“In 1955, a secret unit, the Information Research Department (IRD) of the UK Foreign Office (FO) began delivery of Bellman Books around the world. However, there is no detailed research on this book series. This chapter examines Bellman Books as a form of cultural diplomacy and shows how books promoted a favorable national image abroad; how the IRD arranged for local publishers internationally to translate and publish Bellman Books; and how the IRD prepared “critical passages” tables for where offence would be likely if Bellman Books were circulated locally. This is a demonstration of how national identities can be promoted and projected to both national and international audiences through book diplomacy, as a subset of cultural diplomacy, so as to achieve foreign policy goals.”
“Bellman Books: Selling a Favorable Image Abroad” by Musa Igrek published in:
Book Diplomacy in the Cultural Cold War Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Editors: Esmaeil Haddadian-Moghaddam and Giles Scott-Smith
Publisher: Brill, 2025
To read the full chapter: Bellman Books Selling a Favorable Image Abroad
Musa Igrek 