Features of the external cultural policy of the Italian Republic in the countries of the post-Soviet space (on the example of the relations between Italy and Uzbekistan)

Avetisyan Alvina Aleksandrovna Postgraduate student, Department of Italian Language, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies, Moscow State University 119991, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1, p. 13 alvinaavetisyan@yandex.ru

Foreign cultural policy, often based on cultural diplomacy and part of a set of "soft power" policy measures, is currently one of the leading areas of foreign activity designed to create a positive image of the country abroad and extend its influence to the countries of presence. Italy, as a country with such resources as historical, cultural and enogastronomic heritage, as well as luxury products and technologies for its production and promotion, is an active figure in the field of spreading its culture and has quite diverse "soft power" resources in terms of their origin. It should be noted that the concept of "soft power" in the context of foreign cultural policy is a term that includes the cultural attractiveness of the state, the peculiarities of its traditions, history, and "also specific achievements - from products of mass pop culture and victories on international sports grounds to scientific and technical breakthroughs" ^{[1, p.15]}. Therefore, the hypothesis in this research project will be the argument that the set of those very resources of Italy's "soft power", as well as the channels and platforms for their distribution, may differ depending on the country to which Italian foreign cultural policy is directed.

Today, in a fairly rapidly changing world, when the countries of the East and Asia receive a new positioning in the system of international relations and open up prospects for their development, there is an increase in investments, both economic and human resources, in the countries of this region. In this regard, the relevance of research in this area is growing and it becomes possible to consider the activities of official actors of Italian cultural policy on the example of one of the countries of this region. Thus, the purpose of this article is to analyze the activities of Italian actors in foreign cultural policy for cooperation in the international arena, based on the consideration of the peculiarities of Italy's presence in the territory of the Central Asian country of the post–Soviet space - Uzbekistan. As for the research methods used to help achieve this goal, this work mainly uses general scientific methods of information analysis and synthesis, observation, systematization, classification, interpretation and forecasting. The main objectives of this study can be formulated as follows: to identify the main directions of Italian cultural diplomacy in Uzbekistan and analyze how universal the approach of the Italian Republic is in choosing resources and channels for promoting national culture abroad.

In many cases, the main actor in conducting the foreign cultural policy of any state is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which, in turn, through embassies, cultural institutions and various subordinate organizations organizes, regulates and controls activities to promote the cultural values of the country ^[2]. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, which, using the cultural, historical and natural resources of the country, participates in similar activities to create a positive image of the country abroad in order to attract monetary resources, and the Ministry of Culture, which, acting together with embassies, ensures the implementation of joint projects on the exchange of cultural heritage (visiting exhibitions art, for example) with a partner country. In Italian practice, such bodies for the promotion of national culture abroad are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, which is responsible for cultural and economic diplomacy, as well as the activities of Italian Cultural Institutions; and the Ministry of Tourism (until 2021 – the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Cultural Activities and Tourism), under the auspices of which the National Agency for tourism (ENIT), designed to promote a positive image of the country abroad in order to develop tourist attractiveness and thereby raise tourist demand in the direction of Italy ^[3].

In the context of foreign cultural policy aimed at building a positive image of the country abroad, tourist attractiveness should be considered as a tool for successfully conducting a policy of "soft power" ^{[4, 2006]}. As for Italian cultural policy, the field of tourism can be considered one of the channels through which it promotes its image, and tourist attractiveness is already considered as one of the links that make up the image of the country in the eyes of a wide target audience within the framework of national branding – a concept developed by the British specialist in image-making of countries, regions and individual cities S. Anholt. By national branding, they mean practical activities that aim to measure, build and manage in a positive way and attractiveness for cooperation between countries ^{[5, 2013]}.

The components of Italy's "soft power", which include cultural achievements, historical heritage, know-how and technology, as well as the results of their application, that is, products, are promoted through a brand policy in the field of national geobranding. Thus, within the framework of cultural diplomacy, Italy promotes the brand "Italia" and the brand "Made in Italy" all over the world. It is worth noting that during its development, the megabrend "Made in Italy" became more and more widespread, which may be explained by the fact that Italian products and goods were promoted within the brand ^[6], while the brand "Italia" initially popularized the Italian lifestyle, cuisine, nature and culture as a unique set of resources (italianit?) ^[7], with which Italy was ready to share the world, and focused on the branding of Italian territories, which was conducted jointly with the National Tourism Agency (ENIT). Today, when "Made in Italy" already means both Italian production technologies or know-how, and educational projects created by Italians, these two brands, their components and areas of development often overlap, and sometimes merge and are already moving forward together. Due to this feature, it sometimes becomes problematic to draw a line between them. Therefore, in this article, the identified promoted resources of national culture within the framework of the declared brands will be considered in aggregate.

