The Birth of the Cultural Treaty in Europe's Age of Crisis

Abstract

Bilateral treaties are an age-old tool of diplomacy, but before the First World War they were only rarely applied to the world of intellectual and cultural relations. This article explores the process by which diplomatic agreements on intellectual and cultural exchange came instead to be a common feature of interwar European international relations by contrasting two types of agreements identified by period observers: ‘intellectual’ accords, typified by the agreements France signed in the 1920s, and ‘cultural’ treaties, advanced by fascist Italy in the 1930s. Comparing France and Italy's use of such agreements in Central-Eastern Europe reveals that Italy's fascist regime responded to the crises and opportunities of the interwar period by developing a distinctive model of ‘cultural treaty’ that applied state power to international cultural exchange, and mobilised the idea of ‘culture’ itself, in a new and influential manner.

Introduction: The Cultural Axis Between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany

“…As the balance of power within the alliance tipped in Germany's favour after Italy's belated entry into the war in June 1940, Italians clung to the cultural capital of their nation, as evidenced by debates among Italian intellectuals around the nature of the New Order in the 1940s. 36 Culture played a major role in defining, supporting and representing Italo-German relations. Christian Goeschel has interpreted the seventeen encounters between Mussolini and Hitler as powerful performances of unity and friendship between the two nations.…”

Tourism Diplomacy in Cold War Europe: Symbolic Gestures, Cultural Exchange and Human Rights

“…The Italo-Hungarian cultural treaty of 1935 went further by committing the signatories to encouraging their citizens to visit one another's countries, thereby elevating the promotion of tourism to a matter of bilateral relations. 15 The primary goal of Italy's overtures to Hungary, however, was to isolate Yugoslavia from its neighbour. Traffic between Italy and Hungary was modest, but symbolic displays of cordial relations could hopefully keep Hungary from becoming too friendly with Yugoslavia, with which Italy had strained diplomatic relations.…”