Culture in EU External Relations: Strategic Reflections and Future Scenarios

Trobbiani, Riccardo and Pavón-Guinea, Andrea (2019). Culture in EU External Relations: Strategic Reflections and Future Scenarios. EL-CSID Policy Briefs. Institute for European Studies.

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  • Sub-type Policy brief
    Author Trobbiani, Riccardo
    Pavón-Guinea, Andrea
    Title Culture in EU External Relations: Strategic Reflections and Future Scenarios
    Series Title EL-CSID Policy Briefs
    Volume/Issue No. EL-CSID Policy Brief 2019/16
    Publication Date 2019
    Place of Publication Brussels
    Publisher Institute for European Studies
    Pages 18
    Language eng
    Abstract The future of EU International Cultural Relations (ICR) will depend upon factors which this policy paper presents as internal and external to the EU. In reality, they influence each other and transcend political borders. The rise ofpopulist and nationalist forces takes place both within and outside Europe. The global nature of the challenges humanity faces in terms of trust, tolerance and education affect in different ways all countries and transversally impact our capacity to achieve sustainable development. Hard power seems to be gaining prominence over soft power and persuasion. Uses of soft power (and propaganda) persist in the framework of identity politics, where culture is increasingly regarded as a set of national features defined in oppositions to others, rather than a tool for dialogue and cooperation. In whatever direction these factors evolve, the foresight analysis presented in this paper points at a key finding: investing in stronger EU cooperation in International Cultural Relations, rather than Cultural Diplomacy, remains the best solution for EU leadership. An EU strategic approach to ICR rooted in development policy and inter-cultural dialogue bears the promise to facilitate cooperation among EU institutions, member states (MS) and their cultural institutes, as well as broader cultural networks based on innovative models. An approach based on subsidiarity and arm’s length relations with cultural actors can serve EU’s interests better than a top-down Cultural Diplomacy. However, a series of criticalities could potentially affect this emerging policy, which calls for some recommendations on the process and content of the approach under development.
    Copyright Holder Institute for European Studies
    Copyright Year 2019
    Copyright type All rights reserved
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    Created: Tue, 09 Jul 2019, 22:06:54 JST by Masovic, Ajsela on behalf of UNU CRIS