The Increasing Role of the EU's Culture, Education and Science Diplomacy in Asia

During the last decades, technological changes and globalisation have altered international relations. Just as the growth of telecommunications and transport technologies has facilitated the rapid dissemination of information and the global movement of people, traditional diplomacy has gradually grown to incorporate new methods, in which people-to-people contacts, networks and non-state actors play an influential role. The EU engages in cultural, education and scientific cooperation activities with most Asian countries, and particularly with China, India, Japan and South Korea. Yet despite the diverse outreach efforts of the EU Delegations across Asia, and despite the increasing number of Asian students coming to study and research in Europe, knowledge of the EU remains scant in Asia.