peer reviewed ; Belgium's public diplomacy cannot be understood without the frame of the political divide characterizing federalism in the country. Unlike others federal states whose self-governing components adopt policies that converge at the international level, Flanders and Wallonia – the Dutch- and French-speaking communities of Belgium – seem not to act coordinately on this matter. Culture is the principal field where the two communities adopt very different approaches and end up competing for resources and international visibility. Flanders, in particular, support self-representation strategies that produce and circulate images of a singular and homogeneous “Flemish nation”. The action of its cultural institutions seems to focus on an autonomous nation building project rather than situating the community in the larger national – Belgian – dimension. Language is the cultural trait lying at the basis of this conflict known as “community cleavage” that affects both the public and the political sphere. As a verbal art, popular music is one of the most simbolically relevant practices that participate to cultural diplomacy in this context. Starting from ethnographic analysis of Flemish public and private cultural institutions, this paper aims to describe the ways Flemish music policy in international situations is mutually connected to political claims for autonomy and independence at the national level. The research questions are as follows: 1) how does Belgian federalism condition cultural/music diplomacy in Flanders? 2) How does cultural/music diplomacy contribute to the political struggle of Flemish independentism?