Cultural Policy and Politics of Culture: communities and society

Abstract

All approaches to the Cultural Heritage subject dependent on a theoretical position. At first, when the social actors and researchers interested in the problem of cultural heritage, they took a position of defending and preserving its cultural legacy, owned by community. This awareness has been evolving over time. In fact, the importance and sense of cultural heritage in community life was understood only gradually. Over time, national and international institutions built a complex theoretical, legal and administrative collection, reflecting views and perceptions of the role of cultural heritage in community’s lives. It is in this process of political management that we have seen cultural policies and the definition of politics of culture in cultural heritage. And it is at this point that the interests, the ability to impose, or not, rules and procedures, the definition of objectives about selection and heritage purposes, - these have led to a conflict between institutions and actors, with the authority to define, and with communities composed of cultural actors.