Entre dos aguas : la música en la diplomacia cultural de Reino Unido y España (1964-1986)

Résumé

Music has been used by the States as part of its soft power because of its ability to overcome the linguistic borders and to influence in the perception of the country abroad. This research analyses the role of music in the cultural diplomacy developed by Spanish and British governments in the context of the bilateral relations, from the labour victory of Harold Wilson in the United Kingdom to the Spanish accession to the European Communities and the “normalization” of the British-Spanish contacts, always conditioned by the Gibraltar conflict. The main goal is to study the characteristics and the evolution of the British and Spanish musical diplomacy in each nation between 1964 and 1986 through an analysis at different levels. Firstly, one of the aims of this research is to examine the history of the British-Spanish relations with the objective of establishing the main elements that determined them, from Gibraltar to issues like military area, trade, tourism and international organizations, among other fields. This study allows us to contextualize the development of the cultural relations between both countries and to define its influence over their evolution. On the other hand, it is essential to examine the changes of the cultural institutions in charge of cultural diplomacy in each country - in the British case, the British Council headquarters in London and its representation in Spain, the Dirección General de Relaciones Culturales in Madrid and the Instituto de España in London in the case of Spain-, as a basis to understand the elements that conditioned the development of cultural policies abroad and the changes which they suffered...