Cultural networking: Rhetoric, policy and practice in Portugal

The article examines the content and functionality of the concept of cultural networking, considering the context of dense social and institutional processes and recurring to available empirical data. The assumption is that fruitful sociological comparison needs the consideration of real and specific cases, if one wants to avoid the mimesis of administrative jargon or the ritual repetition of empty generalities. For this test, an interesting case can be found in Portugal. It points out a balance between two main uses of the concept and method of networking. One refers to 'macro-policies', defined and implemented, in a rather top-down paradigm, by national authorities. The other one relates to meso- or micro-practices and to bottom-up strategies, whose protagonists are mainly local authorities, cultural institutions and artists. In both ways, networking proves to be an efficient tool both for policy and to cultural agency.