This open access book offers a timely and comprehensive rethinking of European cultural diplomacy at a moment of renewed East–West tensions, democratic fragility, and digital disruption. It provides both analytical depth and practical guidance on how culture can function as a strategic, inclusive, and credible instrument of European engagement. Bringing together scholars and practitioners from across Europe, the book examines cultural diplomacy at the intersection of politics, history, media, and the arts. Drawing on empirically rich case studies—from Franco-Romanian exchanges and Polish diasporic networks to TikTok narratives, AI-driven curation, and cultural responses to Russia’s war on Ukraine—the chapters demonstrate how historical awareness, digital literacy, and inclusive narratives can strengthen both internal cohesion and external credibility. Distinctive in its East–West focus, methodological pluralism, and policy orientation, the book translates research insights into actionable proposals, including mechanisms for aligning national institutes with EU initiatives, participatory models involving civil society and minorities, and new training formats for cultural-diplomacy practitioners. It concludes with concrete recommendations for a historically informed, digitally resilient, and values-based European approach. The book is intended for scholars and graduate students in the fields of European studies, international relations, cultural and public diplomacy, media and gender studies, and for policymakers and practitioners serving at cultural institutes, ministries, NGOs, urban networks, and EU bodies.
