Lokal kulturpolitik på 2000-talet? En ideologianalys av fem kommunala kulturpolitiska visionsdokument.
This Master?s thesis explores and describes the beliefs, values and norms in a selection of five Swedish municipal cultural policy documents approved 2005-2007. The comprehensive question is: Which ideological traits characterize cultural policy in the chosen municipalities as communicated in their respective cultural policy vision document? The method used is ideology analysis. Ideal types based on a model by Dorte Skot-Hansen are used as a conceptual framework, illustrating three different rationalities in relation to cultural policy: the humanistic, the sociological and the market oriented. The analysis shows that the policy documents are based on different conceptions of culture. Concepts with a marked presence in the material as a whole are availability, participation, prioritization of children and youth and culture as a means for social development and economic growth. In terms of rationality the market oriented and the sociological rationalities are strong, whereas the humanistic rationality is relatively weaker. However, the results are not unambiguous. One conclusion drawn is that the municipal policy documents display a relatively high degree of independence towards the Swedish national cultural policy goals from 1996. Another conclusion is that in the midst of the 21st century it has been possible for the municipalities to choose different paths for the cultural policy on the local level.