US cultural diplomacy after the Cold War
Decline, recovery, and fall?
Published on 10. March 2026
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-5261-8839-7 (ISBN)
Description
In the decades following the USSR's collapse, the United States has shifted from unrivalled hegemon to a position of relative decline. Although America appeared dominant after 1991, its culture-like its diplomatic, military, and economic power-faced little competition. Such favourable conditions reduced the perceived need for cultural diplomacy; the government saw little reason to promote a cultural product that seemed to sell itself. After 9/11, however, it became clear that global attitudes toward the United States were less positive than assumed, prompting a renewed emphasis on cultural diplomacy. Despite internal and external challenges, officials supported a range of cultural initiatives to strengthen the American brand abroad. Cultural diplomacy has since adopted new forms of expression to build positive foreign relations. The arrival of the second Trump administration in 2025 has signalled a retreat from using cultural diplomacy to promote empowerment and diversity, leaving its future uncertain. -- .
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Manchester
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
2 textboxes
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
578 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5261-8839-7 (9781526188397)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Jeffrey H. Michaels | Giles Scott-Smith
US cultural diplomacy after the Cold War
Decline, recovery, and fall?
E-Book
03/2026
Manchester University Press
€132.99
Available for download
Persons
Jeffrey H. Michaels is the IEN Senior Fellow at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals
Giles Scott-Smith is Professor of Transnational Relations and New Diplomatic History and Dean of Leiden University College, Leiden University -- .
Giles Scott-Smith is Professor of Transnational Relations and New Diplomatic History and Dean of Leiden University College, Leiden University -- .
Content
Introduction
Jeffrey H. Michaels and Giles Scott-Smith
Part I: Sites
1 Designing, displaying and engaging for reputational security: The death and resurrection of US expo diplomacy, from Seville 1992 to Dubai 2020
Nicholas J. Cull
2 Museums and US cultural diplomacy in the twenty first century
Hyojung Cho
3 Cultural platforms beyond the compound: American Corners and US diplomacy
Jeffrey H. Michaels
Part II: Sounds and Screens
4 Still '120,000 American ambassadors'?: Hollywood, the US Department of State and 21st century cultural diplomacy
Paul Moody
5 'A sixteen-inch broadside of soft power': The New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang
Jonathan Rosenberg
6 Unresolved dissonances: Tensions and motivations in Next Level and OneBeat
Erica Fedor
Part III: Policy Settings
7 The president as cultural diplomat: Donald Trump, the presidency, and American cultural diplomacy
Andrew J. Gawthorpe
8 Washington's see-saw: US public diplomacy and climate change
Mara Oliva
9 Bending the arc of history: Racial equity and protest in US cultural diplomacy
Oliver Elliott
10 Measuring the impact of 21st-century US cultural diplomacy
Mark Katz
Conclusion
Giles-Scott Smith and Jeffrey H. Michaels -- .
Jeffrey H. Michaels and Giles Scott-Smith
Part I: Sites
1 Designing, displaying and engaging for reputational security: The death and resurrection of US expo diplomacy, from Seville 1992 to Dubai 2020
Nicholas J. Cull
2 Museums and US cultural diplomacy in the twenty first century
Hyojung Cho
3 Cultural platforms beyond the compound: American Corners and US diplomacy
Jeffrey H. Michaels
Part II: Sounds and Screens
4 Still '120,000 American ambassadors'?: Hollywood, the US Department of State and 21st century cultural diplomacy
Paul Moody
5 'A sixteen-inch broadside of soft power': The New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang
Jonathan Rosenberg
6 Unresolved dissonances: Tensions and motivations in Next Level and OneBeat
Erica Fedor
Part III: Policy Settings
7 The president as cultural diplomat: Donald Trump, the presidency, and American cultural diplomacy
Andrew J. Gawthorpe
8 Washington's see-saw: US public diplomacy and climate change
Mara Oliva
9 Bending the arc of history: Racial equity and protest in US cultural diplomacy
Oliver Elliott
10 Measuring the impact of 21st-century US cultural diplomacy
Mark Katz
Conclusion
Giles-Scott Smith and Jeffrey H. Michaels -- .