Assignment

1. Compare the Cultural Diplomacy (CD) models of Germany, United Kingdom, USA and the
Soviet Union. Discuss what features worked, what did not and what lessons countries
wanting to create their own CD programs should learn from these examples. (50 points)

2. What CD methods would you suggest to integrate immigrants into a nation? What role
could the creative economy play in such methods? (50 points)

Germany:

Cultural policy in Germany is based on a federal model. It is governed by the principles of

decentralisation, subsidiary and plurality; a tradition rooted in the nation's historical
development and reaffirmed in its Constitution. An important objective influencing the
development of cultural policy throughout Germany, is to find a balance between public-
sector responsibility for ensuring the existence and funding of cultural institutions and
programmes without government interference in cultural activities.1
The collapse of the system in Eastern Europe and the unification of Germany in 1989/90
produced new cultural tasks, both within the Federal Republic of Germany and in its
relations with European neighbours.
The National Socialists used the German heritage in art and culture to legitimize and
propagate Nazi ideology. National Socialists' former abuse of culture and the arts plays a
major role of setting the agenda of today. The National Socialists in Germany used the arts
and other areas for propaganda purposes. They often ended up glorifying minor artists in
this process (the sculptor Arno Becker is an example in this context), they also utilized
Germany’s heritage artists such as Beethoven and Wagner to further their cause.
After its history and record with National Socialism and WWII, Germany inserted itself into a
common union and identity with Western Europe through the European Union. In this union
nationality, nationhood and national identity were underplayed and submerged in a
European commonality. However, its consistent economic success and the financial crisis
have thrust it into positions where it has had to re-emerge from this relative national
anonymity and assert its national interests. In a sense, it has been forced to re-enter a
national identity and history. Suddenly, external forces have forced a reassessment of
cultural identity. No longer relatively faceless Europeans, Germans are reasserting their
German identity and this also shows up in the treatment of immigrant minorities at home. 2
One of the current debates of Germanness and rising support towards far right groups
around the globe and in particular, AFD in Germany show that there needs to be an
integration process that will serve in balance.
The structural problems require a readjustment of the relationship between the state, market
and society concerning the financing of cultural institutions, among other methods, through
public private partnership models and a stronger integration of civic commitments

"Capital Culture Contract" was signed between the Federal Government and the Land
Berlin. This is a good place to discuss Bourdieu, who claims that without cultural and social
resources there can be no cultural products which reach the market. In turn, cultural
diplomacy cannot exist without the existence of cultural products. Cultural capital is also
1 Germany Cultural Profile
2 Chakraborty The economics of Arts and Culture
leveraged through and interacts with social capital. Investment in the creation, preservation
and reproduction of social and cultural capital becomes a prerequisite to cultural diplomacy.
This investment need not be a direct one by the government. Instead, economic incentives
may be enough to create the environment for private investments. Of course, social and
cultural capital are created and exist without financial incentives.3 It's an incentive for the city
Berlin we hope to experience more after the pandemic is over.

In recent years, there has also been acknowledgment in the cultural field that Germany is a
country of immigration. It has also been recognised that cultural policy, particularly at the
municipal level, has to take this issue into consideration, which means taking multicultural
diversity as a given, integrating the culture of immigrants into cultural policy and to take
account of the cultural needs of people with migrant backgrounds.

UK:

The FOREIGN & COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (FCO) is responsible for foreign affairs and
seeks to increase trade, inward investment tourism, and the influence of UK foreign policy.
The FCO works primarily through the British Council for educational, scientific, and cultural
exchange to send UK individuals and groups abroad through the Visiting Arts organization to
bring international cultural and educational visitors into the UK with the Department of Trade
and Industry (DTI), and through the British Trade International (BTI).
All three of these (FCO, DTI, BTI) are also part of the Creative Industries Taskforce. 4
UK advantages are the variety of artists, history, world class performing companies,
attractive tourism country but UK is investing less than US and EU.
The goal / objective of the British Council is not to promote short term policy messages, but
rather to strengthen / foster the people to people relationships, society to society through the
language / act of sports, education, art, science, to create understanding and to abolish
misunderstandings and stereotypes and building these strong relationships can be very
effective even if gov. To gov. Relations are tense. Interestingly, Funders are more interested
in short term results, there is a strong need for return on engagement.5

USA:

Pre-Cold War:
US state department ran the CD. The goal was to highlight non communists economical
success, make US values more attractive than Communist ideology. The historical context
was the Cold War and the US targeted the then-Communist countries. With that target
audience in mind. The agenda was individual freedom and liberty as the cornerstone of
democracy. The agent chosen to highlight this was the United States Information Agency
(USIA) which recruited the jazz stars for its touring programs (vehicle: concerts). Various

3 Bourdieu, Pierre. “The forms of capital”, pp. 241-258 in J. Richardson (ed.), Handbook of
Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, New York, Greenwood, 1986.
4 Wyzsomirski, Margaret J. et al, International Cultural Relations: A Multi-Country Comparison, co-
commissioned by Arts International and the Center for Arts and Culture, 2003.
5 Memis - “Showing the Power of ‘Cultural Relations’ 2010
jazz programs were also beamed to the Soviet bloc (vehicle: radio). Feedback evaluations
showed it was a very popular and successful program.
Post-Cold War mentality of less need for CD and unipolar power position of US after 1989
which is seen as one of the major causes of terrorism.

