In the early years of the Cold War Western nations increasingly adopted strategies of public
diplomacy involving popular music. While the diplomatic use of popular music was initially
limited to such genres as jazz the second half of the 20th century saw a growing presence of
various popular genres in diplomatic contexts including rock pop bluegrass flamenco funk
disco and hip-hop among others. This volume illuminates the interrelation of popular music
and public diplomacy from a transnational and transdisciplinary angle. The contributions argue
that as popular music has been a crucial factor in international relations its diplomatic use
has substantially impacted the global musical landscape of the 20th and 21st centuries.
