Canada and the cultural trade quandary: Rethinking national identity, economic liberalization, and policy capacity

Twin themes inspire this study: Canadian concern over the import of American entertainment, which pre-dates Confederation and is part of the reason for cultural policy; and suspicion over cultural globalization, the contemporary notion that national cultures are being diluted and homogenized. The issue—the quandary—becomes focussed at two levels: for policy, over how to reconcile cultural measures with trade liberalization; for mass communication theory, over the idea that cultural products (motion pictures, TV programming, books, magazines, and sound recording) have a role beyond entertainment to reflect domestic culture and foster national identity. The question of how, exactly, foreign entertainment content influences domestic culture and identity has been a scholarly blindspot.;It is my thesis that through a consideration of the theories, and review of the literature, on cross-cultural influence we will be able to better reconcile Canadian cultural policy with trade liberalization. To demonstrate that the International Instrument on Cultural Diversity (IICD) merits serious attention, the first part of the study surveys how different trade systems treat cultural products, then goes on to analyze the proposed texts and the two-level politics of implementation. The theoretical part of the study follows two avenues. Looking for a direct answer, it reviews the theoretical development and empirical experiments of several approaches to the cross-cultural influence question. Indirectly, the concepts of national identity and culture are examined in order to determine valid limits for claims of influence and change.;It will be argued that the new approach of seeking rules-based recognition is superior to the older route of pursuing an exemption. The policy portion concludes in favour of cautious optimism: that the IICD, looking like it will be adopted by 2005, will soften trade dispute norms in the cultural sector despite the uncertain relationship between the IICD and institutions of international trade and politics. The conceptual portion will synthesize several points that should be foundational for any policy prescription: while trade of cultural products is global, interpretation remains local; interpretation is shaped by numerous factors of socialization, which lead away from concluding for direct influence; and that philosophical and methodological challenges inherent in national identity and culture impose formidable limits to any claim of change.