The Bridges of Ideas: Transnational Network of the Book Program for Eastern Europe, 1956-1990

<div>This proposed contribution reflects on how one, relatively small U.S.-led program of cultural diplomacy shaped the attitude of Polish intellectuals towards liberalization and openness to the free world during the Cold War. The importance of the topic lies in the fact that this long-lasting literary service could be considered as a vital tool for creating more space for political and cultural freedom in Soviet-bloc countries. The program represented the spirit of solidarity and friendship between Eastern Europe and the U.S. that, even now, should not be forgotten. That thirty years after the book program ended, Eastern Europe still lacks a transnational perspective on defending universal liberal values and the process of gaining freedom in the region before 1989 demonstrates the importance of bringing the Eastern and Western narratives closer together, by reexamining the legacy of the book program today.</div>

The Bridges of Ideas: Transnational Network of the Book Program for Eastern Europe, 1956-1990

<div>This proposed contribution reflects on how one, relatively small U.S.-led program of cultural diplomacy shaped the attitude of Polish intellectuals towards liberalization and openness to the free world during the Cold War. The importance of the topic lies in the fact that this long-lasting literary service could be considered as a vital tool for creating more space for political and cultural freedom in Soviet-bloc countries. The program represented the spirit of solidarity and friendship between Eastern Europe and the U.S. that, even now, should not be forgotten. That thirty years after the book program ended, Eastern Europe still lacks a transnational perspective on defending universal liberal values and the process of gaining freedom in the region before 1989 demonstrates the importance of bringing the Eastern and Western narratives closer together, by reexamining the legacy of the book program today.</div>

The Inquisition Censorship and Pensées by Johan Turesson Oxenstierna (1666–1733) In Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-century Spain

In the eighteenth century, the French anthology Pensées of Johan Turesson Oxenstierna was well known in Europe. In Spain, the Inquisition's influence over cultural, social and political spheres determined the content of the book. The translation and circulation of this work was an example of how to outwit the Inquisition censorship, and also a symbolic defence of religious and cultural freedom.

“Forces for peace because of the magic in them”: Processes of Anglo-Soviet musical exchange c.1959-1974

Musical histories of the Cold War frequently emphasise the impact of American musical tours to socialist countries and the ‘weaponisation’ of modernist music, supposedly representative of the cultural freedom exclusive to the capitalist West, against the strict confines of Socialist Realism. This narrative, however, denies the vast output of classical music from the USSR and the brilliance of Soviet classical musicians, who consistently dominated international music competitions.&nbsp; &nbsp;This paper explores the British reception of visiting Soviet classical musicians to the UK from a multi-layered perspective. Starting with an analysis of the ways Anglo-Soviet musical exchanges were carried out through official government agreements, it goes beyond the traditional political focus to highlight the hitherto neglected role of British impresarios Victor and Lilian Hochhauser in coordinating Anglo-Soviet musical exchanges, and their fundamental importance to the success of such performances in Britain. It also examines interactions between Soviet and British musicians, and the relevance of these relationships to cultural diplomacy more broadly. The final section explores how Soviet music was presented to British audiences in programme notes and received in the broadsheet press.&nbsp;

Overcoming Conflict Between Religious and Cultural Freedom and Women's Rights in Africa

Scholarship is generally divided between those who view female circumcision as a religious ritual to be observed, and those who consider the practice as cruel and human right abuse. This lends credence to the ethical question: what should be done when the exercise of the rituals of female circumcision, which is central to African Traditional Religion, entails transgression of fundamental rights? Relying on John Rawls' model and rights based approach. This study examines African religious landscape characterized with this disagreement. With an insight provided into understanding this conflict, a criterion on what should constitute an appropriate interaction is thus supplied.

El espíritu liberal: el Congreso por la Libertad de la Cultura en México

El artículo analiza la historia del Congreso por la Libertad de la Cultura (CLC) en México durante las décadas de 1950 y 1960. En base al análisis documentos localizados en los archivos de la International Association for Cultural Freedom, el ensayo plantea que el CLC contribuyó a cimentar la aceptación de un “espíritu liberal” –definido por ideales antiestatistas, “postideológicos” y antiutópicos– entre las élites intelectuales del México de la temprana Guerra Fría. Un argumento central del texto es que, a través de su promoción de este ideal, el CLC jugó un papel central en la conformación de las coordenadas del debate público en torno a las ideas de democracia, el autoritarismo y el comunismo durante las últimas décadas del siglo XX en México.

Alteration of the Subject (mawḍū‘) of Apostasy and Objecting to the Perpetual Applicability of the Death Penalty for Blasphemy and Apostasy

This chapter is the ninth section of Kadivar’s ‘Treatise on Refuting the Punishment for Blasphemy and Apostasy’. It analyses four issues: The Method of Retaining the Permanent Nature of a Legal Ruling, A Comparison between the Permanence of Killing an Apostate with the Ruling on Theft and Some Rulings on Jihad, Change of the Subject Matter of Apostasy from the Time of the Imams to Now, and Apostasy and Freedom of Thought. In the estimation of rational beings, the subject matter of apostasy in the Qur’an, the hadith corpus, and past rulings is not identical to its understanding in our times, because the subject matter in the former is broader than changing one’s religion or leaving Islam. It extends to both aligning oneself with the enemies of and propagandising against Muslims, which would constitute a form of political, military and cultural rebellion against the state’s authority. But today, changing one’s faith is understood to be merely a conversion without any ulterior motives. Contemporary rational beings consider the subject matter of apostasy to be connected with religious and cultural freedom, whereas Islamic jurisprudence considers it to be a political crime: belligerency against the state. These two viewpoints are poles apart.

From “stardust” to statecraft: The Canada Council for the Arts and the evolution of Canadian cultural diplomacy

If culture is the lynchpin of public diplomacy, then the Canada Council for the Arts (the Council) has had an important role in projecting Canada’s international image, identity, and values beyond its borders for over 60 years. This article explores the evolution of the Council’s role in Canada’s cultural diplomacy, from its birth as a result of the Massey Commission’s recommendations to its growing international role in projecting Canada’s diversity in a contemporary international context. The article argues that the Council’s growing international role, one that promotes cultural freedom, will strengthen Canada’s foreign policy and may portend a unique form of “bottom-up” Canadian cultural statecraft that is distinct from the traditional “top-down” forms of political and economic statecraft.