Neo-colonialism in cultural governance in the EU: a Maltese case study

Abstract

The case of cultural governance in Malta will be assessed to throw light on neo-colonialist practices persistent in relations between the European Union (EU) and Member States today. A sense of continuity between British rule in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and current cultural governance in Malta seems to have facilitated EU support of neo-liberal economic approaches to culture. It will be argued that this tension has allowed nationalistic tendencies and the instrumental use of the sector to grow. The term ‘culture’ is interpreted following Edward Said with regard to the acknowledgment of general social practices together with the struggle for the assertion of identities. This paper makes the case that the adherence of the EU to the principle of subsidiarity in culture, combined with the prioritisation of economic principles, seem to have compromised cultural development in Malta through the dilution of a critical approach towards cultural practice. This strategic approach seems to have enabled the continuation of a colonial framework by enabling the subtle yet pervasive dominance of culture by the state elite.