lunedì 25 maggio 2020
The UN
There is also the UN Annual Report 2019
for notetaking on the language, unless you want to translate from
French or Spanish into English!
The EU in 2019
Good news! The EU general report to
translate and take language notes on.
https://op.europa.eu/it/publication-detail/-/publication/66c4ad7e-6281-11ea-b735-01aa75ed71a1/language-it
And it's very short this year, only 134
pages!
https://op.europa.eu/it/publication-detail/-/publication/66c4ad7e-6281-11ea-b735-01aa75ed71a1/language-it
and other languages! French, Spanish, German ........ go, go, go .....!
martedì 12 maggio 2020
Jimmy Carter's foreign policy
Don't forget to go to the dropbox and get the 4 pages of this exciting rapid reading exercise. Oh, and you have to do it too, Einaudi students! Downloading it is an excellent first step but not enough in itself. My fault for not making that clear the first time.
venerdì 8 maggio 2020
Some Italian Cultural Institutes
So
you can see what's on. Not a lot at the moment because of Covid-19.
A possible essay plan on the role of culture in diplomacy
Introduction:
Refer to a recent event (or events) at the cultural level that
clearly impacts diplomatic relations (taken from recent international
news or, for example, from
the site of the Ministero
degli affari esteri e della cooperazione internazionale
(https://www.esteri.it/mae/it/).
Line
of argument: This essay
will argue that there are several different ways that culture
can affect or be part of foreign policy.
Say that you will briefly summarize these and then focus on ######
since you think this is the most important idea.
Briefly explain and give examples of different ways
that culture can affect or be part of foreign policy:
a) cultural differences and how these could create
misunderstanding or lead to one side feeling offended or badly
treated in negotiations. Give examples. So diplomats need to be aware
of and respect and to conform as far as possible to the norms of the
host country. This is true not just at work but during their free
time too as representatives of Italian culture.
b) Businessmen, tourists, sportsmen and fans are all now
considered cultural representatives who can enhance or damage the
image of the country.
c) Samuel
Huntington's argument that international relations depend on the
division of the world into cultural areas and countries should be
wary of interference in other cultural areas where their actions and
intentions may be misunderstood and worsen relations. For example,
exporting democracy.
d)
International conventions to protect minority cultures and cultural
heritage and Italy's role in this.
e) Multiculturalism
– We should recognize 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. The EU as
the biggest experiment in this. Its successes and failures, current
tensions. The idea of a shared European culture of values.
f)
Cultural diplomacy as soft power and the role of the diplomat,
particularly the cultural
attaché, in promoting his country's culture through the organization
of and in providing information about exhibitions
and cultural events.
I would focus on the
latter (f) and give lots of examples of what Italy is doing at
different cultural institutes around the world and how this affects
the image foreigners have of Italy. I would argue that the goal is
winning 'hearts and minds' of the public abroad rather than foreign
governments. So people to people rather than government to
government. This will also help to boost tourism and the demand for
Italian products.
Conclusion: Culture
plays a fundamental role in diplomatic activity in various ways and
the more international relations are based on involving people rather
than simply governments the greater its role will become in terms of
soft power to promote good relations and good will or, if
misunderstood or ignored, to damage relations.
What is the role of culture in diplomacy?
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
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 in business and diplomacy
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/cross-cultural-negotiation.html
www.demos.co.uk/files/Cultural%20diplomacy%20-%20web.pdf
www.state.gov/documents/organization/54374.pdf
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc/horst_crosscultural_negot.pdf
http://wwwold.iveybusinessjournal.com/view_article.asp?intArticle_ID=514
http://www.beyondintractability.org/node/2563
www.demos.co.uk/files/Cultural%20diplomacy%20-%20web.pdf
www.state.gov/documents/organization/54374.pdf
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc/horst_crosscultural_negot.pdf
http://wwwold.iveybusinessjournal.com/view_article.asp?intArticle_ID=514
http://www.beyondintractability.org/node/2563
http://sambacharach.com/bacharachblog/leader/culture-negotiations-6-rules-to-follow-and-5-hazards-to-avoid/
http://knowledge.insead.edu/CrossCulturalNegotiations080408.cfm?vid=39
http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC178/fc178.html
http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/example/cohe7517.htm
http://knowledge.insead.edu/CrossCulturalNegotiations080408.cfm?vid=39
http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC178/fc178.html
http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/example/cohe7517.htm
You
could link these ideas to some of the other points made on this list
by looking at:
http://kms2.isn.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ESDP/98740/ichaptersection_singledocument/e4b1feb4-d658-4eba-b70c-e532d8025612/en/12+Bolewski.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 cultural
heritage e.g. The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World
Cultural and Natural Heritage and the Convention for the Safeguarding
of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The EU Framework Convention on
the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society
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 current examples
https://www.esteri.it/mae/en/sala_stampa/archivionotizie/retediplomatica/celebrare-leonardo-da-vinci
mostre-conferenze-e-spettacoli.html
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.
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.
See
also ‘Homegrown Terrorism’
on this blog, 12 April 2018
Cultural
Diplomacy
Definition
Italian
Cultural Diplomacy
good
examples of events and exhibitions:
Find
your own examples for 2019-20!
