The promise of Cultural and Creative Industries as a development pathway has spread with remarkable speed and, too often, with insufficient scrutiny. Through detailed analysis of policy experiments across diverse contexts, this book challenges the often-celebratory narratives around creative industry development by examining how institutional structures shape both successes and systemic failures. The author provides a nuanced critique of how institutional contexts - from funding mechanisms to power dynamics - fundamentally shape policy outcomes. Drawing on Global North and South cases, it demonstrates how similar policies produce markedly different results across institutional settings, often reproducing existing inequalities. For scholars and policy professionals committed to understanding creative industries as a genuine force for development, this book offers an indispensable critical framework that will be valuable reading for scholars and reflective policy professionals around the world.
