Why Berlin’s Diasporas Are Our Best Cultural Ambassadors
It is hard to say international relations is close and available to everyone, since externally it often seems to be reserved for state treaties, closed-door summits, and abstract papers. However, one will notice that the true essence of international relations lies in daily communication and relationships. Step onto a crowded U-Bahn, listen to the sound of conversation in a local café, or wander through a busy neighborhood market, and you realize the real work of global connection happens in the hum of everyday life.
Berlin is a city that consists of movement, history, and constant transformation. So, how do we share a public life and coexist when we come from entirely different worlds? Berlin’s answer to the posed question is in its cultural diasporas.
The traditional concept of the polis is strongly associated with fixed borders, but now, due to globalization and migration, these borders have become more flexible. Diaspora communities are often misunderstood or simply viewed as populations that are living away from their homelands. In contemporary political theory, however, they are seen as political and cultural actors who help build strong transnational bridges.
Those communities that are deeply rooted in their countries of origin while at the same time actively participate in building the civic culture of Berlin represent what theorists would call ‘hybrid public spheres’. This example proves that belonging does not have to be an either/or proposition.1 Belonging in Berlin means you can actively be invested in local neighborhood life while maintaining strong roots in a global community.
This is exactly where the practice of cultural diplomacy gains more relevance. In contrast to official diplomacy, which relies on institutionalized processes, cultural diplomacy is based on the presence of a shared stage, goals, and authentic storytelling elements that could unify the two separate worlds long before governments start dealing with each other. The everyday interaction of diaspora networks plays an important role as necessary cultural diplomats. Berlin’s diaspora communities function as everyday diplomats by translating complex cultural nuances into common human experiences using art, food, music, and other means to overcome stereotypical ideas about people or marginalized groups. At the same time, they create informal networks that promote cross-border economic, social, and academic exchanges, such as student mentorship programs that strengthen bilateral ties from the ground up. By embracing a pluralistic identity, diasporas have redefined Berlin as a city where diversity is its strength, leading to cosmopolitanism and mutual trust.
In any case, it should be clear through the example of diasporas in Berlin that international relations are fundamentally about human connection and revolve around people. By looking at how different communities navigate identity, politics, and daily life, we catch a glimpse of what modern diplomacy looks like in practice rather than in theory.
As Berlin continues to grow as a global capital, reporting on these stories is not just good journalism; it is essential for understanding the future of global cooperation.
- Reference to the two ways of living according to Kierkegaard (1843), though it is not exclusive to the choice between the aesthetical and the ethical. ↩
References
- Habermas, Jürgen. 1989. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society. Translated by Thomas Burger and Frederick Lawrence. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. 2024. “A Conversation on Diaspora.” Tales of the Diasporic Ordinary, February 2024. https://blogs.hu-berlin.de/todo/research-2/research/a-conversation-on-diaspora/