Error Correction 3 Part 2
72)
People with professional qualifications / the unemployed /more than
expected
73)
There are thousands of Mexican workers looking for work (jobs)
74)
They are willing to work for lower wages / illiterate people
75)
This will allow migrants to integrate more easily / closely linked
76)
Given this situation, governments need to give them more help
77)
GDP is a measure of a country's wealth / Moreover
78)
For most of world history / Despite these improvements
79)
Famine can lead to widespread starvation / international forums
80)
Governments throughout the world / the supply of labour
81)
If these population trends continue / the demand for labour
82)
Producing more at lower prices / the main reason for migration
83)
In the last 7 decades the world has registered rapid population
growth
84)
Governments are planning to raise the retirement age.
85)
Countries naturally try to expand their political influence.
86)
The government needs to work out effective policies to deal with
this.
87)
All these elements are part of a single problem.
88)
Cultural differences may increase tensions / from an economic point
of view
89)
This was true but is no longer true / at the moment / ethnic
cleansing
90)
There are many dangerous areas, above all the Middle East.
91)
One can identify two main causes / to ensure international security
92)
Migrants may feel marginalized / in these days / in particular
93)
At present this does not seem true / war refugees /absorb
94)
After the War Europe went through a period of rapid economic
expansion.
95)
It must be remembered that large flows of migrants represent a
serious challenge for the host countries.
96)
There are almost 8 billion people in the world / to improve
97)
Today states have been joined on the world stage by international
organizations like the UN.
98)
However, demographic growth may have some harmful effects unless it
is linked to real economic development.
99)
In Africa in many states the authorities are weak.
100)
Many migrants are simply trying to lift themselves out of poverty.
Error Correction (5) Possible solutions
1)
To raise awareness of the problem in the West / in the social context
(in social terms
2)
... having negative effects on other countries / closely linked
3)
Economic institutions (financial) / migration flows / in the last
few years
4)
Destruction / the growing role of the media / the current situation
5)
They benefited from the globalized economy
6)
1945 marked the end of an era / interdependence
7)
The Bretton Woods institutions / poverty
8)
Globalization carries the risk of marginalising the poorest
countries
9)
This may lead to a kind of cultural monoculture (a loss of cultural
diversity)
10)
The current economic recession / Moreover, .... / emerging economies
11)
The most important phenomenon of our time
12)
From a social point of view / in the last 2 (3? 4?) decades
13)
Illiterate people / Illiterate people / an improvement in technology
14)
Better transport also led to an increase (growth and development) in
drug-trafficking / the spread of diseases
15)
Few people really understands the scale (size) of the problem
16)
How you live your life may depend on your religious beliefs
(practices, customs?)
17)
Companies are attracted to developing countries because of the low
cost of labour. This allows them to lower their overall costs of
production.
18)
Life styles (ways of life) are often the same even though people are
on different continents
19)Trade
between countries
20)
The global market has made a significant contribution to economic
growth
21)
Currently economists are concerned about the danger of a global
recession
22)
Globalisation also means a growing uniformity of values
23)
However, ..... / favoured / developed / the recession in Europe
24)
It cannot be denied (one cannot deny) that globalization has had
positive effects on the world economy (has been beneficial for)
25)
Unlike many rich countries / terrorist attacks
26)
Growing global cultural uniformity / some experts argue (claim?)
27)
A significant increase in growth / to ensure (promote) economic
cooperation
28)
The cut-throat competition in prices / from the cultural perspective
(point of view? In cultural terms)
29)
Developed countries can benefit from cheap goods produced at low
costs in developing countries
30)
Standard of living / living conditions
31)
A wide range of choice /the danger of a return to nationalism
32)
The UN was created (set up) 65 years ago
33)
.... countries who can take advantage of the flow of goods
34)
Globalization is good for economic growth
35)
… consequences for (impact on) the environment
36)
Over the years, globalization has become more and more important
(expanded more and more rapidly)
37)
... the violent reaction of those who see integration as a threat.
38)
However, this peaceful meeting (exchange?) of cultures may turn into
a serious dispute.
39)
Cultural exchanges can enrich a society in many ways (unforeseen?)
40)
Some groups are clever at exploiting this
41)
From their point of view / technical / a reduction in costs
42)
It is hard to identify the origin(s) of this process
43)
According to many experts (commentators? academics?)
44)
The world is at risk of losing cultural diversity
45)
In the EU all this is thanks to the removal customs barriers
46)
.... the risks that this process may involve
47)
It has contributed to reducing the distances between different areas
of the world
48)
However,.... / on the other hand, ... / the domestic economy
49)
Given the situation that I have outlined
50)
Globalisation can offer (provide?) enormous benefits
51)
These problems have to be dealt with /addressed
52)
In some 'failed' states there are no authorities with effective
political power (there is a power vacuum)
53)
This causes serious damage to the environment
54)
This is also the reason for the birth of the 'anti-globalization'
movement
55)
A single market / a single currency
56)
Inequalities between social groups have also grown
57)
Both in domestic and foreign policy
58)
These institutions are responsible for supporting and monitoring
global economic integration
59)
... the WTO, which was set up (created) in 1995
60)
These changes provide (offer) some real benefits
61)
Globalization carries many risks / many (most) of these migrants
62)
The most important (significant) benefits of globalization are ...
63)
The internet offers instant access to events that are happening in
distant countries
64)
Cooperation turns out to be essential for international relations
martedì 5 maggio 2020
Covid-19 figures
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
Excellent site which updates every day which gives:
country profiles if you click on the country
and interesting elements if you look across the top like:
cases per million
deaths per million
Excellent site which updates every day which gives:
country profiles if you click on the country
and interesting elements if you look across the top like:
cases per million
deaths per million
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