Post-Cold War:
USIA was an entity created to look after cultural diplomacy aspects. It had a massive
spending during Cold War. Once it got dismantled in 1999, this led to less spending on
cultural diplomacy. In 2008, the government was spending about 30% than it used to spend
in 1999. Once the government cut expenses on these things, the private companies tend to
follow. The values lying underneath the USA model of CD comes from hard power and
security and economy. After Cold War, America saw no necessity to invest in CD anymore,
than it faced 2001.6
Now the world thinks the US is godless, immoral and to some extent the devil. As interest in
CD has declined, 9/11 terrorist attacks and the perception that the U.S. is losing a war of
culture against Islamic extremists; and second, the documented global collapse of positive
public sentiment toward the U.S.7
US used CD as a strategy to remain power and influence after the cold war but with the
reported downsizing of their operations it has been a subject of discourse whether the
drastic decrease whilst such hegemony of culture. Hegemony is a mode of exercising non
coercive authority. 8
US institutes (libraries and centres) closed their doors in conflicts, although it was the last
chance to give positive American influence and information without oppression
More investment in CD can save costs in expensive wars: not just military power, but also
should take imperialism seriously and invest in other countries:
particular: encourage in foreign educational reforms; extending existing foreign exchange
programs; improving the access of foreign publics to American institutions and values;
encouraging better cross cultural understanding at home; and revitalizing American
volunteerism abroad. But after all the recommendations on how to regain influence and
prestige for American culture, Americans also need to be interested and learn about other
cultures and lose the US centric view. The US should show more sympathy with the cultural
dilemmas that other countries experience in the face of American popular culture.
Outside of commercial trade in cultural goods and services, the U.S. government has a long-
term commitment to promoting mutual understanding by fostering international cultural
relations. U.S. government programs to this end have taken the form of exchanges, on the
one hand, and public diplomacy, on the other.9
The current US policy represents a missed opportunity to capture cultural exchange benefits.
Many things have led to the reduced “import” of art and artists towards the US. Some
policies in place that might inhibit the possible exchange are The Patriot Act,US Visas
(especially the travel restrictions of pandemic), withholding taxes on foreign guest artists.

6 Margaret Ayers - Promoting Public & Private Reinvestment in Cultural Exchange – Based
Diplomacy 2010
7 Arts Industry Public Forum Report - Cultural Diplomacy and the national interest (US)
8 Spivak, Can the Subaltern Speak?
9 Harvey B. Feigenbaum - Globalization And Cultural Diplomacy
The US wants to improve their cultural diplomacy but the perceptions of a large part of the
world is still negative.10
The intangibles that make America great, their values: Individual freedoms, Justice and
opportunity to all, Diversity and tolerance. But was the USA able to be great again and show
the world that they are in fact aligned with their values? I bet many would agree that the USA
is having a deeper problem especially through Schein’s Coming to a New Awareness of
Organizational Culture, in which the author talks about culture in a sense of metaphor and
further explains his iceberg model. Schein argues that there has to be a harmony between
the artifacts (the visible part of an organization), espoused values and basic assumptions
(core of the organization and where culture has real power11 There is a correlation between
the levels. If there is a consistency in the levels, then the values and culture are actualized.
Apparently the USA is lacking the capabilities to strike harmony within its levels.
Given all these movements like BlackLivesMatter and AsianLivesMatter movements
happening recently I’m pretty sure the USA has shown to the entire world that it is no longer
democratic, free, and just, nor has it ever been any of those I have written above.

