Understanding Networks in Cultural Diplomacy: Problematisation and Conceptualisation

Cultural diplomacy (CD) has emerged as a key strategy for nations to build bilateral ties and address global issues. The networks at local, national, and international levels in CD form a crucial infrastructure to operationalise CD programmes. For instance, great power countries such as the UK, US, China, and France all administer their institutions for cultural diplomacy (British Council, Fulbright, and Confucius Institute) via its own global network that enables the top-down programme design to be implemented in foreign local contexts. In addition to these formal networks at a global scale, there are informal networks of professionals in certain sectors (e.g., museums), or for a specific cultural or art form. However, these networks, initiated and operated by actors with different purposes, are a double-edged sword. On one hand, they have the potential to effectively unite international actors to tackle global issues such as rising populism and protectionism through the development of mutual understanding and international collaboration. On the other hand, they can potentially perpetuate disparities between regions (e.g., West and East, Global North and South) and actors (e.g., early career and established individuals) due to monopolies of information and resources.

This duality of CD networks and their impacts have yet to attract sufficient academic research attention. Existing research largely focuses on the instrumentality of CD and how they are mis(used) as a propaganda/economic tool by various actors (with a focus on the nation-state perspective). Networks within CD have not been analysed to understand how they affect different aspects of CD activities such as efficiency (of resource allocation), flexibility (to adapt to different foreign contexts), inclusivity (to include various actors and reflect their interests), and sustainability (to have long-lasting impacts).

To fill this research gap and contribute to future network-building practices in CD, this project seeks to discuss the following questions in the proposed events:

1. How do networks form and what are their different types (e.g., spatial, content-oriented, or actor-specific) and what are their functionalities?
2. What are the limitations of existing networks, and what kinds of networks are absent but much needed?
3. How do network-building practices in CD converge and diverge in different geopolitical and sociocultural contexts, and what are the implications for researchers and cultural administrators?

To investigate the above questions, four global events have been planned to bring together a mix of academics (ECRs and senior researchers), cultural practitioners, and policymakers. This cross-disciplinary, sectoral, and national discussion is expected to contribute to:

1. A definition of cultural diplomacy networks,
2. An articulation of a CD network mechanism specifying goals, contexts, assumptions, and behaviours/actions needed to achieve the desired outcome, and
3. A plan for follow-up research and grant application to apply new methods and pursue new research agendas generated from the four events.

To operationalise this project, the PI is intellectually and practically supported by three steering committee members and their institutions in the US, France, and China (see CfS and LoS). Additionally, an advisory board consisting of senior researchers and research platforms will mentor the ECR on the steering committee and share their connections for the networking events. This community of ECRs and senior researchers is the vital intellectual infrastructure for this project and follow-up research.