Cultural Diplomacy and International Cultural Relations in Twentieth-Century Europe

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHARLOTTE FAUCHER
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Cultural Diplomacy ◽  
Transnational History ◽  
Diplomatic History ◽  
Synthetic Approach ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
Fourth Volume ◽  
National Boundaries ◽  
Twentieth Century Europe

In a 2004 review essay on transnational history published in the pages of this journal, Akira Iriye discussed the ‘internationalisation of scholarship’ and concluded that ‘historians easily cross oceans and traverse national boundaries’. The books under review here offer a striking example of this internationalisation, not only in their geographical remit but equally in the transnational interests and collaboration of their authors. Three of them are edited volumes – which, in their showcasing of different approaches, methodologies and topics, are particularly suited to addressing the hybrid nature of cultural diplomacy. Their rich variety of case studies reveals the interplay of micro and macro history, as well as the complex relations between local, national and transnational, as well as between governmental and non-governmental historical actors. The fourth volume is a jointly authored work by François Chaubet and Laurent Martin that presents a synthetic approach to cultural exchange, the relations between culture and policy and cultural globalisation. Together these recent books represent the evolution of a cultural approach to diplomatic history and international relations, epitomised by an interest in ‘soft power’ and closely shaped by the development of transnational history, entangled history (histoire croisée) and the study of cultural transfers. As such, they allow a more cumulative consideration of the roles and meanings of cultural diplomacy in twentieth-century Europe.

Public Diplomacy Conceptualised

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Bowman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Cultural Diplomacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
Theoretical Rationale ◽  
British Council ◽  
United States Information Agency ◽  
Definition Of

This chapter outlines the theoretical rationale behind the book’s argument that the Pilgrims Society’s activities during the first half of the twentieth century were a nascent form of public diplomacy and that they contributed to the development of later, more official, public diplomacy organisations like the British Council, the Division of Cultural Relations, and the United States Information Agency. In so doing, this chapter analyses the historical orthodoxies surrounding public diplomacy and offers a definition of the concept that will applied across the rest of the book. The chapter also establishes how concepts of public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, associational culture, and elite networking intersect and why this intersection is important to the Pilgrims Society.

Flemish versus Netherlandish: A Discourse of Nationalism

1998 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Deam
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Panel Painting ◽  
National Boundaries ◽  
National Programs ◽  
A Site ◽  
Twentieth Century Europe ◽  
Artistic Tradition

AbstractThis essay shows how scholarship on fifteenth-century Flemish panel painting became intertwined with efforts at national identity-building in nineteenth and early twentieth-century Europe. Paintings such as Jan van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece were not only dispersed across regional and national boundaries, but were intellectually appropriated for competing national programs. The paintings consequently became a site of conflict between the Latin and Germanic traditions. These conflicts are clearly visible through the shifting terminology of this art, variously claimed as “Flemish” and “Netherlandish.” Such nationalist discourses shaped future scholarship on Flemish painting and contributed to its perceived inferiority vis-à-vis the Southern artistic tradition.

The Case of Iranian Cultural Diplomacy in Syria

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia von Maltzahn
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Cultural Diplomacy ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Syrian Population ◽  
Conventional Methods ◽  
The Government ◽  
Islamic Values

AbstractThe study of intra-regional use of soft power in the Middle East has received little attention to date. This article focuses on the case of revolutionary Iran's cultural diplomacy in Syria, to throw light on the Iranian government's efforts to promote its Islamic values and build relationships between the two peoples. After introducing the Islamic Republic's motivations in establishing cultural relations abroad, the article examines the goals and content of Iran's cultural diplomacy work in Syria, against the background of bilateral relations. It will become clear that Islamic Iran understands the importance of soft power in advancing its ideas and establishing lasting links. The government utilizes conventional methods of cultural diplomacy and tries to reach out to the Syrian population at large. Whilst the Syrian regime cooperates with its ally, the initiative comes from the Iranian side. The study is based on field work in Syria in 2008, drawing on interviews and publications from the Iranian Cultural Chancellery in Damascus.

Prospects for the Development of Russian-African Cooperation in the Cultural and Humanitarian Sphere

2020 ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
Olga Konstantinova
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Science And Culture ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Russian Education ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Russian Universities ◽  
The Russian Language

The relations between Russia and Africa today go to a new level. This was successfully demonstrated by the first Russia-Africa Summit. The «soft power» that is capable of creating an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding and supporting the further development of political, economic, and cultural relations between the Russian and African peoples is of great importance for the further advancement of Russia’s interests, which is considered in this article. Currently, the «soft power» of Russia in Africa is represented by the activities of the Russian centers of science and culture, the «Russkiy Mir» Foundation, schools at the Russian Embassies in African countries, the education of Africans in Russian universities and more. However, the author concludes that Russia does not fully use «soft power» on the continent. It is necessary to increase the number of Africans studying the Russian language, to more actively promote Russian education, to involve compatriots and graduates of Soviet / Russian universities to joint projects, which will undoubtedly contribute to the further development of mutually beneficial Russian-African ties.

