National identity in a changing international context

Abstract

This paper addresses the role history and heritage play in international cultural policy and the fundamental issues this evokes. First I will look at the way Dutch heritage and history have been part of the nations’ international cultural policy (ICP). For example, bilateral cultural treaties formed the foundation of the first policy initiatives in 1970. Some of these treaties explicitly addressed the common heritage and history. Research projects in e.g. South Africa and Indonesia on physical traces of the West Indies Company were funded through ICP. More recently, the celebration of historic relations has become an important instrument in ICP. Controversies around recent celebrations of historic ties with Morocco and Russia clearly emphasize historic ties should also be considered within the contemporary context. Through this case study I address the more fundamental question how countries use their past historic ties and tangible traces of this past in other countries to both shape and tell the narrative of their own national identity. Thus, also ethical questions about e.g. colonial history become part of the debate on national identity.