欧盟的文化外交 ： 城市的角色是什么 ？

CIDOB Opinion 589, September 2019, focuses on the role of cities in the European Union's (EU) cultural diplomacy. The document highlights the EU's evolving approach to cultural diplomacy, moving from a traditional soft power tool to a more inclusive and reciprocal agenda centered around dialogue, mutual learning, capacity building, and global solidarity.

Key Findings:

1. Emergence of Cultural Diplomacy: The EU has recognized cultural diplomacy as a critical component of its foreign policy, alongside traditional security and defense measures. This shift aims to complement existing policies by fostering dialogue and mutual understanding through cultural exchange.

2. Innovative Aspects of the Strategy: The most innovative aspect of the EU's cultural diplomacy strategy is its focus on a new spirit of dialogue, mutual listening, learning, joint capacity-building, and global solidarity, moving away from a narrow emphasis on soft power.

3. Implementation Challenges: Despite the strategic vision, the EU's implementation plan has largely relied on partnerships with cultural institutes of Member States, overlooking other non-state actors such as local governments, independent cultural organizations, and civil society. This exclusion risks diluting the innovative essence of the strategy.

4. Potential Role of Cities: Cities are seen as "under-explored potentials" in EU external cultural relations. They could significantly contribute to implementing the strategy by:

   • Innovative Models: Cities have developed collaborative models that prioritize reciprocity and people-to-people exchanges, offering valuable insights into new participation models and strategies.
   • Geographical Reach: European cities and their transnational networks can act as intermediaries for connecting with diverse and remote geographies, expanding the reach of EU cultural diplomacy.
   • Mitigating Political Tensions: City-to-city collaborations can offer a way around international political tensions that are harder to bridge at the national level, facilitating dialogue in countries with restrictive or authoritarian regimes.
   • Sustainable Development: Cities play a crucial role in supporting culture as an engine for sustainable social and economic development, aligning with the EU's external cultural action agenda.

5. Challenges and Solutions: The decision to delay the systematic involvement of cities is partly due to the EU's respect for Member States' interests and concerns about the reliability of local governments. Partnering with established city networks, such as UCLG, EUROCITIES, and UNESCO's Creative Cities Network, could mitigate these issues and facilitate more effective cooperation.

In conclusion, the EU's cultural diplomacy strategy offers significant opportunities for cities to contribute to its goals, particularly in fostering dialogue, expanding geographical reach, mitigating political tensions, and promoting sustainable development. Addressing the challenges of reliability and changing policy priorities at the local level can be achieved through strategic partnerships with international city networks.