Background of the issue

As for the issue of international cooperation between the Italian Republic and the Republic of Uzbekistan, Italy's presence in Uzbekistan began after Uzbekistan declared its independence in 1991. In 1992, the country was officially recognized by the Italian Republic as independent and sovereign, and on March 24 of the same year, a Protocol on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries was signed. In 1997, another important document for foreign cultural policy was signed – the Agreement on Cultural and Scientific Cooperation between the countries. This marked the beginning of joint work between the two countries on exchange in the field of cultural cooperation, which was established and developed over the following years.

Speaking about the current situation, it should be noted that over the past two years a new round of development has been revealed in diplomatic relations: bilateral cooperation between the countries has expanded and extended to the field of technology development, cultural exchange and educational activities with a greater share of participation from the Italian side ^[8]. In 2022, when the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries was celebrated, the parties, during the analysis of the results of joint actions, emphasized that during their development a solid foundation of bilateral relations had been formed, the established partnership between the countries was positively assessed and Italy's support was expressed in connection with the signing by Uzbekistan of the Agreement on Expanded Partnership and Cooperation between Uzbekistan and the European Union, which allowed Uzbekistan's foreign partners to consolidate their presence in the country ^[9]. To mark the anniversary of diplomatic ties, a book in Italian was also released, for the first time fully presenting the history of the development of relations between Uzbekistan and Italy. In it, Uzbekistan was described for the Italian reader as a young republic with millennial cultural roots and historical heritage, marked by UNESCO as the heritage of mankind. And the central location of the country in Asia and being at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road are characterized in the book as factors that make the country a promising platform from a commercial point of view ^[10]. Such remarks allow us to come to an intermediate conclusion that Italy sees Uzbekistan as a platform for the development and promotion of its "Made in Italy" and "Italy" brands with the prospect of consolidating its position and declaring itself as a country ready to share its components of national culture and technologies in Asia. Already in 2023, the event "Uzbekistan – UE: State of Progress" was held, where the Uzbek side expressed appreciation to Italy for cooperation in the fields of economics and technology and in the field of cultural and educational exchange, announced its intention to continue deepening ties between the regions, emphasized Italy's growing interest in Central Asia today and, in particular, to Uzbekistan. The Italian side confirmed its interest in Uzbekistan as a partner in cultural and economic exchange and as a country ready to change in order to progress and increase its attractiveness for cooperation, and noted its readiness to continue the development of cultural diplomacy between the countries ^[11].

Directions of Italian cultural diplomacy in Uzbekistan

The modern cultural diplomacy of the Italian Republic in Uzbekistan is being implemented simultaneously in several directions. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as a representative office in Uzbekistan, has an embassy in Tashkent, which is responsible for foreign cultural policy abroad. There is no Italian Institute of Culture in the country, therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is directly responsible for the implementation of tasks to promote the country's national brands in Uzbekistan. All relevant information on the promotion of Italy in the country can be obtained from the Italiana portal specially created for such purposes. It is worth noting that this platform is common to the whole world and is designed to receive information about Italy, Italian culture and language, as well as upcoming events around the world and about the actors involved in the implementation of cultural diplomacy under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and sees as its mission the promotion of the Italian language, culture and creativity in the world.

Despite the fact that the agreement on cultural and scientific cooperation between the countries was signed back in 1997, active development has been observed over the past 2 years, which was reflected in the drafting of a cooperation program in 2023 during the visit of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Merziyoyev to Rome ^[12]. The main objectives outlined in the document are:

· dissemination of cultural and historical heritage through the organization of exhibitions, exchange between museums, events to promote the Italian and Uzbek languages;

· Cooperation in the field of preservation, protection and restoration of archaeological and cultural heritage through the exchange of experience and visits by experts.

· development of cooperation in the field of dissemination of Italian technologies and professional development through the opening of educational centers for the transfer of Italian technologies with the subsequent possibility of their practical application on the territory of Uzbekistan under the guidance of Italian specialists.

Thus, as for the Italian side, according to data obtained from the Italiana portal, within the framework of cultural diplomacy, Italy actively participates in cooperation in the fields of science, education, technology and cultural exchange. In this regard, it is possible to study the process of implementing the goals stated by the Italian side in relation to these areas.

As for scientific cooperation, this area is mainly represented by large Italian archaeological missions in Uzbekistan. The first archaeological project called "Samarcanda e il Suo Territorio" was launched back in 2001 in cooperation with the University of Bologna and the Italian Institute of the Near and Far East, operating under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This project consists in a diachronic study of the Samarkand oasis with the help of Italian scientists and archaeologists in order to conduct geoarchaeological studies of the area, in particular, the ancient irrigation system, as well as to study and analyze the materials obtained in laboratory conditions in Italy and transfer the Italian experience to Uzbek scientists in organizing and conducting archaeological examinations ^[13]. For similar purposes, in 2008, in cooperation with the University of the East (Naples), another archaeological mission "Imperi Irenici e L'Asia Centrale" was opened under the leadership of Italian specialists, where data collection and analysis are also carried out in order to study culture and civilization ^[14]. Moreover, in 2023, it is planned to launch another archaeological mission in Karakalpakstan, a sovereign republic within Uzbekistan, also under the leadership of the Italian Institute of the Near and Far East.

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