Cultural diplomacy

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File:A Meeting of Japan, China, and the West (cropped).jpg
A meeting of Japan, China, and the West by Shiba Kokan. Template:Circa

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Cultural diplomacy is a type of soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding".<ref>"Cultural Diplomacy, Political Influence, and Integrated Strategy," in Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda, and Political Warfare, ed. Michael J. Waller (Washington, DC: Institute of World Politics Press, 2009), 74.</ref> The purpose of cultural diplomacy is for the people of a foreign nation to develop an understanding of the nation's ideals and institutions in an effort to build broad support for economic and political objectives.<ref>Mary N. Maack, "Books and Libraries as Instruments of Cultural Diplomacy in Francophone Africa during the Cold War," Libraries & Culture 36, no. 1 (Winter 2001): 59.</ref> In essence "cultural diplomacy reveals the soul of a nation", which in turn creates influence.<ref name="AdvisoryCommittee">United States, Department of State, Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, Diplomacy Report of the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, 3.</ref> Public diplomacy has played an important role in advancing national security objectives.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Definition

In a 2006 article in the Brown Journal of World Affairs, Cynthia P. Schneider wrote: "Public diplomacy consists of all a nation does to explain itself to the world, and cultural diplomacy – the use of creative expression and exchanges of ideas, information, and people to increase mutual understanding – supplies much of its content."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Culture is a set of values and practices that creates meaning for society. This includes both high culture (literature, art, and education, which appeals to elites) and popular culture (appeals to the masses).<ref>Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (Cambridge: Perseus Books, 2004), 22.</ref> This is what governments seek to show foreign audiences when engaging in cultural diplomacy. It is a type of soft power, which is the "ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments. It arises from a country's culture, political ideals and policies."<ref>Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (Cambridge: Perseus Books, 2004), 18.</ref> This indicates that the value of culture is its ability to attract foreigners to a nation. Cultural diplomacy is also a component of public diplomacy. Public diplomacy is enhanced by a larger society and culture, but simultaneously public diplomacy helps to "amplify and advertise that society and culture to the world at large".<ref>Carnes Lord, Losing Hearts and Minds?: Public Diplomacy and Strategic Influence in the Age of Terror (Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2006), 15.</ref> It could be argued that the information component of public diplomacy can only be fully effective where there is already a relationship that gives credibility to the information being relayed. This comes from knowledge of the other's culture.<ref name="Lord">Carnes Lord, Losing Hearts and Minds?: Public Diplomacy and Strategic Influence in the Age of Terror (Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2006), 30.</ref> Cultural diplomacy has been called the "linchpin of public diplomacy" because cultural activities have the potential to demonstrate the best of a nation.<ref name="AdvisoryCommittee" />

Richard T. Arndt, a former State Department cultural diplomacy practitioner, said: "Cultural relations grow naturally and organically, without government intervention – the transactions of trade and tourism, student flows, communications, book circulation, migration, media access, inter-marriage – millions of daily cross-cultural encounters. If that is correct, cultural diplomacy can only be said to take place when formal diplomats, serving national governments, try to shape and channel this natural flow to advance national interests."<ref>"Cultural Diplomacy, Political Influence, and Integrated Strategy," in Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda, and Political Warfare, ed. Michael J. Waller (Washington, DC: Institute of World Politics Press, 2009), 74–75.</ref> It is important to note that, while cultural diplomacy is, as indicated above, a government activity, the private sector has a very real role to play because the government does not create culture, therefore, it can only attempt to make a culture known and define the impact this organic growth will have on national policies. Cultural diplomacy attempts to manage the international environment by utilizing these sources and achievements and making them known abroad.<ref>Nicholas J. Cull, "Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 616 (March 2008): 33.</ref> An important aspect of this is listening- cultural diplomacy is meant to be a two-way exchange.<ref>United States, Department of State, Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, Diplomacy Report of the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, 7 .</ref> This exchange is then intended to foster a mutual understanding and thereby win influence within the target nation. Cultural diplomacy derives its credibility not from being close to government institutions, but from its proximity to cultural authorities.<ref>Nicholas J. Cull, "Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 616 (March 2008): 36.</ref>

Objectives

Ultimately, the goal of cultural diplomacy is to influence a foreign audience and use that influence, which is built up over the long term, as a good will reserve to win support for policies. It seeks to harness the elements of culture to induce foreigners to:<ref>"Cultural Diplomacy, Political Influence, and Integrated Strategy," in Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda, and Political Warfare, ed. Michael J. Waller (Washington, DC: Institute of World Politics Press, 2009), 77.</ref>

  • have a positive view of the country's people, culture and policies,
  • induce greater cooperation between the two nations,
  • aid in changing the policies or political environment of the target nation,
  • prevent, manage and mitigate conflict with the target nation.

