ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT LOCAL LEVEL: A STUDY OF UNESCO’S INITIATIVE THROUGH CREATIVE CITIES NETWORK

Luerdi Luerdi

Abstract


Sustainable development is a global shared agenda that has been discussed by global communities. Such agenda has, too, been a strong commitment among cities thanks to the role of international organizations like UNESCO with its initiative called the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). Through the Network, UNESCO has contributed to enhancing sustainable development at the local level in terms of the development of creative and cultural industries. This study aims to describe such a role with a few specific objectives; to shed light on what norm the organization has embraced, how it has influenced membership of cities and maintained their commitment, and how it has promoted intercity cooperation. This research applied the qualitative method and the constructivist approach as well as the concept of norm entrepreneurship. The findings demonstrate that UNESCO plays its role as a norm entrepreneur in which sustainable development has been a global norm constructing its shared identity and conviction. Performing as a norm entrepreneur, UNESCO acts upon the role of agenda-setting and norm advocacy to introduce the idea of the UCCN and convince cities of the importance of sustainable urban development through creative assets. While socialization and the Network’s membership application process contribute to diffusing the norm to the cities, reporting and monitoring are projected to be mechanisms to maintain the membership commitment. Finally, gathering events within the UCCN platform offers the opportunity to cooperate and strengthen ties between member cities as a further way to institutionalize the norm. This paper offers a perspective that international organizations with significant normative power and policy innovation turn them into important actors in global politics of sustainable development. 


Keywords


UNESCO; Creative Cities Network; sustainable development; constructivism; norm entrepreneur

Full Text:

PDF

References


Arcos-Pumarola, J., Paquin, A. G., & Sitges, M. H. (2023). The use of intangible heritage and creative industries as a tourism asset in the UNESCO creative cities network. Heliyon, 9, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13106

Barnett, M., & Finnemore, M. (1999). The Politics, Power, and Pathologies of International Organizations. International Organization, 53(4), 699–732. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2601307

Barnett, M., & Finnemore, M. (2004). Rules for the world: international organizations in global politics. Cornell University Press.

Biermann, F., Kanie, N., & Kim, R. E. (2017). Global governance by goal-setting: the novel approach of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 26–27, 26–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.01.010

Björkdahl, A. (2002). From Idea to Norm: Promoting Conflict Prevention. Lund University. https://lucris.lub.lu.se/ws/portalfiles/portal/4776970/4770178.pdf

Björkdahl, A. (2008). Norm advocacy: A small state strategy to influence the EU. Journal of European Public Policy, 15(1), 135–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501760701702272

Cities of Literature. (n.d.). Dublin. Retrieved April 13, 2024, from https://www.citiesoflit.com/dublin

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2017). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publication, Inc.

Dannenberg, A., Lumkowsky, M., Carlton, E. K., & Victor, D. G. (2023). Naming and shaming as a strategy for enforcing the Paris Agreement: The role of political institutions and public concern. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2018). Introduction: The Discipline and Practice of Qualitative Research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (5th ed., pp. 29–71). Sage Publication, Inc.

Finnemore, M., & Sikkink, K. (1998). International Norm Dynamics and Political Change. International Organization, 52(4), 887–917. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315236339-14

Friedrich Naumann Foundation. (2022). Norm Entrepreneurship: The Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism. file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/d7_book.pdf

Gathen, C., Skoglund, W., & Laven, D. (2021). The UNESCO Creative Cities Network: A Case Study of City Branding. In C. Bevilacqua, F. Calabrò, & L. Della Spina (Eds.), New Metropolitan Perspectives: Knowledge Dynamics and Innovation-driven Policies Towards Urban and Regional Transition (pp. 727–737). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48279-4_68

Guimarães, A. D., Ribeiro, S. B., & Machado, A. F. (2021). Repercussion of the label in a comparative analysis of indicators: the case of two UNESCO Creative Cities. Creative Industries Journal, 14(2), 152–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/17510694.2020.1796461

Hassan, S., & Gil-Garcia, J. R. (2008). Institutional Theory and E-Government Research. In G. D. Garson & M. Khosrow-Pour (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Public Information Technology (pp. 349–360). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-857-4.ch034

Hurd, I. (2009). Constructivism. In C. Reus-Smit & D. Snidal (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Relations. (pp. 298–316). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199219322.003.0017

Katzenstein, P. . (1996). Introduction: Alternative Perspectives on National Security. In P. J. Katzenstein (Ed.), The Culture of National Security: Norms and Identity in World Politics (pp. 1–12). Columbia University Press.

