Identity Politics in the European Capital of Culture Initiative
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dissertations Tuuli Lähdesmäki | 84 | Tuuli Lähdesmäki | Identity Politics in the European Capital of Culture Initiative The European Capital of Culture is one of the longest running cultural Tuuli Lähdesmäki Identity Politics in the European Capital Culture of Initiative initiatives of the EU. The research investigates the dynamics and power relations in the identity politics of the Identity Politics in the initiative. The focus is on the produc- tion and relations of local, regional, European Capital of national, and European identities and their intertwinement with policy, pro- Culture Initiative motional, and reception discourses of the initiative. The inter-disciplinary investigation combines sociology with policy, urban, reception, and cultural studies. Publications of the University of Eastern Finland Dissertations in Social Sciences and Business Studies Publications of the University of Eastern Finland Dissertations in Social Sciences and Business Studies isbn 978-952-61-1486-6 issn 1798-5757 Identity Politics in the European Capital of Culture Initiative Dissertations in Social Sciences and Business Studies No 84 TUULI LÄHDESMÄKI Identity Politics in the European Capital of Culture Initiative Publications of the University of Eastern Finland Dissertations in Social Sciences and Business Studies No 84 Itä-Suomen yliopisto Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja kauppatieteiden tiedekunta Joensuu 2014 Print: Joensuu, Grano Oy 2014 Editor in-chief: Prof. Kimmo Katajala Editor: MA Eija Fabritius Sales: University of Eastern Finland Library Cover illustration: Colourscape in Turku2011. Photo: Tuuli Lähdesmäki. Back cover illustration: The International Folk Dance Festival in Pécs2010. Photo: Tuuli Lähdesmäki. ISBN (bind): 978-952-61-1485-9 ISSN (bind): 1798-5749 ISSN-L: 1798-5749 ISBN (PDF): 978-952-61-1486-6 ISSN (PDF): 1798-5757 Author: Lähdesmäki, Tuuli Identity Politics in the European Capital of Culture Initiative, 94 p. University of Eastern Finland Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies, 2014 Publications of the University of Eastern Finland, Dissertations in Social Sciences and Business Studies, no 84 ISBN (bind): 978-952-61-1485-9 ISSN (bind): 1798-5749 ISSN-L: 1798-5749 ISBN (PDF): 978-952-61-1486-6 ISSN (PDF): 1798-5757 Dissertation ABSTRACT The research focuses on identity politics in the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) initiative and investigates the production and relations of four area- based cultural identities (local, regional, national, and European) intertwined with the policy, promotional, and reception discourses of the initiative. The inter-disciplinary investigation combines views from policy, urban, and reception studies and focuses on the analysis of identity politics with the concept of cultural identity. With manifold data (policy documents, promotional and planning material, observations, online discussions, questionnaire responses) and a discourse analytic and mixed method approach the research brings to the fore continuities and breaks between macro and micro structures in the identity politics within the ECOC frame. The implementation of the research includes three scalarly focuses: the EU policy rhetoric, the local promotional rhetoric, and the audience reception in three case ECOCs (Pécs2010, Tallinn2011, and Turku2011). This research report is a compilation of five articles and a joint introduction. The research indicated how the area-based cultural identities obtain different meanings, contents, and significances on the different policy levels and in varying geographical, cultural, and social contexts of the case cities. The ECOC designation includes strong symbolic meanings – it has been used particularly in several Eastern European EU member states as a tool for rethinking their cultural identities and in remapping the cultural geography of Europe. Cultural initiatives are the EU’s technologies of power. One of their fundamental strategies is to mingle the top-down and bottom-up dynamics between the EU and local agents. Cities are expected to compete for the ECOC designation, invest in its implementation, and foster a common European identity on their own initiative. This is at the same time the ideological core of the EU’s identity politics: to produce self-creating cultural integration in the EU. Keywords: city, cultural identity, cultural policy, discourse, the European Capital of Culture, the European Union, identity politics Tekijä: Lähdesmäki, Tuuli Identity Politics in the European Capital of Culture Initiative [Identiteettipolitiikkaa Euroopan kulttuuripääkaupunki -hankkeessa], 94 s. Itä-Suomen yliopisto Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja kauppatieteiden tiedekunta, 2014 Publications