Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Issue 1 | Page 93

Cultural Stratification and Cultural Policies:
Perspectives of Cultural Globalism,
The Case of Croatia
Nada Švob-Đokić
Dr. Nada Švob-Đokić is a Senior Researcher Emeritus in the Culture and Communication
Department at the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), Zagreb. Her
main research interests include cultural and media transitions and public policies in these areas,
cultural globalization, and cultural identity studies.
Abstract
In this article, the processes of cultural stratification are explored as related
to the context of globalism. The globalized cultural context enables fast and
effective exchange of content, values, symbols, and meanings within the
newly created cultural spaces (in Southeast Europe) and thus influences
cultural change reflected in the processes of cultural stratification within
national cultures. Although the stratification processes are not always fully
transparent, standardized, or clearly visible, certain types of culture can be
distinguished and these are described here as institutional culture, independent
culture, and market-oriented culture. Functional links among these cultural
types have not always been entirely established, but they nevertheless lead
to different approaches to cultural policy making. An illustration of such
situation is put forward by the presentation of the Croatian case. The roles
and potential functioning of cultural policies are explored in this respect.
It is observed that cultural policies tend to decentralize and diversify; they
tend to encompass an increased cultural production and cultural exchange,
but their functional responses to global influences and the issuing cultural
stratification are weak and often inconsistent.
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