Abstract

The current state of international relations requires from humanities and interdisciplinary studies an analysis of the issues related to the use of the elements of “soft power”. In this regard, the research on the practice of France that has a long tradition of cultural diplomacy is of particular academic interest. Moreover, the issues related to the institutionalization of the foreign cultural policy of the French Republic have not been previously the subject of a specific study. Since the late 1950s cultural influence was regarded by the administration of the Fifth Republic as an instrument for realization of its political interests: in the context of continued decolonization, France needed to hold the former colonial countries under its close political impact. The economic and political interests of the Fifth Republic in liberated colonies went hand in hand with its cultural policy: reliance on the local political elite, trade strategy, export growth, and investments were directly depended on the increase in the number of specialists who spoke French and appropriated French values and culture. These factors led to the foundation of a number of state, interstate and public institutions that promoted French culture abroad. Thus, one of the characteristic features of the institutionalization of the French foreign cultural policy was a large amount of actors. This foreign cultural policy is closely related to the concept of “Francophonie”. The interstate organizations established in the two regions of the world, the Canadian province of Quebec and former French Africa, were important for implementing the Francophonie policy. The two five-year programs to expand the cultural and technical presence of France abroad were carried out in 1959–1963 and 1964–1968 during the presidency of Charles de Gaulle. These programs evidence that the Francophonic strategy was officially adopted as part of the Fifth Republic’s foreign policy. France strived to further its economic and political interests through systematic support of the French language and French-speaking population.