The Gallic Singularity and the Royal Mistress

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-66
Author(s):  
Christine Adams
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Political Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Marie Antoinette ◽  
Louis Xvi ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Political Realm

The relationship of the French king and royal mistress, complementary but unequal, embodied the Gallic singularity; the royal mistress exercised a civilizing manner and the soft power of women on the king’s behalf. However, both her contemporaries and nineteenth- and early twentieth-century historians were uncomfortable with the mistress’s political power. Furthermore, paradoxical attitudes about French womanhood have led to analyses of her role that are often contradictory. Royal mistresses have simultaneously been celebrated for their civilizing effect in the realm of culture, chided for their frivolous expenditures on clothing and jewelry, and excoriated for their dangerous meddling in politics. Their increasing visibility in the political realm by the eighteenth century led many to blame Louis XV’s mistresses—along with Queen Marie-Antoinette, who exercised a similar influence over her husband, Louis XVI—for the degradation and eventual fall of the monarchy. This article reexamines the historiography of the royal mistress.

British Council as an Instrument of Public Diplomacy of Great Britain

2017 ◽  
pp. 305-312
Author(s):  
Mykola Trofymenko
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Cultural Diplomacy ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
British Council ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

Public diplomacy of Great Britain is one of the most developed in the EU and in the world. The United Kingdom has developed an extremely efficient public diplomacy mechanism which includes BBC World Service (which due to its popularity boosts the reputation and the image of Great Britain), Chevening Scholarships (provides outstanding foreign students with opportunity to study in Great Britain and thus establishes long-lasting relations with public opinion leaders and foreign countries elite) and the British Council, which deals with international diplomatic ties in the field of culture. The British Council is a unique organization. Being technically independent, it actively and efficiently works on consolidating Great Britain’s interests in the world and contributes to the development of public diplomacy in Great Britain.   The author studies the efforts of the British Council as a unique public diplomacy tool of the United Kingdom. Special attention is paid to the role of British Council, which is independent of the governing board and at the same time finds itself under the influence of the latter due to the peculiarities of the appointment of Board’s officials, financing etc. The author concludes that the British Council is a unique organization established in 1934, which is a non-departmental state body, charitable organization and public corporation, technically independent of the government. The British Council, thanks to its commercial activities covers the lack of public funding caused by the policy of economy conducted by the government. It has good practices in this field worth paying attention by other countries. It is also worth mentioning that the increment in profit was getting higher last year, however the issue of increasing the influence of the government on the activities of British Council is still disputable. Although the Foreign Minister officially reports to the parliament on the activities of the British Council, approves the appointment of the leaders of organizations, the British Council preserves its independence of the government, which makes it more popular abroad, and makes positive influence on the world image of Great Britain. The efficiency of the British Council efforts on fulfillment of targets of the United Kingdom public diplomacy is unquestionable, no matter how it calls its activities: whether it is a cultural relations establishment or a cultural diplomacy implementation. Keywords: The British Council, public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, cultural relations, Foreign Office, Her Majesty’s Government, official assistance for development

Levantine Art in the “Orientalizing” Period

2019 ◽  
pp. 369-383
Author(s):  
Marian H. Feldman
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
The West ◽  
False Dichotomy ◽  
First Millennium

The “Orientalizing period” represents a scholarly designation used to describe the eighth and seventh centuries bce when regions in Greece, Italy, and farther west witnessed a flourishing of arts and cultures attributed to contact with cultural areas to the east—in particular that of the Phoenicians. This chapter surveys Orientalizing as an intellectual and historiographic concept and reconsiders the role of purportedly Phoenician arts within the existing scholarly narratives. The Orientalizing period should be understood as a construct of nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholarship that was structured around a false dichotomy between the Orient (the East) and the West. The designation “Phoenician” has a similarly complex historiographic past rooted in ancient Greek stereotyping that has profoundly shaped modern scholarly interpretations. This chapter argues that the luxury arts most often credited as agents of Orientalization—most prominent among them being carved ivories, decorated metal bowls, and engraved tridacna shells—cannot be exclusively associated with a Phoenician cultural origin, thus calling into question the primacy of the Phoenicians in Orientalizing processes. Each of these types of objects appears to have a much broader production sphere than is indicated by the attribute as Phoenician. In addition, the notion of unidirectional influences flowing from east to west is challenged, and instead concepts of connectivity and networking are proposed as more useful frameworks for approaching the problem of cultural relations during the early part of the first millennium bce.

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