The Agency of Local Actors in Cultural Diplomacy

This book analyses local actors’ agency in implementing official cultural diplomacy (CD) activities, using Japan as a case to show how the nation is presented to Spanish-speaking audiences. Drawing on qualitative methods, the book argues that CD activities undergo a process of localisation, whereby local actors strategically adapt and modify official narratives. This localisation highlights both the agency of local actors and a gap —little explored in the CD literature—between official diplomatic narratives and their actual manifestation at the local level. The book further explains why these narrative adjustments occur and how they foster deeper audience engagement, dialogue, and mutual understanding.