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The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) defines culture as a set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features of society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions, and beliefs. (UNESCO, 2011).

Diplomacy can be defined as a process between actors (diplomats, usually representing a state) who exist within a system (international relations) and engage in private and public dialogue (diplomacy) to pursue their objectives in a peaceful manner.

World Affairs

Culture is intrinsic to identity, in both its individual and collective expressions. Culture is indelibly imprinted in all our products and activities. For millennia, culture traveled. Tradesmen and caravans, ships and refugees, migrants and warriors transferred, shared, and shaped the cultures we live in today. Culture escapes controls, borders, and legal barriers and it circulates with the constant human flow of a roaming species. It speaks, translates, and mediates. Lets make a necessary distinction here.

Public diplomacy is governments speaking to each other. Cultural diplomacy is societies speaking to each other. Formal diplomacy remains the remit of state powers even if they enlist culture in public diplomacy projects. Public diplomacy remains a governmental action even if it successfully uses cultural and artistic means to communicate with a wider audience.

True cultural diplomacy is hard. When governments engage in true cultural diplomacy they must give communities, creators, and artists the freedom to interact and shape the diplomatic dialogue. But governments dont like to lose control and that makes actual cultural diplomacy a delicate balancing act.

True cultural diplomacy goes against the grain of official diplomacy

For governments to engage in true cultural diplomacy, they must relinquish control of their artists, craftsmen, and cultural emissaries to allow organic expressioneven if it does not completely align with public diplomatic goals.

True cultural diplomacy requires courage to create a platform for real dialogue between societies. When it is used properly, however, it has the power to bridge divides between people and nations, making it one of the strongest diplomatic tools

QUESTION

1. Explain your rationale for the choice of Department and identify how and why the Department serves as an important function within international relations and trade.