In turn, cultural diplomacy can help a nation better understand the foreign nation it is engaged with and it fosters mutual understanding. Cultural diplomacy is a way of conducting international relations without expecting anything in return in the way that traditional diplomacy typically expects.<ref>"Cultural Diplomacy, Political Influence, and Integrated Strategy," in Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda, and Political Warfare, ed. Michael J. Waller (Washington, DC: Institute of World Politics Press, 2009), 89.</ref> Cultural exchange programs work as a medium to relay a favourable impression of the foreign country in order to gain outsiders' understanding and approval in their cultural practices and naturalize their social norms among other cultures.<ref name="Foreign Affairs">Template:Cite web</ref>

Generally, cultural diplomacy is more focused on the longer term and less on specific policy matters.<ref name="Lord" /> The intent is to build up influence over the long term for when it is needed by engaging people directly. This influence has implications ranging from national security to increasing tourism and commercial opportunities.<ref>Mark Leonard, "Diplomacy by Other Means," Foreign Policy 132 (September/October 2002): 51.</ref> It allows the government to create a "foundation of trust" and a mutual understanding that is neutral and built on people-to-people contact. Another unique and important element of cultural diplomacy is its ability to reach youth, non-elites and other audiences outside of the traditional embassy circuit. In short, cultural diplomacy plants the seeds of ideals, ideas, political arguments, spiritual perceptions and a general view point of the world that may or may not flourish in a foreign nation.<ref>United States, Department of State, Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, Diplomacy Report of the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, 3, 4, 9.</ref> Therefore, ideologies spread by cultural diplomacy about American values enables those that seek a better life to look towards the Western world where happiness and freedom are portrayed as desirable and achievable goals.<ref name="Foreign Affairs"/>

Connections to national security

Cultural diplomacy is a demonstration of national power because it demonstrates to foreign audiences every aspect of culture, including wealth, scientific and technological advances, competitiveness in everything from sports and industry to military power, and a nation's overall confidence.<ref>"Cultural Diplomacy, Political Influence, and Integrated Strategy," in Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda, and Political Warfare, ed. Michael J. Waller (Washington, DC: Institute of World Politics Press, 2009), 76.</ref><ref>Sergei Gavrov, Lev Vostryakov, Cultural diplomacy as a tool for constructing and broadcasting an attractive brand of the Russian state. (Moscow, Russia: Moscow State University of Culture and Arts, 2018, No. 2), 26–33.</ref> The perception of power has important implications for a nation's ability to ensure its security. Furthermore, because cultural diplomacy includes political and ideological arguments, and uses the language of persuasion and advocacy, it can be used as an instrument of political warfare and be useful in achieving traditional goals of war.<ref name="Waller">"Cultural Diplomacy, Political Influence, and Integrated Strategy," in Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda, and Political Warfare, ed. Michael J. Waller (Washington, DC: Institute of World Politics Press, 2009), 93.</ref>Template:Additional citation needed A Chinese activist was quoted as saying "We've seen a lot of Hollywood movies – they feature weddings, funerals and going to court. So now we think it's only natural to go to court a few times in your life."<ref>Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (Cambridge: Perseus Books, 2004), 23.</ref>

In terms of policy that supports national security goals, the information revolution has created an increasingly connected world in which public perceptions of values and motivations can create an enabling or disabling environment in the quest for international support of policies.<ref>Mark Leonard, "Diplomacy by Other Means," Foreign Policy 132 (September/October 2002): 49.</ref> The struggle to affect important international developments is increasingly about winning the information struggle to define the interpretation of states' actions. If an action is not interpreted abroad as the nation meant to it be, then the action itself can become meaningless.<ref>Jamie Frederic Metzl, "Popular Diplomacy," Daedalus 128, no. 2 (Spring 1999): 178.</ref>

