Despite a strong state, civil society has always been strong in Belarus. The modern, post-capitalist model of its development, like the socialist model, is directed to the activation of the community, the acceptance by the community of active participation in the solution of problems more or less directly related to it. On this path, transformation and changes in the relations of models of governance are taking place: the models of participatory control, of the post-nonclassical type, are gaining more and more importance. We need an integrative historical analysis of traditions and innovations in the management of cultures and other spheres in different countries, a comparison of the success (productivity and effectiveness) of different management models. Such a comparison, conducted by us, shows that innovations in managing cultural and cultural institutions of countries and regions in general are based on the traditions of self-government and complicity existing in different countries. Centralized management shapes a-culture and mass culture, emasculating the meanings of traditions and values. Participative management restores these meanings, serves the development of culture, including the culture of people’s relations in education and science, art and technology, etc.