Abstract: The subject of the study is the semantic content of cultural diplomacy. The relevance of addressing this topic is determined by the specifics of the current stage of development of international relations, when cultural diplomacy finds itself in a situation of sharply narrowed opportunities amid the intensification of counterproductive strategies of “cancel culture.” The purpose of the work is to trace the features of the disclosure of values and meanings of the period of recent sociocultural turbulence. The objectives of the study are 1) to clarify the nature of the attitude of representatives of creative professions to the political and ideological realities of the time; 2) highlight the difference between the dichotomies “political / non-political” and “official / unofficial”; 3) establish the significance of each part of these dichotomies in solving the problems of cultural diplomacy; 4) to trace theoretical and practical approaches to the components of these dichotomies on the part of representatives of artistic culture in the light of the paradigm of meaning-making as a key value of culture; 5) determine the possibilities and boundaries of interaction between representatives of creative professions and the political context of their activities.
The research methodology is based on an integrated approach based on data from cultural history, cultural anthropology, and political psychology within the framework of the theory of intercultural communication. The key method used is categorical analysis, as well as discourse analysis, which allows us to trace blocks of value preferences, taking into account the characteristics of current historical and cultural processes.
The novelty of the study lies in identifying the possibilities and boundaries for the development of cultural contacts in an era of current turbulence (primarily political), when, against the backdrop of the intensification of “cancel culture,” the possibilities for such interactions are reduced.