Problem setting. The study of the potential of cultural diplomacy has been growing rapidly in recent times. This is due to the realization of the failures of traditional and «force» diplomacy, which often demonstrate the inability to ensure the successful solution of important international problems. Researchers note the need to use cultural diplomacy to intensify and increase the effectiveness of international cooperation.
Target of research. Understanding the actualization of cultural diplomacy of Ukraine in the modern world, an attempt to analyze its legal basis.
Analysis of resent researches and publications. The concep «cultural diplomacy» is more common in scientific discourse. Scientists such as D. Vedeneev, V. Kostrov, T. Peresunko, N. Musienko, V. Tsyvaty, M. Kulinich, O. Rozumna, and others have contributed to the development of the role of cultural diplomacy in the foreign policy vector of the Ukraine. Political science works predominate among the researches. Few works analyze the legal aspects of cultural diplomacy.
Article’s main body. In the context of globalization there is a loss of national origins. Therefore, states must use all their potential to preserve and enhance their own and the world’s cultural heritage, mutual understanding and support of interethnic harmony. International legal thought defines the concept of «diplomacy» in different ways, sometimes identifying it with international law or foreign policy. However, diplomacy is one of the most important tools of foreign policy, along with its components such as the armed forces, intelligence, economic ties, and so on. Cultural diplomacy is a type of diplomacy that uses the country’s cultural heritage as a means to an end.
The role of cultural potential in international relations is highly valued. It is cultural diplomacy, not the use of force to impose political, ideological ideas, which aims to unite countries.
Ukraine is returning to the active use of cultural diplomacy tools in the XXI century, when there was an urgent need for broad international support for the implementation of ambitious European integration plans. The system of coordination, stimulation and organization of cultural activities at the international level allows identifying the tasks of cultural diplomacy of Ukraine. Ukrainian cultural diplomacy based on international legal instruments ratified by Ukraine and acts of national legislation. The analysis of the problem allows determining the urgent task of creating a favorable legislative framework for the maximum effectiveness of cultural diplomacy.
Conclusions and prospects for the development. The filling of legal gaps in cultural diplomacy should take place in the vector of recognition of culture as a subject of foreign policy, awareness of its reputational and social potential. Ukraine faces the task of updating old and finding new cultural images and symbols to create a decent image of the country, as well as to create an appropriate legal framework for the effective implementation of the tasks of cultural diplomacy.
A Balancing Act? Inter-Ministerial Co-operation in the Work of the Cultural Attachés