Keck, M. E., & Sikkink, K. (2014). Activists beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Cornell University Press. https://doi.org/10.7591/9780801471292

Keman, H. (2017). Institutionalization. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/institutionalization

Luerdi, L. (2023). Jakarta’s city branding as para-diplomacy: beyond greening stadium and race. JANUS NET E-Journal of International Relations, 14(1), 142–169. https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.14.1.9

Nadelmann, E. A. (1990). Global prohibition regimes: the evolution of norms in international society. International Organization, 44(4), 479–526. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2706851

O’Connor, J., Gu, X., & Kho Lim, M. (2020). Creative cities, creative classes and the global modern. City, Culture and Society, 21(July), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccs.2020.100344

Park, S. (2005). Norm diffusion within international organizations: a case study of the World Bank. Journal of International Relations and Development, 8(2), 111–141. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jird.1800051

Pearson, D., & Pearson, T. (2017). Branding Food Culture: UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 23(3), 342–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/10454446.2014.1000441

Rosi, M. (2014). Branding or sharing? The dialectics of labeling and cooperation in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. City, Culture and Society, 5(2), 107–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccs.2014.05.002

Sapporo. (2021). UNESCO Creative Cities Monitoring Report. https://www.city.sapporo.jp/kikaku/creativecity/en/documents/smallmmr2021english.pdf

Saurugger, S. (2016). Constructivism and agenda setting. In N. Zahariadis (Ed.), Handbook of Public Policy Agenda Setting (pp. 132–153). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781784715922.00016

Shannon, V. (2017). International Norms and Foreign Policy. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.442

Tsuruoka Creative City of Gastronomy Promotion Committee. (n.d.). Exchange Opportunities. Retrieved April 13, 2024, from https://www.tsuruokagastronomy.com/chef-exchange

UCCN. (n.d.-a). About Creative Cities Network. Retrieved March 30, 2024, from https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/home

UCCN. (n.d.-b). Annual Conference. Retrieved April 13, 2024, from https://www.unesco.org/en/creative-cities/annual-conference?hub=80094

UCCN. (n.d.-c). Mission Statement. https://doi.org/10.53720/kkkl6777

UCCN. (2007). Creative Cities Network, Program and Meeting Document. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000156026#:~:text=Year of publication&text=The Creative Cities Network was,UNESCO’s goals of cultural diversity.

UCCN. (2021). UCCN Guidelines for the Membership Monitoring Report. https://webarchive.unesco.org/web/20240312084628/https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/sites/default/files/membership_monitoring_reporting_guidelines_2021.pdf

United Nations. (n.d.). Sustainability. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability

Wendt, A. (1992). Anarchy is what States Make of it: The Social Construction of Power Politics. International Organization, 46(2), 391–425. https://doi.org/10.2307/2706858

Xiaomin, C. (2017). “City of Gastronomy” of UNESCO Creative Cities Network- From International Criteria to Local Practice. Social System Research, 7(Special Issue), 55–68. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.34382/00004051

Yılmaz, G., Kılıçarslan, D., & Caber, M. (2020). How does a destination’s food image serve the common targets of the UNESCO creative cities network? International Journal of Tourism Cities, 6(4), 785–812. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-07-2019-0115

Zhu, H., & Yasami, M. (2021). Developing gastronomic resources: practices of UNESCO creative cities of gastronomy. Geojournal of Tourism and Geosites, 39(4), 1406–1414. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.394spl11-784




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24014/jel.v14i2.29463

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Statistik Counter:

 

Flag Counter

Indexed by :