Addressing cultural policy from a critical and multi-dimensional perspective, this study draws upon the work of Pierre Bourdiew, Michel Foucault and Jurgen Habermas. It discusses such areas as the American "culture ware" and the "post-Fordist" restructuring of the cultural industries.

Jim McGuigan discusses cultural policy as a manifestation of cultural politics in the widest sense. Illustrating his case with examples from recent cultural policy initiatives in Britain, the United States and Australia, he looks at: * The rise of market reasoning in arts administration * Urban regeneration and the arts * Heritage tourism * Race, identity and cultural citizenship * Censorship and moral regulation * The role of computer-mediated communication in democratic discourse