Intercultural communication in international negotiations: The European Union's north and south

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of culture in facilitating or conversely retarding Greek cooperation with the European Union. The study argues that successful cooperation, that could lead to integration, at the political level can happen when and only when the units that cooperate are grounded in the same or very similar cultures.;When a high degree of cultural compatibility exists between two political units the same or very similar symbols are used in their respective communications. This contributes to a relationship where common understanding based on the use of similar symbols exists, which contributes to a pattern of proper communication that is more than likely to lead to cooperation. When the cultural compatibility gradient is low due to cultural dissimilarities symbols exist within each culture to denote similar things. This contributes to a relationship characterized by communication gaps which in turn cause miscommunication and hinder cooperation.;The core of the European Union and Greece have not been subjects to the same historical influences during their respective development and this has caused a problematic relationship to develop within the framework of their association. Their problematic relationship exists because due to cultural dissimilarities, different symbols and signs of communication exist within each respective culture and therefore when Greeks and Europeans try to communicate they actually miscommunicate, on many occasions, because they use symbols differently.;To accomplish the purposes of the study and arrive at valid conclusions, the study first defines and clarifies concepts such as: "culture," "communication," "cultural communication," and "inter-state cultural communication," borrowing from disciplines such as Comparative Linguistics, Social Anthropology, Sociology, and Social Psychology and putting them in an international relations context. Then, after it describes Greek and European culture, it articulates Greek political culture through the belief systems of individual leaders as well as state and party policy. Finally, the study surveys the problems in the association of Greece with the European Union primarily within the context of meetings of the Council of Ministers.