A1 Journal article (refereed)
Cosmopolitan internationalism : UNESCO’s ideological ambiguity and the difference/diversity problematic (2023)

Huttunen, M., Mohammed, S. B., & Pyykkönen, M. (2023). Cosmopolitan internationalism : UNESCO’s ideological ambiguity and the difference/diversity problematic. The International Journal of Cultural Policy, 29(5), 543-557. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2022.2096879

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Huttunen, Miia; Mohammed, Saeed Bin; Pyykkönen, Miikka

Journal or series: The International Journal of Cultural Policy

ISSN: 1028-6632

eISSN: 1477-2833

Publication year: 2023

Publication date: 15/07/2022

Volume: 29

Issue number: 5

Pages range: 543-557

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Publication country: United Kingdom

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2022.2096879

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/82809

Abstract

This article addresses the ways in which UNESCO’s ideological engagements are negotiated in the difference/diversity discourse as they are transferred from the international standard-setting level to the national and local contexts. It proposes the discursive construction of cosmopolitan internationalism as a framework for analysing the intersections of difference, located in the practicalities of internationalism, and diversity, tied to the ideals of cosmopolitanism, as they are manifested at the level of both the implementation of UNESCO’s Diversity Convention and urban policy making in the city of Sydney. The analysis suggests that ruptures challenging the homogenising diversity discourse rise from the national and local policy-making level, with such discourse simultaneously becoming an instrument for international differentiation. UNESCO’s normative cosmopolitan international tradition thus manifests itself as an obstacle against the emergence of transnational political spaces beyond the confines of the state, while it also carries with it a promise of facilitating such developments.

Keywords: internationality; international agreements; international organisations; discourse; diversity; dissimilarity; cosmopolitanism; world citizenship; ideologies; urban policy

Free keywords: UNESCO; cosmopolitan internationalism; difference; diversity; discourse

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2022

JUFO rating: 2