Dialogic approach in the EU’s international cultural relations: joint EUNIC-EU delegation projects as heritage diplomacy

ABSTRACT Culture and cultural heritage have become central aspects in the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy that increasingly emphasizes dialogue and people-to-people connections as the basis for international cultural relations. This article explores 11 projects jointly facilitated by the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) and EU Delegations in nine countries located in Europe, Africa, and South America as part of a strategic cooperation between the European Commission, the European External Action Service and EUNIC. We identify five modes of highlighting dialogue as a key element in the EU’s international cultural relations and discuss how the ideas of dialogue, cultural heritage, values, and diplomacy are entangled and interrelated in our data. The study underlines the core role of the cooperation between EUNIC and EU Delegations and shows how a dialogic approach determines the EU’s international cultural relations and at the same time interconnects its international and internal policy aims.