Article by Georgy Kutyrev and Alexander Marchukov “The EU Public Diplomacy in Latin America”

The “Contemporary Europe (Sovremennaya Evropa)” Journal has published an article “EU Public Diplomacy in Latin America: State of Affairs, Challenges and Prospects” by Georgy Kutyrev and Alexander Marchukov, researchers at the International Laboratory on World Order Studies and the New Regionalism at the Higher School of Economics.

The article analyzes the public diplomacy of the European Union in Latin America in the context of the geopolitical confrontation between Brussels and Moscow and the growing influence of the PRC. The EU's desire to reduce Russia's political influence in Latin America through public diplomacy tools actualizes the need for a thorough study of the specifics of the interaction of EU diplomats with the Latin American public. Based on the methodology of social constructivism and the theory of normative force existing within its framework, the characteristic features of EU public diplomacy in the region and the challenges faced by European diplomats in practice are revealed. The following features of EU public diplomacy in Latin America are highlighted: emphasis on advocacy, cultural diplomacy and academic exchanges as key tools for interaction with the local community; functioning in conditions of a positive attitude of the majority of the population of the countries of the region towards the EU; focus on a monologue form of communication in the field of digital diplomacy. The key challenges of Brussels' public diplomacy in Latin American countries include: a shortage of financial and human resources; effective media policy of Russia and China; differentiation of Latin American countries in terms of democratic development, a decrease in the ability of the European Union to promote a value-normative agenda among Latin American audiences. In the medium term, it is unlikely that the EU's public diplomacy in the region can change qualitatively.

The research was carried out at the expense of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation No. 22-78-10014.