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Jacket comp trace 6.pdf 11/06/2007 05:16:05 p.m. C M Y CM MY CY CMY K REPRESENTING CULTURAL DIPLOMACY Soft Power, Cosmopolitan Constructivism and Nation Branding in Sweden and Mexico D BY CÉSAR VILLANUEVA RIVAS VÄXJÖ UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2007 ISBN: 978-91-7636-560-1 Contact: [email protected] or [email protected] “The progress of Diplomatic Theory has been from the narrow conception of ex- clusive tribal rights to the wider conception of inclusive common interests” Sir Harold Nicolson 1 Abstract Villanueva, César (2007) Representing Cultural Diplomacy: Soft Power, Cos- mopolitan Constructivism and Nation Branding in Mexico and Sweden .Acta Wexionensia No. ???. ISSN: 1404-4307, ISBN: 978-91-7636-560-1. Written in English. This study aims at understanding how representational theories can substantiate the field of Cultural Diplomacy by looking at three models: Cosmopolitan Con- structivism, Nation Branding and Soft Power. The task is to provide a theoretical backbone to understand, reformulate and also develop the field of Cultural Di- plomacy by analyzing and comparing the three main representational models al- together. Using Hanna F. Pitkin’s discussion on political representation as a background, the author analyses the pertinence of these ideas in the form of contemporary discourses of Cultural Diplomacy. The main issues these representational models address have to do with how culture is represented abroad by diplomacies in terms of contents and discursivity, paying particular attention to the identity-alterity relations between the cultural-real and the represented-referent. The main theoretical original contribution of the book lies in setting up an agenda for analyzing Cosmopolitan Constructivism and its sources: multilateral diplomacy, cosmopolitan theory and constructivist politics. In order to anchor these debates in specific realities, the author studies concrete aspects of Mexican and Swedish Cultural Diplomacies during the nineties and early millennium, using them as expository cases that illustrate the theoretical apparatus. Two specific cases are chosen to illustrate the political templates un- derlying concepts of representation: the idea of Soft-Power in Mexico through the 1990-1992 international exhibition “Mexico Splendors of Thirty Centuries” and the idea of “Nation-Branding” as set up by the Swedish Cultural Diplomatic apparatus to respond to global pressures in the early millennium. In the expository cases, the book shows that Mexico and Sweden have oscillating values between a form of Cosmopolitan Constructivism and Soft Power, with an emerging Nation Branding presence in their cultural diplomacies. The conclusion of this study shows that Cultural Diplomacy is a field that, in spite of its relative impact inside the foreign ministries, can help understand the processes of constructing a cultural-national identity abroad in relation to the puzzling representations of alterities in a global world. In sum, this thesis shows the symbolic potential of nations, in Cultural Diplomacy terms, to tell their own stories to the world and, concurrently, pay attention to what others have to ex- press about themselves. Key words: Representational Theory, Cultural Diplomacy, Cosmopolitan Con- structivism, Soft Power, Nation Branding, Mexican identity, Swedish identity. 2 Acknowledgments T his work is indebted to a number of people, organizations and institutions. My first thanks go to professors Tom Bryder and Stanley Katz. They have been inspirational forces in my work, giving me support and advice in such a novel topic. They have been my main supervisors in this thesis and also excellent advisors throughout my career as a doctoral student. Tom and Stanley encouraged me to join international conferences, present and discuss papers in seminars, and opened opportunities for me to spend valuable time in their own institutions, in Copenhagen and Princeton. They not only believed in my work and made intelligent comments on my text, but also took the time to speak to me in a more informal way, caring about my daily whereabouts as an international student, opening a space for empathy and understanding, in spite of their own busy professional and personal agendas. At times we had wonderful visits to art museums, where we strolled, pondered and discussed aesthetics and artistic trends, enjoying a common passion that complemented our discussions in politics, history and diplomacy. For their intellectual and personal inspiration to me, this book is dedicated to them. Many of my colleagues at the School of Social Sciences have made this work possible. Betty Rodhin, Fredrik Bynander and Krister Håkansson were pivotal in my decision to come to Sweden to study political science, by giving me all de- tails necessary to understand the academic system, but more importantly, the cultural milieu. They paid several visits to Mexico City, teaching, researching and on vacation, allowing me to enjoy time with them every time. They really en- sured that I had a good start in Växjö, opening the doors of their homes to me and sharing with me their own contacts and introducing me to the people I needed to know in order to survive at the beginning of my studies. Along with these friends, I had the good fortune to