From Disinterested Cultural Exchange to the Pursuit of National Interests : Czech(oslovak)-German Cultural Relations and Changing Conceptions of the Cultural Diplomacy of the Federal Republic of Germany
Abstract
This article analyses and assesses changes in the basic principles and priorities of the cultural diplomacy of the Federal Republic of Germany from the post-war period to the present. It does so by comparing three central documents related to general conceptions, from 1977, 2000, and 2011, and considering them into the broader context of German political and social developments.
The article seeks to explain what these changes say about the overall development of German foreign policy and German society, its perceptions of itself, and coming to terms with its complicated past. The interpretation of the individual conceptions is accompanied by a brief outline and an assessment of their consequences for the development of Czech(oslovak)-German cultural relations.
The article draws on approaches taken in political science, while considering the topic from the position of an historian. It can reasonably be said to be part of the trend sometimes called 'modern' or 'new' political history.