Downward drift of US image around the world

they have noticed the disappearance of the fine people and products of American cultural
diplomacy, Need to rescue the diplomacy of cultures from the embrace of propaganda.12
Amidst dramatic challenges like: a damaged economy, a crippling national debt, an
inadequate health-care system, and long-simmering issues like education and immigration,
Cultural Diplomacy is not the highest priority for the US anymore. 13

Russia:

First real employment of CD in the 20th century, although it was used as propaganda. The
Soviet Union placed great stress, right from the beginning, on the arts in their propaganda,
The important point to remember, however, is that the Soviet state was fully conscious of the
uses to which cultural diplomacy, using the arts and other areas, could be put.14

The VOKS (All Union Society for Cultural relations with foreign countries) served as the
instrument of foreign policy in the last century as a propaganda instrument for the Russian
Soviet communism. Cultural networks were implemented to attract western nations, goal of
Soviet Union was to emerge from diplomatic isolation. Cultural Diplomacy was directed by
the state, cultural exchange and propaganda was controlled through the political
institutions.15 The real aim of VOKS is to neutralize the most harmful campaign about the
soviet, to emerge a controlled positive image of USSR abroad, expand network, build
political alliances, and gain positive international reputations.VOKS was just a propaganda
institution, which also aimed the control of Russian academics. EIA created an anti VOKS
campaign to warn universities and understand the real main intention of Soviet cultural
diplomacy (manipulation, control and propaganda) VOKS tried to act between foreign public

10 Cynthia Schneider
11 Schein, Coming to a New Awareness of Organizational Culture
12 Finn – The case for CD 2003
13 Richard T. Arndt - The Hush-Hush Debate: The Cultural Foundations of U.S. Public Diplomacy
2010
14 Chakraborty, Cultural Diplomacy: The Economics of Art and Culture
15 Fayet - VOKS The third dimension of soviet foreign policy 2010
and Soviet government institutions as many people feared communistic parties. After time,
VOKS got concurrence and got outdated, especially during 1930 and 1950. Spanish civil war
and Nazi regime. As many countries criticised communism, VOKS tried to focus on cultural
and technical exchange. Soviet propaganda mission had to adapt to the aggressive
American propaganda mission
VOKS focussed on exchange between industrial and agricultural technology, Soviet high
profile delegates and journalists realized that Soviet propaganda has no chance and time
has come for exchange of information.
Attempt between trying to spread Soviet socialism and not to lose delegates to the American
system became a major system for Soviet leadership in the field of Cult. Diplomacy.
The need for modernizing the Soviet image. In 1955 it as clear that the Soviet lagged behind
the west in fields of consumer goods and quality of services.
Still tried to convince Americans about the good in socialism.16

The USSR always aimed for a cultural revolution and many believed that could only be
achieved through Leninist principles. We can see a strong influence of the USSR in Latin
American and some Asian countries. The L Jora text highlights that US didn’t know how to
make use of their diplomacy and therefore, increased the feeling of “underdog” from the
underdeveloped countries, leading them to connect more with the communism mentality.
USSR made a lot of use of sports, education and arts towards the positive image of their
countries. Some ways that USSR tried to gain trust from underdeveloped countries are
highlighting the importance and how great was the culture of that certain country, trying to
trigger the sentiment of resentments, the right use of political momentum, conquering the
ruling elite. It is hard to say if the success was achieved by the political momentum,
geopolitical situation or to the actual high skills of the Soviets propagandists.17

The sense of inferiority and the resentments against the Western Imperialism gave a buster
to these feelings. Another approach was to blame the US “imperialism” and
“cosmopolitanism” threatening to destroy native cultures and to substitute for cherished folk
values “the decadence of Hollywood”. It can be argued that as many postcolonial theorists
like Bhadba, Said and Spivak argued, helps the West objectify and deal with the
other in a relatively “faceless “ manner. New powers are challenging western hegemony and
traditional powers must renegotiate their places in the world. The need to ensure that the
work of cultural institutions is not instrumentalized.18

The creative industries are valuable contributors to the economy of many nations. In
some cases the whole creative cluster is a substantial pillar of the total economy. The
creative industries can be a source of development for the nation as well as cities.
Together, they can be a major source of employment, particularly in urban areas. Major
cities like London, Paris and New York have a network of creative industries woven
together to create an economy which sustains these cities.
Important research issues for cultural diplomacy in the context of the creative industries
include the following. How do we sustain them, make them viable?19

16 Magnusdottir - Mission impossible, Selling Soviet Socialism to Americans 2010

17 Resume Accounts on Soviet Union Cultural Diplomacy L Jora
18 Bound et al. - Cultural Diplomacy 2007 (Culture and Recom.)
19 Chakraborty, Cultural Diplomacy: The Economics of Art and Culture
Simon Anholt (2010, 2007 and 1998) has provided a lot of impetus to these efforts through
his research and yearly publications of nation rankings including the category of immigration.
The way nations deal with immigration will reflect upon how they are perceived. The
cultural industry is a very important segment of the GDP, particularly in the more developed
countries. However, it should be noted that the definition of cultural industry boundaries vary
from country to country. UNCTAD tried to harmonize the definition of the culture or creative
industries but has not been able to do so. Various countries define and draw boundary lines
regarding these industries and their activities differently. Immigration and national identity
problems go hand in hand. Multiculturalism cannot work when immigrant cultures are
separated or ghettoized from the dominant national culture.