SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

My main area of research concerns the relevance of governmental funding for international culture and academic exchange. In this time of fiscal austerity, as we are currently witnessing around the world, I am interested in analysing and exploring the polar opposite approaches to this issue. One view holds that even with drastic cuts in public spending in these fields the impact will be negligible.  The counter-argument suggests that such cuts would have a deleterious impact on international relations and mutual cross-cultural understanding, causing irreparable damage.  How do we prove which view is correct?  I would like to identify, if possible, concrete cases that back up these arguments to arrive at a conclusion that is not based merely on political conjecture or media hype.