy Handbook Analysis

This assignment provides a comprehensive review of "The Routledge Handbook of Global Cultural Policy," edited by Durrer, Miller, and O'Brien. The review examines the book's structure, which is divided into eight sections, and its analysis of how cultural policy intersects with social, political, and economic dynamics globally. It highlights the book's exploration of cultural policy's impact on trade, commerce, and various global issues, including inequality and integration. The review also offers a critical analysis, discussing the book's strengths, such as its broad scope and definition of cultural policy, as well as its limitations, like a lack of practical examples and fragmentation among articles. The assignment concludes with recommendations to enhance the book's coherence and overall quality, emphasizing the need for stronger linkages between the diverse articles within the handbook. Overall, the review provides a valuable assessment of the handbook's contribution to the field of global cultural policy studies.

Running head: GLOBAL CULTURAL POLICY
BOOK REVIEW: THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF GLOBAL CULTURAL
POLICY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Introduction
According to Durrer, Miller and O'Brien in their book “The Routledge Handbook of
Global Cultural Policy”, the element of culture pervades all aspects of the lives of the human
beings, be it the social, political or for that matter the economic aspects. More importantly, in the
contemporary times it had been seen that the media is an important vessel which directly affects
the life of the individuals by directly influencing the cultural traditions or for that matter the
values followed by the individuals. This is important since it had been seen that the vessel of
media not only places but at the same raises the expectation of the individuals regarding the
quality or the kind of life that they lead. For instance, the media often propels the individuals
either to raise their expectations or to raise questions regarding the performing arts, fine arts,
cultural heritage and the other important aspects of the lives of the individuals. It is precisely
here that the book “The Routledge Handbook of Global Cultural Policy” (2017) of Durrer, Miller
and O'Brien becomes important since it tries to analyze the manner in which “Cultural policy
intersects with political, economic, and socio-cultural dynamics at all levels of society”. The
purpose of this paper is to undertake a critical analysis of the book “The Routledge Handbook of
Global Cultural Policy” edited by Durrer, Miller and O'Brien.
Overview of the Book
The book “The Routledge Handbook of Global Cultural Policy” edited by Durrer, Miller
and O'Brien is often considered to be a landmark in the genre of cultural policy and also the
manner in which the lives of the individuals, be it at the social level, political level or for that
matter the economic level. In this connection, it needs to be said that the book under discussion
here is divided into eight different sections and consists of 38 articles which are directly or

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indirectly related to the concept of cultural policy by scholars from all over the world. For
instance, it is seen that the first five articles introduce the concept of cultural policy and its
relation with the society at large, the business world and others. The next five articles are
grouped under the heading “Regulating Cultural Policy” and try to explain on the impact of
cultural policies or for that matter the impact of culture on trade and commerce or the business
activities conducted by the business corporations or the nations. The next three articles of the
handbook are grouped under the category of “Rights and cultural policy” and thereby try to offer
an outline of the manner in which the construct of cultural policy impacts the rights of the human
beings.
The fourth division is the “Practice and cultural policy” and consists of seven articles
which deal with the manner in which the entity of cultural policy is being actually used by the
nations or the business corporations. The next six articles are being grouped under the category
of “Global issues, regional cultural policy” and outline the issues like inequality, integration and
others faced by the business corporations on the score of the regional cultural policies. The next
four articles are being placed in the group “Development and cultural policy” and thereby outline
the factors which are being taken into account or for that matter the manner in which the cultural
policies are being formulated. The next section consists of six articles which are grouped under
the heading “The nation state and cultural policy” and thereby elucidates the manner in which
the cultural policies are being used by the different nations states like Britain and others. Lastly,
the “Conclusion” section consists of only two articles which try to summarize or for that matter
articulate the manner concepts or the ideas highlighted by the book under discussion here.
As the above given structure of the handbook under discussion here makes it apparent
that the concerned handbook primarily tries to undertake an analysis of the concept of cultural

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policy and also the manner in which the same affects the lives of the individuals. This becomes
obvious from the introductory lines of the concerned book wherein it is being said that “Cultural
policies have informed imperial rapaciousness for a very long time. Spain’s conquista de
América, Portugal’s missão civilizadora, and France and Britain’s mission civilisatrice created
global anxieties about foreign cultural domination” (Durrer, Miller and O'Brien). As a matter of
fact, it is seen that the book clearly indicates the fact that the element of cultural policy intersects
the social sphere, political sphere and the economic sphere of the lives of the individuals. This
becomes apparent from the line of the book “‘National identity’ continues to triumph through the
current institutional logic of regulation, but the more interesting logic of the future may rest in
the second line of ‘cultural identity’ in the n-gram figure”. In addition to these, a critical analysis
of the handbook also reveals the manner in which the different cultural policies are being
formulated or for that matter designed and also the impact that it has on trade and commerce, the
business activities of the different business corporations and others. More importantly, the
handbook under discussion here also enumerates the different issues like inequality, global
integration and others that the cultural policy developers and others normally face related to the
formulation of the cultural policies as well as the effective usage of the same as well (Durrer,
Miller and O'Brien). These aspects of the handbook make it a unique one and have also greatly
contributed towards the effectiveness of the concerned handbook as well.
Critical Analysis of the Book
The book “The Routledge Handbook of Global Cultural Policy” edited by Durrer, Miller
and O'Brien seeks to undertake an objective or for that matter a critical analysis of the concept of
cultural policy. As a matter of fact, it is seen that the handbook under discussion here argues that
the element of cultural policy embraces the social, political and the economic sphere and thereby