hold a teaching position at Universidad Iberoamericana where Ambassadors Agustin Gutiérrez Canet and Martha Bárce- nas Coqui also held senior positions in the Department of International Affairs. They gave me all support and advice necessary to continue with my cultural interests in IR and later, kindly invited me to join successive summer courses in Sweden as a teacher. In this, many of my Swedish and Mexican friends taught an unforgettable inter-institutional course named “International Relations and Cul- ture” from where many of the ideas for this book were first sketched. In a happy turn of fate, Martha Barcenas Coqui and Agustín Gutierrez Canet were later posted in Finland and Denmark where they enjoy their lives in the diplomatic service, and have me as to visit from time to time. Växjö University has been a place where friendships have flourished. I feel gratitude to my first professors at the department of Political Science, Lennart Berg- 3 felt, Lena Ageval and Stefan Höjelid, who made me part of the group from the start and listened attentively to my suggestions, making sure I was included in their plans. Professor Lennart Lundquist from Lund University was also alert and interested in my progress and read the thesis prospectus and some papers I pre- sented in our political science seminar. In a cold winter of 2003, when I had just joined the program, the “PhD student gang” gave me a welcome gathering at the famous local Växjö Bishop Arms and I still remember their presence very dearly from that day: Anne Haglund, Fredrik Bynander, Torgny Klasson, Daniel and Charlotte Silander, Rebecka Ulfgard, Martin Nilsson, Karl Loxbo, Ulf Petäjä, Alexander Rodhin and Björn Idlinge. All of them have integrated me in their own ways through the years, not only making me feel at home but also putting searching questions about my research. They all made a lucid bright pack of good critics who listened to me and showed empathy in good and bad times. All my gratitude to them. Later on, new faces joined the department, people with whom I have shared academic concerns and spent some time. They, for the most part have either won- dered what my research was all about, or why my Swedish language skills were so bad: Magnus Hagevi, Karin Olsson, Tobias Bromander, Johanna Jormfeldt, Otto Petterson, Erik Wångmar, Elin Hellquist, Marcus Ohlström, Stefan Lindkvist and Staffan Andersson. A big fraternal thanks to all of them. Another exciting circle of friends in other departments from whom I also learnt a lot was that made up by Catarina Gaunitz, Elisabet Wartoft, Cecilia Brandel, Hans Andrén, Christer Persson, Glenn Sjöstrand, Anna and Stefan Lund, Hans and Marcela Lundberg, Kristina Möller, Manuela Aguilar, Sara and Marie Den- ward, Jaime Campos, Osvaldo Salas, Dante Alarcón, Sandra Carranza, Lotta Skoglund, and Ingela Åberg. With all of them, I shared a continuous dialogue and spent some so much needed leisure time, dining out, travelling to places, chatting, drinking or dancing some salsa tones. A warm collective thanks to all of them. Other good colleagues and teachers showed interest and shared comments with me on the corridors or over a cup of coffee. I truly appreciated their efforts to connect with me at some level: Lars Zanderin, Svante Lundberg, Ola Agevall, Hans Lindberg, Dennis Frank, Linnea Sandstedt, Anna Maria Sandstrand, Malin Hjorth, Eva Lundberg, Joacim Martinsson, Mats Trondman, Dino Viscovi, An- ders Nilsson, Håkan Sandström, Marcus Janesson, Abdul Mohamed, Andrejs Ozolins, Bengt-Åke Gustafsson, Peter Hultgren, Cecilia Jonsson, Joacim Lars- son, Dan Maspers and Dan Sturesson. Special mention goes to professors Gunnar Olofsson, Mats Sjölin, Emil Ud- hammar, the dean Thorbjörn Nilsson and vice-deans Björn Idlinge and Martin Nilsson (in their administrative roles) who in one way or another, showed interest in my academic and professional needs, and supported me from their institutional roles to expand my academic perspectives. For example, Martin gave me support to teach the international course “Perspectives of Globalization” and “Arts and Democracy” over a period of three years, for which I gained not only teaching experience, but also a few extra coins to make ends meet given my 4 rather limited stipend from Mexico as an international student. At the end of my stay, Mats and Emil made valuable suggestions helping to improve the final ma- nuscript of my thesis. Stefan Höjelid has been my Swedish “Virgil” in my trip through Hell and Purgatory in the last bureaucratic stages of the thesis. My rec- ognition also goes to Catarina Gaunitz who has made the last administrative paper work for me before the defence of the thesis. I also want to mention some wonderful people working in the administration of the institution who made my days in Växjö much easier and brighter: Solvay Hedberg, Margareta Wikström, Pär-Arne Rosén, Johanna Sturesson, Charlotte Wikell Sjöberg, Margareta Ar- vidsson, Cecilia Brandel, Birgitta Smith. They were frequently present in my du- ties, either helping me with booking rooms, preparing budgets or administering the final grades to my students. From the University coffee shop, Johanna Andersson, Mia Sturesson and Anna Tuneskog-Olsberg got the some of the best coffees in town, always with a proverbial smile. Many people in Stockholm and Uppsala have been critical