EU Cultural Relations with Partner Countries: Case Study of Armenia

Abstract

Mirakyan, N. (2021). EU Cultural Relations with Partner Countries: Case Study of Armenia [Master's Thesis]. Supervisor: Mgr. Eliška Tomalová, Ph.D. Charles University. Abstract International cultural relations are a key area in the EU external relations and, thus, have gained salience in recent research. There is a growing body of constructivist literature that recognizes the importance of this area. However, there is still uncertainty in the literature regarding the views and attitudes of the partner countries toward the international cultural relations policy of the EU. In this vein, the current thesis project studies the sources and trajectory of the development of cultural relations between the EU and Armenia are from 2014 to 2020. Furthermore, the suitability of the international relations theory of liberalism is revisited in the light of cultural relations with the partner countries when these countries have concluded politico-economic agreements, and it is namely the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in the case of Armenia. The conceptions of cultural relations are critically analyzed in relation to the theories of international relations in order to develop a normative hypothesis while excluding common conceptual fallacies and unintentional assumptions. The normative...