The project Cultural Diplomacy in the Balkans in the 20th and 21st Centuries: Achievements, Challenges, and the Way Forward is funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science (contract No. KP-06-N80/4 dated 07.12.2023). The host institution is the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, which is a leading multidisciplinary research and educational centre for the languages, history, culture and contemporary development of South-Eastern Europe.

The project brings together 14 young and established scholars—professionals in the fields of history, international relations, political sciences, cultural studies and anthropology—from Bulgaria, Austria, the United Kingdom, Romania, France, Sweden and the United States. Their fundamental research helps to shed light on important issues, primarily whether cultural diplomacy enables so-called small states to compensate for the lack of resources, opportunities and methods of traditional diplomacy, and thus to create a better image for themselves and a more significant presence on the international scene. Is it to be assumed that, over the past century, the Balkan states—which have failed to establish their own legitimacy in the field of cultural diplomacy—have nevertheless recognised its potential? Did they, and to what extent, utilise the tools and opportunities of cultural diplomacy in the confrontation between the two superpowers, the US and the USSR, during the Cold War, and subsequently in their future accession to the European Union? A related issue concerns the extent to which leading global powers exerted significant influence over the Balkan region through economic, military and cultural means.

В допълнение към изследователската дейност в рамките на проекта се организират редица публични събития в партньорство с Министерството на културата, Държавния културен институт към министъра на външните работи на Република България, дипломатически представителства, културни институти, университети и изследователски центрове.

Members of the research team are involved in preparing exhibitions on the project’s topic, displayed in Bulgaria and abroad; they present the results of their work at prestigious national and international forums, include them in lectures and seminars, and disseminate them through the media.

The project also aims to establish an international research network dedicated to topics related to cultural diplomacy in the Balkans, in which Bulgaria would play a leading role. This would significantly enhance the country’s international standing and introduce the achievements of Bulgarian scholars to the European and global academic community. The bridges built between different academic and cultural communities would also contribute to the development of academic diplomacy, the exchange of experience and the transfer of knowledge.