Kulturna diplomacija Republike Hrvatske

Gotal, Mihovil. (2015). Kulturna diplomacija Republike Hrvatske. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Sociology. [mentor Bilandžić, Mirko].

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Abstract

Cultural diplomacy is one of the specific fields within the broad category of diplomacy and is a component of public diplomacy which is determined by the content of diplomatic activity. National state governments and other types of actors conduct cultural diplomacy through different forms of cultural representation and exchange that are directed towards foreign public in order to achieve mutual understanding and cooperation – all in accordance with their foreign policy goals which include promoting their own culture and building a positive national image as well as overall soft power. Using this theoretical framework, the paper presents a case study of the current cultural diplomacy of the Republic of Croatia – starting from the historical context and the recent political changes which outline the current direction of the foreign policy and political discourse of the national identity and culture. The specific analysis has been conducted by differentiating structural and conceptual aspect of cultural diplomacy and focusing on building soft power of the Republic of Croatia. By examining the structural aspect, the paper introduces the institutions that participate in the Croatian cultural diplomatic activity which, in the following order, include: Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Ministry of Culture, The Foundation “Hrvatska kuća – Croatia House”, Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, State Office for Croats Abroad, Croatian Heritage Foundation, Croatian National Tourist Board and Matica hrvatska as an important non-governmental cultural organization. Within the conceptual aspect, this paper analyzes the cultural activities which form the foreign national image of Croatia. The paper examines the former using the framework of the three Croatian foreign orientations – Central European, Mediterranean and Balkan – and the examples of the following selected projects: presenting the Croatian origin of a tie, Croatian-French cultural cooperation, presenting Croatian cultural sites on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List and the project Adriatic Provence (Jadranska Provansa). In conclusion, the paper states the key observations and problems regarding the institutional organization of Croatian cultural diplomacy, especially in terms of an inadequate integration of this field while, regarding the conceptual direction, it is indicated that there are possibilities for further use of cultural potentials in creating the positive foreign image.

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