in getting information to me so that I could have the necessary references for my topic. Fredrik Wet- terqvist is not only a top class Swedish diplomat, but also a wonderful person. He gave me a number of interviews, pointed me towards the right people for contacts, opened the doors of his house to me, and invited me for lunch (not a minor thing these days). His wife Åsa is a wonderful singer at the famous Upp- sala Allmänna Sången choir that I have been listening during the last two years with admiration. At the Foreign Ministry, Anette Jakobsson, Patrik Svensson, Maja Bentzer were interested in my project and gave me part of their time to gain knowledge of their activities. From the Swedish Institute, Hans Lepp gave me good suggestions to carry on my work, especially in the Swedish part. Åsa Lundmark was direct, clear and generous. Per Svensson and Gudrun Vahlquist from the Council of Culture gave me thoughts to advance my Swedish materials in a richer perspective. In Mexico City, my colleagues from the National University of Mexico (UNAM) always showed their appreciation to me by keeping a distance course over the years under my responsibility, and making sure I was never totally gone: Lilia Jimenez, Carlos Uscanga, César Delgado and Consuelo Dávila, Irene and Nor- berto Nava, and the lovely secretary Juanita. At Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA), I always got support from Agustín Gutiérrez Canet, Alejandro Anaya, Cristina Barrón and the brilliant secretaries Amalia and Lourdes. From the Na- tional Institute of Fine Arts (INBA), my thanks go to Alejandro Vega, Jesús Miránda, Roberto Gómez Soto Othón Téllez, Jesús Taylor, María Luisa Frutos and Gonzálo Rodríguez who have supported me over the years. Double thanks to Roberto for accepting the task of designing the jacket for this book. My many thanks go to Ernesto Sosa from the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Re- lations, who gave a couple of rather explicit interviews on the subject of cultural diplomacy, to later extend an invitation for me to teach at the Matías Romero School of Diplomacy, which also led to the writing of a couple of chapters for Mexican books. Porfirio Thierry Muñoz Ledo and Jessica Cascante gave me some hints on how to approach the Mexican case. Silvia Molina opened the do- 5 ors of her house to me for a wonderful long conversation on the subject. Martha Bárcenas and Agustín Gutierrez-Canet were also very professional presenting their ideas on diplomacy and culture to me in a rather pragmatic way, and they are actually some of the most enthusiastic diplomats genuinely interested in representing Mexican culture abroad that I know of. Daniel Leyva from the National Institute of Fine Arts and Jaime Nualart from the National Council of Culture and Arts were enthusiastic and kind to me as a PhD student. Jorge Alberto Lo- zoya and Gerardo Estrada are not only exceptionally experienced cultural diplomats, but also top intellectuals who gave me a generous amount of time in their agendas for several interviews and phone exchanges. Thanks also go to Leticia Luna and Irma Sánchez from the “Genaro Estrada” historic and diplomatic ar- chives, from the Secretary of Foreign Affairs in Mexico. Many institutions cooperated to make this last transition possible. I got a student scholarship from the Mexican National Science and Technology Foundation (CONACYT) to carry on my doctoral studies in Sweden. The School of Social Science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) paid for a one-way air ticket for me to come to Sweden at the beginning of my studies. The School of Social Sciences at Växjö University supported me offering me an of- fice to work, a stipend for books and travels and all the academic support necessary to finish my work. The Research Committee of the School of Social Sci- ences allocated funds throughout my stay so that I could participate in conferences, do some archive and interview research, and visit some institutions to gain first hand knowledge of the things I write about in this book. The research Committee made it also possible to have Stanley Katz visiting the university and participating as an opponent in my last seminar, during the fall 2006. The department of Political Science at Växjö University also helped me out to get some assistance in translating official documents from Swedish into English, and Stefan Lindquist made a great difference. They also provided me with the funds to get the professional English proofreading of the book for which I also thank David Ratford for his superb job. And last, but not least, this book is produced under the financial support of Växjö University Press having the determined and kind editorial support of Kerstin Brodén. During my last year, when my Mexican funds dried up, the Dean Thorbjörn Nilsson offered me a contract to help me finish my studies, in combination with a grant we had just been given from the Swedish Science Foundation (Vetenskaprådet), via an invitation from Marie Denward from the Interactive Institute, which also gave me the opportunity to do advanced research in the field of contemporary arts in both Mexico and Sweden. I warmly thank people who took the time to read my draft and gave me concrete comments, either on the whole or on parts of it. Norbert Götz was an early sup- porter after