From Cultural Relations to Cultural Theory of International Relations: A Review of Culture in International Relations

After decades of neglecting the role of culture in international relations, in recent years again attention has been paid to this factor. Nevertheless, once the discussion about the role and place of culture in international relations and politics arises there are different and at time misleading interpretation about the concept. The aim of the present article is to identify the links between culture and international relations. For this reason the article examines different texts which have focused on the subjects of culture and international relations. The study shows that although the scope of culture includes cultural policy priorities in foreign policy and thus cultural relations of nations, it is far from being limited to that. The impact of culture on foreign policy decision making, the role of cultural differences, as in looking into international system, in making misunderstandings, disputes and conflicts cover some other aspects of the relevancy. Finally the classification comes to an end by reviewing Ned Lebow’s cultural theory of international relations.