The Arts and International Relations: The Evolving Identity of the Edinburgh International Festival in the Cold War Era

This article attempts to discuss the delicate relationship between the arts and international politics and the instrumental role the arts may play in international relations. The paper sets the Cold War as the stage and uses the Edinburgh International Festival as the subject of research to trace the interplay between the arts and international relations. Specifically, the article answers the questions of how the festival was impacted by the changing international relations over the Cold War period and how the festival as an arts organization exerted influence on international politics.