Speakers
Description
In times of war, culture and the arts are often among the first to face budget cuts and censorship. Yet, cultural policy does not simply disappear; it is reconfigured, taking on new roles and meanings. This paper examines how municipal policymakers in Tel Aviv navigate cultural policy during wartime, both as a case study and as a basis for developing a typology of the roles culture assumes in such contexts. We ask: What does ‘culture’ become in a time of war? and explore how city officials adapt strategies, reallocate resources, understand and redefine the place of culture in the urban fabric. Through an analysis of policy documents, municipal initiatives, and interviews with policy actors, we seek to identify key ways in which Tel Aviv’s policymakers are responding to the current multifaceted crisis in Israel—a time of military conflict intersecting with severe internal socio-political conflicts. We examine how policy actors position culture as a tool for fostering solidarity, manage shifting priorities, and negotiate the city’s evolving identity in wartime. In particular, we investigate how the City of Tel Aviv balances its reputation as a liberal, cosmopolitan hub with its role in the national struggle, exploring potential tensions between maintaining cultural openness and demonstrating patriotic commitment. Situating Tel Aviv’s case within scholarship on urban cultural policy in crisis, global cities in wartime, and liberal cities operating within states experiencing democratic backsliding, this study develops a typology of cultural policy responses to war. As conflicts continue to shape urban governance worldwide, this framework offers a comparative perspective on how municipalities respond to the cultural challenges of wartime.
| Keywords | arts and culture policy, wartime, globalization, urban autonomy |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
