https://www.exibart.com/attualita/maeci-una-nuova-direzione-generale-per-il-soft-power-culturale/
This question can be interpreted to include at least the following five ideas:
1) Samuel
Huntington’s argument that international
relations depend on the division of the world into cultural areas. He argued
that people's cultural and religious identities would be the primary
source of conflict in the post-Cold War
world and that intervention in other cultural areas should usually be avoided
as it is likely to be misunderstood and lead to unpredictable results.
People have levels of identity: a
resident of Rome may define himself with varying degrees of intensity as a
Roman, an Italian, a Catholic, a Christian, a European, a Westerner. The
civilization to which he belongs is the broadest level of identification with
which he intensely identifies. People can and do redefine their identities and,
as a result, the composition and boundaries of civilizations change.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/1993-06-01/clash-civilizations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clash_of_Civilizations
2) Cultural differences in terms of the
ideas contained in the material I will give you in class. These are all
elements that the diplomat must be aware of and pay particular attention to,
especially in relation to non-diplomats (see below at the end of this section).
Compare and
contrast attitudes among the North Americans, Japanese, Italians, Chinese,
South Americans, Germans, Arabs, and other countries, geographical areas or
cultures as appropriate, to some or all
of the following ideas: eye contact, making friends and establishing a
relationship before negotiating, choosing the right kind of venue for a
meeting, addressing the right person, punctuality, gift-giving, turn-taking and
interruptions, hand-shaking and bowing,
stance and distance, body language, linguistic register and forms of address, dress
codes, linguistic signaling, the appropriateness or inappropriateness of
talking business during a meal, norms for recording what has been said and
organizing follow-ups to meetings. Put all these in a logical order e.g. pre-meeting, start of meeting, during meeting,
end of meeting, post-meeting.
Of course, no particular culture has a
‘better’ or ‘more correct’ approach to maintaining diplomatic relations and
negotiating, although there are norms considered appropriate in the UN context.
It is simply a problem of social norms and expectations and diplomats therefore
need to adapt their approach to their counterpart. This is important, firstly,
as a simple act of politeness in order to put one’s counterpart at ease and as
a way to maintain a good working relationship. This will be very important for
diplomats stationed abroad where the onus is on them to conform, at least to an
acceptable extent, to the host country’s norms. Secondly, it will be of crucial
importance when diplomats are involved in a negotiation that is particularly
important to their country and which really needs to succeed. So
awareness-raising in this area is a necessary part of a diplomat’s training and
development. The following provide some ideas on cross-cultural
negotiations diplomacy and business.
http://culturaldiplomacy.org/content/pdf/icd_diplomatic_culture_of_cultural_diplomacy.pdf
https://www.beyondintractability.org/bksum/cohen-negotiating
https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/5460-bolewski----diplomatic-processes-and-cultural
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/cross-cultural-negotiation.html
www.demos.co.uk/files/Cultural%20diplomacy%20-%20web.pdf
http://knowledge.insead.edu/CrossCulturalNegotiations080408.cfm?vid=39
https://www.diplomacy.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IC-and-Diplomacy-FINAL_Part13.pdf
Of course,
one can also argue that professional diplomats themselves form their own
culture, a group of people particularly skilled at not being offended or
confused or unable to respond appropriately to unfamiliar customs, social norms
or behavior, a group that considers the maintenance of good relations a
primary goal beyond its own cultural expectations and makes a positive effort
to be informed about and respect the norms of other cultures (in particular
those of the host country).
3) International
conventions to protect minority cultures e.g. the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the
UN Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural
Expressions, and to protect cultural heritage e.g. The Convention Concerning
the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the Convention for
the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the EU Framework
Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society.
https://www.coe.int/en/web/minorities/home
https://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext/
https://ich.unesco.org/en/convention
https://www.coe.int/en/web/culture-and-heritage/faro-convention
You
can look at these in relation to Italy.
https://italiana.esteri.it/italiana/litalia-e-lunesco/
https://www.unesco.it/it/patrimoniomondiale/index
https://www.unesco.it/it/News/Detail/482
https://www.difesa.it/InformazioniDellaDifesa/periodico/periodico_2014/Documents/R5_2014/R5_2014.pdf
https://www.iai.it/sites/default/files/iai1715.pdf
4) Cultural
diplomacy and the role of the diplomat (particularly the cultural attaché)
in promoting his own country’s culture in terms of
art or scientific exhibitions, cultural events of various other kinds (e.g.
