ABSTRACT
The shaping of international culture implies more than the machinations of economic and political imperialism or the diffusion of ‘popular’ culture (Smith 1990:179). It also involves the existence of powerful processes of exchange and competition, influences motivated by merit, curiosity and longterm perspectives. Ulf Hannerz observes that world culture ‘is created through increasing interconnectedness of varied local cultures’ and the development of those ‘without a clear anchorage in any one territory’ (1990:237). But this is theoretically too general for my purpose. These processes need to be explained and understood; yet, talk of culture or its globalization famously invites a special kind of pedantry.
