The spatialisation of para-diplomacy: The role of regional power dynamics in the development and operation of Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Taipei (Taiwan)

Abstract

Through a case study of Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Xinyi District, Taipei (Taiwan), this paper contributes to debates in creative city building by emphasising the importance of regional power-dynamics in shaping such spaces; and conceptualising the resulting entities as para-diplomatic modalities. The paper is based on a synthesis of policy documentation and academic accounts; and qualitative interviews and ethnographic data collected between 2016 and 2024. The main argument of the paper is that the logics that underpin the development of creative cities should not be solely understood through the language of neoliberal globalization as has so often been the case elsewhere. Rather we provide an explanation that contextualises Taiwan’s economic liberalisation, democratic ideals and cultural policy as emerging out of an absence of sovereign recognition, with particular reference to mainland China. We draw particular attention to the spatialisation of particular national values and identity in the development and operation of Songshan as a symbolic cultural space. In doing so we show how the park acts as a para-diplomatic modality managed by sub-state actors to spatialise and communicate values referring to cosmopolitanism, paternalism, and internationalism. We conclude by reiterating the explanatory power (and limits) of geo-politics when trying to understand the spatialisation of creative city agendas.