10.34934/DVN/XDGDVRDewinter, HanneHanneDewinter0000-0002-0049-3744Vrije Universiteit BrusselSocial Sciences and Digital Humanities Archive – SODHA2025Arts and HumanitiesSocial SciencesCultural policyParticipationCultural policyParticipationDiscourse analysisDewinter, HanneHanneDewinterVrije Universiteit BrusselHanne DewinterHanneDewinterVrije Universiteit BrusselHanne DewinterHanneDewinterSocial Sciences & Digital Humanities Archive2025-03-312025-11-132026-01-082024-10-01/2025-03-31Cultural policy documents (textual data)DOI: 10.1080/10286632.2025.258390611342514857565321821021799170426022724712558959692614876224026214169123785120007325089623084646529378630233444423914715839490513284827165947910623403811103652310708591879231744147661099898528510551229434787990885049396017986513496420825932243622823656977704438112437772075591408941246807292574635136128148533985313741512105369887141304667155538686557815345361984251061801030394146677623551491099907105591658446411812220619118464437137813380413508382230401566338494484484093398843358428546878010322615726535060081413417031038811077924172562190761678924440569020672887578316967632878120754369112460643802869380467827656801404763536008145744212032620579793541820821427105355680966742941958681131143402280395517616108672375129233336875969132152177483459243269734873663880539509431587305936830753202437100374011452313962691213171671775330342208546174764application/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.documentapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.documentapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdf2.0CC0 1.0This dataset contains 140 Flemish cultural policy documents published between 1990 and 2024. The collection includes strategic notes, policy plans, evaluation reports, ministerial briefs, and other official texts. The dataset was compiled for a critical discourse analysis examining how the rhetoric of participation is mobilised within Flemish cultural policy over time. The accompanying study identifies underlying paradigms and traces patterns, shifts, tensions, and omissions in participatory discourses across three decades of policymaking. The dataset enables researchers to explore how notions of participation relate to broader political, cultural, and institutional power dynamics. All documents were collected from public governmental sources or official archival portals.Nvivo, 14The historical sources in this dataset originate from official Flemish governmental institutions responsible for cultural policy between 1990 and 2024. The documents were originally produced and published by policy actors such as the Government of Flanders, the Department of Culture, Youth and Media, the Flemish Ministers of Culture, and related administrative bodies. All sources represent authentic policy documents released in their original context and retrieved from publicly accessible governmental websites, parliamentary archives, and institutional repositories.The sources consist of official Flemish cultural policy documents produced between 1990 and 2024. They include policy notes, strategic plans, ministerial communications, decrees, evaluation reports, and other administrative texts that articulate cultural policy priorities and frameworks. The documents vary in length, format, and institutional authorship, but all share a formal, policy-oriented character.All documents included in the dataset were collected from publicly accessible Flemish governmental platforms and institutional archives. Access to the original sources was unrestricted at the time of collection. Additional documentation includes a codebook that outlines the analytical framework and coding procedures used in the accompanying discourse analysis.The dataset consists of textual documentary data. It contains 140 Flemish cultural policy documents published between 1990 and 2024, including policy notes, strategic plans, ministerial communications, and evaluation reports. All materials are provided in their original textual format (primarily PDF). A codebook is included to document the analytical framework used in the accompanying critical discourse analysis.The article accompanying this dataset investigates how the rhetoric of participation operates within Flemish cultural policy. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis of 140 policy documents (1990–2024), we identify underlying paradigms and trace patterns, shifts, tensions, and notable omissions over time. By doing so, we redirect attention toward questions of power and authority, revealing how participatory discourses both shape—and are shaped by—broader political and cultural power relations.Vrije Universiteit BrusselFWO Vlaanderen1231825N