Authors

1 Tehran University

2 Department of Social Studies, Tehran municipality

3 Institute For Culture, Art And Communications

Abstract

Cultural policy is a controversial issue in academic and political sphere in Iran. Based on the findings of this research, it can be claimed that ambiguity is one the key peculiarities of cultural policy as a policy sector in Iran. This ambiguity is expressed in different ways in terms of policy contents, expectations, mechanism and outcomes. This situation makes the policy sector a subject of political conflicts, policy inconsistencies and evaluation challenges. Differences between ambiguity as a consequential effect of the structural characteristics of the policy sector and as a deliberate choice for policy makers are identified. The results of these in terms of the policy forms that are generated for the cultural sector, and the creation of disagreement about these, and about the rationality and legitimacy of cultural policies are discussed. Also, the results of ambiguity in terms of expectations, clarity, implementation effectiveness and the control of policy are taken into consideration.

Keywords

 
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