Les cultures fragiles. L'UNESCO et la diversite culturelle (2001--2007)

Since the ratification of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions -- UNESCO (2007) --, cultural expressions are now protected species under the umbrella of international law.;Emerging from various negotiations and debates about cultural goods and services in various international fora, a major political mobilization took place at the turn of the millennium. It mostly materialized through the concept of "cultural diversity", which served as a catalyst for the elaboration of a legally binding instrument within UNESCO. Nothing sums up better the argument brought forth than the recurring mantra which could be heard inside and outside UNESCO: "culture is a commodity like no other". Why? Mainly, it is argued, because of what it expresses -- identity, values and meaning. The diversity of cultural expressions is therefore able to better represent the diversity of cultures on an increasingly globalized scene.;The materialization of the issue of cultural diversity was mainly a reaction to the multiplication of multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements in the 80s and 90s. By placing cultural diversity as a counterpoint to a globalization seen as too narrowly economic in its scope, the promoters of the project wanted to emphasize its neglected cultural dimension. "Cultural diversity" had apparently already drawn the necessary traits of a globalization with a human face and it was now important to put them to the forefront.;This research therefore focuses on the emergence of this concept and its international dissemination. An ethnographic approach examines its use, the host institution (UNESCO), the debates surrounding the multiplication of actors in the course of its institutionalization, and of course the established consensus. I attempt to identify some key conceptual issues underpinning the field of an international intervention made on behalf of a cultural diversity that was about to be invented.;Keywords: cultural diversity, UNESCO, ethnography, anthropology of institutions, aesthetics, globalization, international politics.