Italian food, cooking or music), relations with local Italian emigrant
associations in the host country, language courses, information regarding
tourism or where to find tourist information, and sports events in the host
country involving Italy or ones in Italy that will involve a team from the host
country. Here's a couple of good examples, one from last year and one from 3 years
ago
https://italplanet.it/celebrare-leonardo-da-vinci-mostre-conferenze-e-spettacoli/
All of these
are seen as vehicles for promoting a positive image of the country and
overcoming negative stereotypes of the nation, thus building good relations
with the host country, through a continuous public relations exercise, and
gaining more influence and ‘soft power’. The diplomat himself is expected to
behave in a way which will make him a credit to his country and give foreigners
a good impression. All of this is described as Cultural Diplomacy (see below #)
and is something that potentially relates to all fields, and thus involves all
a state’s actors and all those who can be seen as representing the country in
some way, in the public sector, the private sector (e.g. businessmen) and as
individuals, as cultural representatives (diplomats in the widest sense). This
is something that will affect efforts to improve relations with other states
and foreign public opinion, promote national interests and enhance cooperation
by embracing cultural diversity and by trying to build bridges and overcome
barriers where there are significant differences.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istituti_italiani_di_cultura_all%27estero
http://www.ilsegnalibro.com/normativa/tesi_torcutti.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_diplomacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Diplomacy#The_Uses_of_Cultural_Diplomacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomacy#Cultural_diplomacy
http://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/content/pdf/icd_diplomatic_culture_of_cultural_diplomacy.pdf
http://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/index.php?en_culturaldiplomacy
https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/5460-bolewski----diplomatic-processes-and-cultural
5) Multiculturalism – We should see multiculturalism as a growing
reality of modern European life, and the need for multiculturalism as a
positive and necessary force to bridge ethnic, religious and national divisions
and tensions within society and between states. In this sense the EU is one
vast attempt at multiculturalism aimed at overcoming the divisions of the past
that led to two world wars, and providing a common home (with a secular
constitution, guaranteeing equality, respect and basic rights for all) for Europeans
and migrant workers of many different
ethnic, religious and national backgrounds. In purely European terms it has
been remarkably successful. This is balanced with EU initiatives to protect the
rights of minority cultures and linguistic groups e.g. The European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages (ECRML) of
1992.
This idea is
closely linked to the project for European citizenship and the goal of
strengthening European identity. European identity itself, however – the sense
of belonging to something bigger than the nation – goes far beyond the question
of whether Europeans like or dislike the European Union institutions. As well
as sharing a common cultural history, since the end of World War II many
factors have led Europeans to develop a common bond. Among these are common
democratic and social values, greater contact through travel and study (e.g.
the Erasmus program but also cheap foreign holidays), closer economic and
cultural ties and shared prosperity. While it would be inaccurate to see most
of these developments as the product of the EU, the EU has been a constant
supporter and beneficiary of this process. However, against a background of
economic stagnation (the loss of the promise of ever-greater prosperity)
growing tensions in Europe over immigrants and immigration (focused mainly on
non-EU citizens and perhaps due mainly to the recession), and fears about the
rise of homegrown terrorism, concerns have been raised about how far and how
fast the multicultural project can go. However, any decline in the popularity
of the EU institutions and the rise of nationalist parties cannot be
automatically read as a rejection of the idea of European identity in itself.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2011/03/28/the-dis-integration-of-europe/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homegrown_terrorism
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jul/12/july7.uksecurity6
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/01/spain.international
See also ‘Homegrown Terrorism’ on our blog, 12
April 2018
https://youngdip.blogspot.com/2018/04/homegrown-islamist-terrorism.html
Cultural
Diplomacy
Definition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_diplomacy
http://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/index.php?en_culturaldiplomacy
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/cultural_diplomacy
Italian Cultural Diplomacy
https://www.esteri.it/it/diplomazia-culturale-e-diplomazia-scientifica/
https://www.esteri.it/en/diplomazia-culturale-e-diplomazia-scientifica/cultura/
https://www.esteri.it/it/diplomazia-culturale-e-diplomazia-scientifica/cultura/reteiic/
https://www.esteri.it/it/diplomazia-culturale-e-diplomazia-scientifica/cultura/universita/
https://www.esteri.it/it/diplomazia-culturale-e-diplomazia-scientifica/cultura/cooperculturale/
https://www.esteri.it/it/diplomazia-culturale-e-diplomazia-scientifica/cultura/sostegno-alleditoria/
http://www.culturaitaliana.it/hm/atti/5_ruolo.html
https://www.esteri.it/it/diplomazia-culturale-e-diplomazia-scientifica/
https://italiana.esteri.it/italiana/
http://www.iiclosangeles.esteri.it/iic_losangeles/en/
https://iicbuenosaires.esteri.it/iic_buenosaires/it/imparare_italiano/i_corsi_di_lingua/
and the EU
https://culture.ec.europa.eu/policies/international-cultural-relations
https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/topics/culture_en
Have a look
at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTb1JMVIjbXXDvN1ldghMww
YouTube
https://www.facebook.com/ItalyMFA.it/
Facebook
and some Italian
Cultural Institutes to see what’s on at the moment in 2023. For example:
https://iicparigi.esteri.it/iic_parigi/it/
https://iicberlino.esteri.it/iic_berlino/it/
https://iiclondra.esteri.it/iic_londra/it/
https://iiclondra.esteri.it/iic_londra/it/gli_eventi/calendario/2023/03/the-florence-review.html
https://iiclondra.esteri.it/iic_londra/it/gli_eventi/calendario/2023/03/the-florence-review.html
https://iicosaka.esteri.it/iic_osaka/it/
https://iicpechino.esteri.it/iic_pechino/it/
https://iicwashington.esteri.it/iic_washington/it/
other examples of
events and exhibitions:
https://italiana.esteri.it/italiana/en/categoria/culture/music-and-performing-arts/
from 2020-2021
and
https://www.esteri.it/mae/it/politica_estera/promozione-integrata-del-sistema/la-musica-che-unisce
https://www.esteri.it/mae/it/politica_estera/promozione-integrata-del-sistema/weareitaly
You should
also look at ‘Culture Matters - The Real Obstacles to Latin American Development’
by former President of Costa Rica and human rights campaigner, Oscar Arias for
a description of how culture can have negative as well as positive effects.
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