ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a very short overview of concepts of culture in political science. Cultures are political constructions aiming at the creation of collective identities and the differentiation from other collective identities. Every political system needs forms of collective identity and this holds especially true for democracy. The community of citizens needs closer bonds in order to develop solidarity between the citizens and loyalty of the citizens towards the political system both necessary conditions of democracy. Frequently, cultural policies are understood as a soft form of political intervention, above all within external policies. Cultural identifications are necessary for democratic societies. For democratic societies, freedom of the arts is an important basic principle. Still, in most democratic societies, the state regulates cultural and artistic production by laws and by financial support. Fundamentally, freedom of the arts and democratic governance exclude each other.