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not only affects the human society but also the different nation states as well (Durrer, Miller and
O'Brien). This in turn is an important factor which had given rise to the numerous cultural policy
studies which had been undertaken over the years by the different scholars. In this connection,
the book explicitly mentions that “Cultural policy studies gave rise to the more problematic
creative-industries discourse, which differed radically from cultural studies’ initial theorization
of policy” (Durrer, Miller and O'Brien). For instance, it had been seen that the book not only
undertakes an exploration of the concept of cultural policies from the perspective of sociology,
politics, economics and others but also from the perspective of the business world as well. As a
matter of fact, the book while recognizing the contributions of cultural values, traditions and
others towards the formulation of cultural policy also takes into account the contributions made
by contemporary media, fine arts and others towards the same. This becomes apparent from the
line “culture – as a way of life or a representation of this way of life through art – is the most
malleable of human formations, forever subject to syncretism and adaptability” (Durrer, Miller
and O'Brien). This in turn had not only broadened the scope of the entire book but at the same
time had helped the editors of the concerned book to effectively present a large number of peer-
reviewed articles related to cultural policy as well. However, at the same it needs to be said that
this particular exploration or for that matter the analysis of the concept of cultural policy that the
handbook under discussion here undertakes is largely theoretical in nature and not backed up
practical examples or scenarios. This in turn had not only reduced the appeal of the concerned
handbook among the readers but also substantially reduced the quality of the handbook as well.
An important aspect of the handbook under discussion here which as a matter of fact
distinguishes it from the other scholarly works related to the concept of cultural policy can be
attributed to the fact that it tries to present a complete account of cultural policy. As a matter of

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fact, it is seen that not only the concept of cultural policy had been defined in the handbook or
for that matter the manner in which it affects the human beings or the business corporations but
also the different factors or the aspects which needs to taken into account for the formulation of
the cultural policies (Durrer, Miller and O'Brien). In addition to these, it had also been seen that
the handbook under discussion here also elucidates the different issues or for that matter the
challenges that the various policy developers face related to the development as well as the
effective usage of the construct of cultural policy. For instance, the concerned handbook clearly
outlines that inequality, inadequate integration and others are some of the most important issues
that the different policy developers in the nations of UK, USA, Hong Kong and others face
related to the formulation of cultural policy and this in turn had significantly reduce the
effectiveness of the various cultural policies developed over the years. More importantly, the
concerned handbook also indicates the manner in which the different cultural policies impact the
entity of trade and commerce and also the way in which it is being presently used by the business
corporations specializing in creative work for the enhancement of their business prospects
(Durrer, Miller and O'Brien). This becomes apparent from the lines “Until recently, though, the
chief culprit named in international cultural debates was ‘Hollywood’ or the United States media
with its global reach. The U.S. entertainment industry exports, collectively the country’s biggest
trade item – average above $100 billion dollars when royalty payments are taken into
consideration” (Durrer, Miller and O'Brien). However, at the same time it needs to be said that
an important negative aspect of the handbook under discussion here can be attributed to the fact
that the concerned handbook is fragmentary in nature and there is no coherence among the thirty-
eight articles which are being used in the handbook. In this regard, it needs to be said that the
concerned handbook comprises of 38 different articles and although articles related to similar

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themes or topics are being grouped together yet it is seen that there is no unity among them. This
in turn had significantly reduced the appeal of the concerned handbook among the readers and
also its quality as well.
Recommendations
An important shortcoming or for that matter the limitation of the book “The Routledge
Handbook of Global Cultural Policy” edited by Durrer, Miller and O'Brien can be attributed to
the fact that the concerned book lacks coherency and this in turn had substantially reduced the
quality of the book as well. This can be explained on the basis of the fact that the entire book had
not been written as a proper book rather the editors of the handbook under discussion here have
merely assembled together some of the most important peer-reviewed articles related to the
concept of cultural policy. Thus, it is seen that the concerned book is highly fragmented in nature
with no adequate amount of coherence between the different articles of the handbook apart from
some of the concepts or for that matter the ideas that the book tries to cascade to the readers.
Therefore, it can be said that an important method that the editors of the handbook under
discussion here can take the help of for the purpose of enhancing the quality of the same is to
enhance the coherency of the book by creating the required amount of linkage among the
different articles that had been used in the handbook. Another important limitation of the
handbook can be attributed to the fact that the majority of the articles that had been used in the
handbook are largely theoretical in nature and there are no practical applications of the same
mentioned in the handbook which in turn substantially reduces the interest of the readers towards
the concerned handbook. Thus, the editors of the handbook under discussion here for the purpose
of enhancing the quality of the concerned handbook and also to make it more appealing for the
readers need to incorporate more practical examples in the handbook so as to not only make the

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readers understand the concepts which are being discussed in the handbook but also to
understand the practical implications of the same as well.
Conclusion
To conclude, cultural policy intercede the economic, social and the political aspects of
the lives of the individuals. More importantly, it had also been seen that the aspect of cultural
policy directly affects trade and commerce and also the business operations of the different
business corporations as well. However, at the same time it is seen that there are various issues
like inequality, integration and others that the policy developers commonly face for the
development of cultural policies. In addition to these, presently it had been seen that the different
business corporations especially the ones dealing with creative work are actively taking the help
of the different cultural policies for the enhancement of the scope of their business. These aspects
of cultural policy become apparent from the above analysis of the book “The Routledge
Handbook of Global Cultural Policy” edited by Durrer, Miller and O'Brien.

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Reference
Durrer, Victoria, Toby Miller, and Dave O'Brien, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Global
Cultural Policy. Routledge, 2017.