Strategic Studies Of Cultural Province

Culture, as part of soft power, has been recognized as strategically important to the development of a country or region. Therefore, cultural development strategies have become a significant part of China's national development strategy and a forefront topic in academic studies since year 2000. From 2003 on, provinces like Shanxi, Henan and Shandong have successively promulgated official documents to promote cultural development to build"culturally powerful provinces"and have put some strategic measures into practice. However, little study has been directed to the coordination of national, regional, and provincial cultural development strategies. Systematic study of cultural development strategies, especially comprehensive strategies integrating national, regional and provincial developments, will theoretically and practically contribute to decision-making and policy-making. Hence the present dissertation is directed at provincial cultural development strategies.Analyses and comparisons are conducted on the basis of relevant literature on cultural development strategies in the U.S.A., France, Korea as well as in our country. Instructed by system theory and using Shanxi, Henan and Shandong as samples, investigations are carried out about strategies on national, regional and provincial levels and about interrelations and interactions between such strategies. The research also absorbs methodologies from cultural studies, strategy studies, philosophy and policy studies to abstract useful principles.Guided by strategic theory and cultural soft power theory, this dissertation examines and analyzes the strategic orientation, resource organizing, strategic constituents, strategic effects in the construction of culturally powerful provinces.Based on analytic summaries of cultural development strategies at home and abroad, the dissertation analyzes provincial cultural development strategies, explores tactics in the application of relevant strategies, and tentatively advises some measures.Constituents and functions of soft power are then analyzed and the relationship between cultural development strategies and the promotion of soft power is explored. Foreign strategic models of cultural development are analyzed with the U.S.A., France and Korea as samples. It is revealed that these countries have clearly defined strategies and have systematic laws and policies about cultural development, including long-term plans, transparent and equal market access mechanisms, multi-channel investments, and systematic policies. Practice in these countries should be worth learning from for China.Evolution of new China's cultural development strategies is reviewed and some noteworthy points are drawn. A preliminary exploratory period spans from the founding of People's Republic to the birth of the opening up policy and the 30 odd years since opening up could be considered two stages: the first from 1978 to 1996 and the second from the Party's 15th Congress in 1997 on to now. The evolution of strategic thoughts about cultural development has many inspirations to strategic plan-making and strategy implementation on the provincial level.In recent years, Shanxi Province implemented various policies that support and encourage development of cultural causes and cultural enterprises and laid a solid foundation for social and economic leap-forward. Insights for culturally powerful province construction are drawn from analyses of strategic orientation of cultural development, resource organizing and strategic constituents, and achievements brought about by the policies.Henan Province set up well defined strategic goals, clearly formulated measures and powerful institutional support, which has effectively enhanced its construction of a culturally powerful province. The province's strategic orientation, resource organizing and strategic constituents are analyzed, and then on the basis of such analysis inspirations are abstracted from practical achievements.Shandong Province has been remarkably successful in consolidating the socialist value system, carrying forward traditional culture, cultural administrative mechanism innovating, and enhancing cultural causes and cultural enterprises. Enlightenments about culturally powerful province construction are crystallized from analyses of Shandong's successes.The research concludes that strategies on constructing culturally powerful provinces are of strategic significance. Cultural development will promote our country's comprehensive national strength and local socio-economic development. The dissertation puts forward suggestions on the making of cultural development strategies and on implementing measures, taking into consideration the general principles, the goals, the central tasks, the implementing measures, and the assessments.