PROFILERING GENOM KULTUR Sveriges ambassad i Wien som kulturförmedlare: Studie av nationell profilering i en europeisk och multilateral miljö 2020–2025

Sammanfattning

The present thesis examines how Sweden is culturally profiled by the Swedish Embassy inVienna within a European and multilateral context during the period 2020–2025. The studydraws on concepts of cultural diplomacy, nation branding, and soft power to examine howculture is used as a diplomatic practice, in an environment characterized by internationalorganizations and European norms. The study is based on a qualitative case study and applies adeductive content analysis of the embassy’s public communication, primarily social mediaposts, documentation of cultural activities, and a complementary interview with an embassyofficial. The analysis focuses on how cultural activities are framed, the values and themesemphasized, and how Sweden is positioned in relation to Europe and the EU. The results showthat the embassy’s cultural work is largely characterized by cooperation, dialogue, and relationalpractices rather than explicit national promotion. Cultural activities are frequently organized incollaboration with local and international partners and framed around shared values such asdemocracy, inclusion, and cultural exchange. Nation branding and soft power thus emergemainly as outcomes of these practices rather than as explicitly stated strategies. By focusing onembassy-level practice, the study adds empirical insight into how cultural diplomacy operatesin a multilateral European setting.