Cultural relations, foreign cultural policy and cultural diplomacy are often thought of as synonymous, but while cultural relations include foreign policy and diplomacy, they in fact go far beyond the scope of purely governmental activities. They comprise much more than foreign cultural policy, in which culture is used mainly as a tool to promote the interests of one country and frequently reflects the domestic policies of whichever political party happens to be in power. Cultural relations encompass the mutual influence and exchange of cultures on and between two (or more) states or nations as well as both private and public initiatives to promote the culture of the individual state or nation and to organize cultural exchanges.