Addressing Audiences Abroad: Cultural and Public Diplomacy in seventeenth-century Europe

TY - JOUR

T1 - Addressing Audiences Abroad: Cultural and Public Diplomacy in seventeenth-century Europe

AU - Lamal, Nina

AU - van Gelder, Klaas

PY - 2021/7/5

Y1 - 2021/7/5

N2 - This special issue highlights the interactions between diplomats and wider audiences in their host country during the seventeenth century. The dynamic and complex relationships between diplomats and foreign audiences in the early modern period have remained somewhat under the radar. While concepts such as “soft power”, “cultural diplomacy”, and “public diplomacy” have been developed by scholars of international relations in the twentieth century to describe and analyse twentieth-century realities, we argue that early modern historians can draw inspiration from these concepts to start answering the questions how, why, and when different European states and their representatives addressed foreign audiences abroad. Taking such an approach will expand our understanding of the strategies and tools diplomats had at their disposal to engage with different audiences. We conclude this approach has the potential to open new avenues of research into the history of symbolic communication, news, public opinion, as well as early modern international relations.

AB - This special issue highlights the interactions between diplomats and wider audiences in their host country during the seventeenth century. The dynamic and complex relationships between diplomats and foreign audiences in the early modern period have remained somewhat under the radar. While concepts such as “soft power”, “cultural diplomacy”, and “public diplomacy” have been developed by scholars of international relations in the twentieth century to describe and analyse twentieth-century realities, we argue that early modern historians can draw inspiration from these concepts to start answering the questions how, why, and when different European states and their representatives addressed foreign audiences abroad. Taking such an approach will expand our understanding of the strategies and tools diplomats had at their disposal to engage with different audiences. We conclude this approach has the potential to open new avenues of research into the history of symbolic communication, news, public opinion, as well as early modern international relations.

U2 - 10.1080/0268117X.2021.1926651

DO - 10.1080/0268117X.2021.1926651

M3 - Article

SN - 2050-4616

VL - 36

SP - 367

EP - 387

JO - The Seventeenth Century

JF - The Seventeenth Century

IS - 3

ER -