The European Song Contest as a tool of cultural diplomacy

Sa？etak Cultural diplomacy has generally been neglected in the studies of international relations and diplomacy, often left in the shadow of a more direct, traditional, use of diplomacy. Traditional diplomatic practice is nowadays complemented with new subfields such as economic and commercial diplomacy, diaspora diplomacy, and public and cultural diplomacy. Today, in an era of globalization and rapid technological advancement, cultural diplomacy represents a third pillar of foreign policy. This paper defines the concept of cultural diplomacy and explores its active practice in the longest running international song competition in the world – the Eurovision