Assessing the growth of cultural diplomacy of the Philippines and France using tourism and education as soft power indicators

• Main Authors: Concepcion, Jacq Bernadine Tecson, Callao, Patricia Ong, Mariano, Alexandra Maxene Osorman
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2023
• Subjects: Cultural diplomacy > Philippines; Cultural diplomacy > France; Philippines > International relations > France; France > International relations > Philippines; International and Area Studies
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdb_intlstud/5; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=etdb_intlstud
• Institution: De La Salle University

International cultural cooperation pertains to the dissemination of knowledge, practices, and values across national boundaries for the purpose of promoting the interests of states and strengthening ties between countries. In line with this, the 75 years of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and France demonstrates the importance of state engagements due to their ability to not only encourage friendship and cooperation, but also to advance the common interests of states. Seeing as soft power and cultural diplomacy constitutes a broad range of themes and areas for discussion, the study will only focus on the aspects that are the most relevant and applicable to the relationship of the Philippines and France. Furthermore, the main objective of the study is to assess the influence of cultural diplomacy in the growth of the Philippines and France’s bilateral relations through two soft power indicators, education and tourism. It seeks to investigate the impact of the exchanges made between the two nations proportionate to the mentioned indicators in order to determine the relevance of cultural diplomacy in interstate relations and contemporary society. Through the utilization of the theory of complex interdependence, it aims to examine the reciprocal effects of cultural development and prosperity gained by the Philippines and France, and use it to evaluate the relevance of their soft powers in relation to the continuance of their ever-strengthening diplomatic ties. The study also seeks to draw a logical and calculated conclusion derived from the comparison of the influence of the soft power indicators against each other, as well as the analysis of the impact it has on one another with the intention of identifying the leading causes of the growth in Philippine-French bilateral relations.