Intellectual challenges of cultural diversity. Some elements of theoretical deconstruction [CP-2009-2]

Placed at the foundation of the Unesco universal declaration in 2001, then taken into the European agenda, cultural diversity is a concept that appeared at the end of the 1960s, with recognition of the indigenous cultures of the decolonised nations. The present contribution proposes a critical chronological path for the concept from its appearance in the academic literature of economics and the communication sciences. It notably shows how, depending on the context, the cultural diversity argument can serve the political defence of cultural protectionism or find its strength in the benefits of free cultural exchange.