Museum Diplomacy: Making Connections Across Continents

In recent years, museum institutions have become more and more prominent on the international scene and have thus become important actors in international relations. One of the emerging trends related to this transformation is museum franchising. This thesis documents and analyses not only the motives behind the emergence of this phenomenon, but also its cultural benefits in the context of museum institutions, through two case studies focusing on the American Guggenheim Museum and the French Louvre Museum. The first chapter is devoted to the theoretical and conceptual background necessary to further understand the issues under investigation. The second chapter already presents and examines in detail the franchise models of these two museum institutions, focusing on the motives for their creation, strategies, benefits and risks associated with this phenomenon. Subsequently, the third chapter compares and summarizes the approaches of the two museums to the concept of museum franchising and does not omit a look at its successes and risks. The conclusions of the thesis show that the form and motivations of museums to expand beyond their national borders differ fundamentally, depending primarily on their institutional nature.