reading a paper I wrote for a Maastricht conference in 2004. Manuela Aguilar was good in asking for more clarity and simplification. Christer Persson pointed at the necessity to reach a “final reasoning stage” as a PhD thesis in my work. Anna Lund made me reflect on the “cultural part” of my work more care- fully. Glenn Sjöstrand supported me in my reading of the identity and Swedish sections with rich comments. Hans Lundberg made encouraging remarks and posed questions in the “discourse” part. Karl Loxbo was an excellent intellectual 6 sparring-partner who made me feel the thesis could actually fly. Fredrik By- nander gave a generous IR “critical look” at my thesis, posing a few interroga- tions along the way. Karina Olivares is one of the most passionate discussants on the topic and gave me constructive comments. Rebecka Ulfgard read the manu- script in detail giving me some “elemental lessons” on how to conclude a doctoral thesis in political science in Sweden. A disclosure to all of them and my advisors: as in all cases, responsibility for the book belongs entirely to me. Last but not least, my mother Ofelia and my brother Daniel deserve all my gratitude for being so patient with me throughout the years. My nephew Carlitos is my pride. Lucía gave me the confidence to take on this journey and was a sup- porting partner through these years. My apologies to some of the close relatives who have noticed my “absence” from the family circles in recent years, specially my aunties Lucila, Martha V., Eda, Genoveva (an the extended Moncada family), my uncles Enrique, Flavio and Rafael. My second family in Tacoma Wash- ington, Helen and Stanley are always remembered with joy and thankfulness. Rebecka is a ray of light, and has given me the strength and solace in this last stage of the thesis. My father passed away a few years ago, but my gratitude to him always remains intact. In retrospect, it was a brave decision to come from Mexico to study a doctoral program in Sweden. Everyday life was a challenge: climate (yes, it is cold up here!), food, friends, distances and trying to make sense of the Scandinavian temperament. In spite of my relative knowledge about the Swedish graduate educational system at the time, my decision was also naïf. There are very few intellectual connections between the two countries and their political science tradi- tions differ enormously. It was a difficult task to make sense of the many differ- ent aspects of Swedish academia: language, references, theoretical styles, meth- ods, teaching and criticism. Yet, no matter how complicated, this was the best decision I ever made. Swedish research in the field is quite international and visible, with top of the line professors, great infrastructure and publications flourishing. Sweden’s political science tradition has a well deserved reputation. On the other hand, it is a difficult space to penetrate as an outsider. There is not enough international diversity inside the departments, and in my experience there was much “blind” self-confidence and self-reassurance. The Anglo-Saxon tradition is the main navigational compass, for good or ill. In sum, the differences between my Mexican references and the Swedish ones were greater that what I ex- pected. To my surprise, I soon realized that this book makes me the first Mexi- can PhD in Political Science ever to graduate from a Swedish (and probably a Scandinavian) university. I am not sure that there are any other foreign international students, especially from outside Europe, writing PhD theses in Political Science in Sweden. But I doubt it. At the same time, I do not know of any Swede taking or having taken a full PhD in our discipline outside the “comfort zone.” This might be a symptom of domestic isolation or simply unidirectional interna- tionalization. Since this thesis is about mutual understanding and cosmopolitan values, this personal concern is justified. International cooperation and exchange in graduate education and research is needed, in my opinion, if Swedish Political Science is to move beyond itself in the years to come. 7 8 Contents Acknowledgments Contents Figures Illustrations and Pictures Abbreviations INTRODUCTION 17 Cultural Diplomacy and Holbein’s The Ambassadors 17 The Main Research Riddle(s) 20 What is the Fuss over Cultural Diplomacy? 20 Cultural Diplomacy Representations: SP-CC-NB 22 Method: On the Construction of Representation 23 Swedish and Mexican Cultural Diplomacies 25 Aim, Delimitations and Disposition 27 Organization of the Thesis 28 Final Note: How to Relate to this Study 30 CHAPTER ONE: Representing Cultural Diplomacy 31 Introduction 31 1.1. Addressing “Cultural Diplomacy” Representations 32 1.1.1. The Restrictive “E-P-A” Triad 32 1.1.2. The Cultural Attaché 34 1.1.3. Constructing Cultural Diplomacy in Discourse 36 a) Instrumentality 37 b) Securitization 39 c) Spatiality 40 d) The Directionality 42 e) The Private/Public divide 43 1.2. Diplomacy: The Public and Representations 45 1.2.1 Public Diplomacy in Discourse 46 1.2.2. Difference between Public and Cultural Diplomacy 47 1.2.3. Public Diplomacy in Sweden and Mexico 49 1.3. Representing Cultural Diplomacy: Soft Power, Nation Branding and Cosmopolitan Constructivism in Discourse 50 1.3.1 Soft-Power 51 1.3.2. Nation-Branding 53 1.3.3. Cosmopolitan Constructivism 55 1.4. Conclusion 60 9