Soft Power – Diplomacy and Identiy

Abstract

This paper aims to describe the relationship between diplomacy and
identity. Can we still talk about soft power in the terms of Joseph Nye?
Does Europe use soft power? And if so, does it use it regarding the term
of ‘collective identity’? Starting from the article of Anthony D. Smith,
National identity and the idea of European unity, can we talk about collective
cultural identity? Europe is a continent that knows and accepts lots of
different cultures but does it aim, in terms of definition, to have a single
„European culture”? There are lots of questions raised by this article.
If the members of UE are searching to have a collective identity, how
are the member states reacting to this idea? Eventually, every single
country is not going to give up the national culture and what is defining
each other. There is a common destiny that combines continuity and
memory. We can find this at every social level and also regarding the
national diplomacy. Attracting the UE members into having a European
culture, and doing this in terms of soft power, can this really work for
the UE? The European identity, as well as the national identity, it is not
a natural one but a social one. It is a social construct seen as the result
of historical conditions and cultural relations.