Gienow-Hecht J.C.E., Donfried M.C. (ed.). Searching for a Cultural Diplomacy

New York: Berghahn Books, 2013. — XII, 265 p. — (Explorations in culture and international history series; v. 6). — ISBN 978-1-78238-080-1In the past fifteen years, a growing body of studies has investigated the meaning of cultural diplomacy in the twentieth century. While much of this research continues to focus on the United States and the cold war, some historians have begun to look at other «Western» countries, such as Germany. Much of the US-centered research is based on the premise that cultural diplomacy became a key instrument of foreign policy in the nation’s effort to contain the Soviet Union. As a result, the term «cultural diplomacy» has assumed a one dimensional meaning linked to political manipulation and subordination, and it has also been relegated to the backseat of diplomatic interaction.This book reflects the collective attempt to search for the meaning, inherent strategy, and history of one of the most confusing terms in modern diplomatic history. Our goal is to find a usable definition for cultural diplomacy and, also, establish a teleology for the term beyond the parameters of the cold war. As such, this book is designed for academics, students, public officials, and laymen interested in the field of cultural diplomacy.Searching for a Cultural Diplomacy
What Are We Searching For? Culture, Diplomacy, Agents and the State.
The Model of Cultural Diplomacy: Power, Distance, and the Promise of Civil Society.Cultural Relations and the Soviet Union
VOKS: The Third Dimension of Soviet Foreign Policy.
Mission Impossible? Selling Soviet Socialism to Americans, 1955–1958.Cultural Diplomacy in Central Europe
Hungarian Cultural Diplomacy 1957–1963: Echoes of Western Cultural Activity in a Communist Country.
Catholics in Ostpolitik? Networking and Nonstate Diplomacy in the Bensberger Memorandum, 1966–1970.Cultural Diplomacy in the Middle East
International Rivalry and Culture in Syria and Lebanon under the French Mandate.
The United States and the Limits of Cultural Diplomacy in the Arab Middle East, 1945–1957.Civil Society and Cultural Diplomacy in Japan
Difficulties Faced by Native Japan Interpreters: Nitobe Inazô (1862–1933) and His Generation.
«Germany in Europe», «Japan and Asia»: National Commitments to Cultural Relations within Regional Frameworks.