Call for Papers: New Perspectives on Soft Power and Cultural Diplomacy

Conferências e Colóquios

Qua . 24 Fev . 00h00 a Sex . 26 Fev . 23h59

Call for Papers

New Perspectives on Soft Power and Cultural Diplomacy

24-26 February 2027 – National Library of Portugal, Lisbon

Organization: Institute of Social Sciences (ICS-UL) and Polo CIDEHUS - UAL

Over the last decades, the cultural turn in International Relations and the growing dialogue between historians and social scientists have profoundly transformed the study of international affairs. Increasing attention has been devoted to the role of ideas, identities, representations, and cultural practices in shaping international orders, challenging approaches centered primarily on military, political, and economic power. Within this framework, scholars have increasingly recognized that cultural exchanges have often functioned as a principal infrastructure of international relations, sustaining contact when traditional diplomatic channels are strained, suspended, or politically contested.

Moreover, recent scholarship has moved beyond the Cold War framework that long dominated studies of cultural diplomacy and soft power, embracing longer historical trajectories and more diverse geographical contexts, while also broadening the range of actors considered to include not only major powers but also small, medium-sized, and peripheral states shaping international influence and cultural connections across borders.

Building on this, this conference seeks to provide a focused and interactive forum for discussion, exchange, and collaboration on the relationship between culture and power in international relations from the nineteenth century to the present. It welcomes contributions that investigate the changing forms, actors, and practices of cultural diplomacy and soft power across different political regimes, international orders, and geographical settings, while encouraging comparative, transnational, and interdisciplinary perspectives.

Contributions may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

1. New perspectives in Cultural Diplomacy: Theories and approaches

Cultural diplomacy of authoritarian systems toward democratic nations
Small-state and peripheral-power cultural diplomacy
Non-Western and post-colonial perspectives on soft power
Religion as a form of cultural diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy in periods of crisis

2. Cultural Projection and Everyday Cultural Diplomacy

Art, cinema, music, photography, and other cultural expressions as instruments of international influence
Tourism, cultural routes, and heritage destinations in the construction of national images
Religious actors, faith-based networks, and cultural diplomacy
Gastronomy, food cultures, and gastrodiplomacy

3. Heritage Diplomacy

Museums, archives, and heritage institutions in international relations
Restitution, repatriation, and cultural diplomacy
Heritage diplomacy and international cultural cooperation in the post-colonial framework

4. Education, Language, and Academic Diplomacy