of the University of Eastern Finland, Dissertations in Social Sciences and Business Studies, no 84 ISBN (nid.): 978-952-61-1485-9 ISSN (nid.): 1798-5749 ISSN-L: 1798-5749 ISBN (PDF): 978-952-61-1486-6 ISSN (PDF): 1798-5757 Väitöskirja ABSTRAKTI Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan identiteettipolitiikkaa EU:n koordinoimassa Euroopan kulttuuripääkaupunki -hankkeessa (EKPK) paikallisuuden, alueellisuuden, kansallisuuden ja eurooppalaisuuden käsitteiden välisten suhteiden ja niiden tuottamisen näkökulmasta. Monitieteinen tutkimus yhdistää sosiologian, politiikan tutkimuksen, kaupunkitutkimuksen ja kulttuurintutkimuksen näkökulmia ja lähestyy identiteettipolitiikkaa kulttuurisen identiteetin käsitteen avulla. Monipuolisen tutkimusaineiston (joka käsittää mm. poliittisia asiakirjoja, markkinointi- ja suunnittelumateriaaleja, havainnointia, online-keskusteluja ja kyselyaineiston) ja diskurssianalyyttisen ja monimenetelmäisen lähestymistavan avulla tutkimuksessa pyritään osoittamaan identiteettipolitiikan jatkumoita ja katkoksia eri alueellisten tasojen välillä. Tutkimuksessa identiteettipolitiikkaa tarkastellaan erityisesti EU:n poliittisessa retoriikassa, EKPK:n markkinointiretoriikassa ja tapahtumien vastaanotossa Pécsissä, Tallinnassa ja Turkussa. Tutkimus koostuu viidestä artikkelista ja niitä yhdistävästä johdannosta. Tutkimus osoittaa, miten alueelliset kulttuuri-identiteetit saavat erilaisia merkityksiä ja sisältöjä politiikan eri alueellisilla tasoilla ja kohdekaupunkien maantieteellisesti, kulttuurisesti ja sosiaalisesti eroavissa konteksteissa. EKPK-hanketta on hyödynnetty etenkin Itä-Euroopassa kulttuuri-identiteettien uudelleenmuotoilussa ja Euroopan kulttuurisen maantieteen uudelleenjäsentämisessä. Kulttuurihankkeet ovat EU:n vallan teknologioita. Ne pyrkivät sekoittamaan EU:n ja paikallisten toimijoiden välistä hierarkiaa. Kaupunkien odotetaan kilpailevan EKPK-tittelistä, investoivan itse sen toteuttamiseen ja vaalivan eurooppalaista identiteettiä oma- aloitteisesti. Tämä on samalla EU:n identiteettipolitiikan ideologinen ydin: saada aikaan omaehtoista kulttuurista integraatiota EU:ssa. Asiasanat: diskurssi, Euroopan kulttuuripääkaupunki, Euroopan Unioni, identiteettipolitiikka, kaupunki, kulttuuri-identiteetti, kulttuuripolitiikka Foreword This doctoral dissertation in sociology is based on some of my key articles published as the result of a research project titled ‘Identity politics in Pécs, Tallinn and Turku as European Capitals of Culture (ID-ECC)’, which was funded by the Academy of Finland between 2011 and 2013. The planning of the research project on the European Capital of Culture initiative had, however, already started in 2007. During that year, I had the chance to have inspiring discussions with several colleagues and scholars who were interested in launching an international research project that would combine the topics of urbanism, contemporary culture, and cultural politics. The discussions were concretized in several project proposals which did not manage to receive funding. The discussions and the project planning did nevertheless create the basis for eventual cooperation during the implementation of my own research project. I want to thank PhD Satu Kähkönen (University of Jyväskylä), PhD Miklós Kiss (University of Groningen), and PhD Barbara Oettl (University of Regensburg) for the visionary discussions on the recent phenomena and dimensions of contemporary culture. In addition, I want to thank Professor Kärt Summatavet (Estonian Academy of Arts), Docent Anja Kervanto Nevanlinna (University of Helsinki and University of Jyväskylä), and PhD Ulla Pohjamo for their cooperation in planning and preparing the project proposals. My research project was funded by the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, from the August 2009 till December 2010. The position as a researcher at the Faculty of Humanities in the discipline of Hungarian Studies enabled me to work on the topic already in 2007 and 2008. The contacts created during these years have been extremely valuable in investigating the European Capital of Culture events in Pécs, Hungary. I want to thank Professor Péter Müller (University of Pécs), Professor Beáta Thomka (University of Pécs), M.A. Adrienn Bognár (University of Pécs), and PhD Kristóf Fenyvesi (University of Jyväskylä) for their help in the implementation of my field research in Pécs and for providing me ‘insider’ views from Pécs. Besides Pécs, the project has included field research periods in Tallinn and Turku. I wish to thank all my contacts in these cities for their help in realizing the study, particularly the coordinators of the European Capital of Culture Volunteer Programs and all the volunteers who assisted me in collecting and translating the data. The financial support of the University of Jyväskylä enabled my field research in Pécs as a Visiting