Culture and Power in EU's Neighbourhood Policy : Case Study of EU4Culture Project

Abstract: The European Union uses different means of power to exert its influence on the direct Neighbours of the polity.  One of the most influential and widely used means in the EU's foreign policy is soft-power and the value diffusion process. The process differs from harsh “imposition” of the norms and values, it rather creates the norms which are desirable to be achieved by others. The discourses used in the process of norm diffusion reinforce Union’s normative identity, but different types of powers intersect and interact with each other depending on the sector of cooperation. What is happening in the “People-to-People: Culture and Education” dimension of European Neighbourhood policy is described in the thesis, by analysing modes of external governance, tracing their biopolitical nature and determining the role of culture in the wider context of the relationship between EU and the Neighboring East.           This thesis is going to analyse grant applications in the framework of currently ongoing EU4Culture project , which aims to support the preparation of Cultural Development Strategies in non-capital cities and towns of Eastern Partnership countries (EaP). The project’s main objective is to promote Culture and Creativity as an engine for economic growth and social development. It is currently being held in five EaP countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova.