Sharpening the Lens: Recent Research on Cultural Policy, Cultural Diversity, and Social Cohesion

Many of the assumptions surrounding "culture, connectedness, and social cohesion" must be held up to sharper scrutiny, including the nostalgia for a return to simpler times, when cultural consensus and social cohesion seemed easier to achieve. The challenge is not one of "repairing fractured cohesion" or "renewing civil society," but rather of envisioning a new civic realm where diversity is supported by more empirically grounded foundations for claims regarding the interconnections amongst these phenomena. Although we must acknowledge the enormous power of globalizing markets and communications systems, we also need to resist a simplistic equation of these factors with homogenizing cultural trends. Our current discourses related to culture, diversity, and social cohesion require a complete rethinking before we can proceed with policies to respond effectively.