Participants in cultural diplomacy often have insights into foreign attitudes that official embassy employees do not. This can be used to better understand a foreign nation's intentions and capabilities. It can also be used to counter hostile propaganda and the collection of open-source intelligence.<ref>"Cultural Diplomacy, Political Influence, and Integrated Strategy," in Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda, and Political Warfare, ed. Michael J. Waller (Washington, DC: Institute of World Politics Press, 2009), 78–79.</ref>

Tools and examples

Cultural diplomacy relies on a variety of mediums, including:<ref>"Cultural Diplomacy, Political Influence, and Integrated Strategy," in Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda, and Political Warfare, ed. Michael J. Waller (Washington, DC: Institute of World Politics Press, 2009), 82–87.</ref>

  • Arts including films, dance, music, painting, sculpture, among others.
  • Exhibitions which offer the potential to showcase numerous objects of culture
  • Educational programs such as universities and language programs abroad
  • Exchanges – scientific, artistic, educational etc.
  • Literature – the establishment of libraries abroad and translation of popular and national works
  • Broadcasting of news and cultural programs
  • Gifts to a nation, which demonstrates thoughtfulness and respect
  • Religious diplomacy, including inter-religious dialogue
  • Promotion and explanation of ideas and social policies
  • Goodwill tours

All of these tools seek to bring understanding of a nation's culture to foreign audiences. They work best when they are proven to be relevant to the target audience. The tools can be utilized by working through NGOs, diasporas and political parties abroad, which may help with the challenge of relevance and understanding.<ref>Mark Leonard, "Diplomacy by Other Means," Foreign Policy 132 (September/October 2002): 51, 52.</ref>

Arts

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Migrant Mother (1936), Dorothea Lange

In the 1950s the Soviet Union had a reputation that was associated with peace, international class solidarity and progress due to its sponsorship of local revolutionary movements for liberation.Template:Citation needed The United States was known for its involvement in the Korean War and for preserving the status quo.Template:Citation needed In an effort to change this perception,Template:Citation needed the United States Information Agency (USIA) sponsored a photographic exhibition titled The Family of Man. The display originally showed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, but then USIA helped the display to be seen in 91 locations in 39 countries. The 503 photographs by 237 professional and amateur photographers were curated and put together by Edward Steichen. The images showed glimpses of everyday human life in its various stages; courtship, birth, parenting, work, self-expression, etc., including images from the Great Depression. The images were multi-cultured and only a few were overtly political serving to show the eclecticism and diversity of American culture, which is America's soft power foundation. The display was extremely popular and attracted large numbers of crowds, in short America "showed the world, the world and got credit for it".<ref>Nicholas J. Cull, "Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 616 (March 2008): 39–40.</ref>

A similar effort was carried out by the United States Department of State in February 2002 entitled Images from Ground Zero. The display included 27 images, detailing the September 11 attacks by Joel Meyerowitz that circulated, with the backing of embassies and consulates, to 60 nations. The display was intended to shape and maintain the public memory of the attack and its aftermath. The display sought to show the human side of the tragedy, and not just the destruction of buildings. The display was also intended to show a story of recovery and resolution through documenting not only the grief and pain, but also the recovery efforts. In many countries where the display was run, it was personalized for the population. For example, relatives of those who died in the Towers were often invited to the event openings.<ref>Liam Kennedy, "Remembering September 11: Photography as Cultural Diplomacy," International Affairs 79, no. 2 (March 2003): 315–323.</ref>

Dance

The positioning of the performing arts throughout history shows that dance was a tool for showing power, promoting national pride, and maintaining international relations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> During the Cold War, the plot and choreography choices used in dance demonstrated Socialist vs. Capitalist values. Through this, countries were able to share their ideas. In 1955, the United States state department sent the Martha Graham Dance Company to many countries affected by the Cold War.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> Some of these countries included Burma, India, Pakistan, Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand which were all a concern to the United States because they could be easily lost to Communism as predicted in Eisenhower's Domino Theory.<ref name=":0" /> The choreography mixed Asian aesthetics with American values, creating an innovative performance that showed what the United States and a capitalist society was capable of producing.<ref name=":0" /> Her performances were received with praise and repositioned the image of the United States in the eyes of the international community.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cultural diplomacy through the arts was also used by the Soviet Union due to the high value they placed on culture and the belief it could unite people. The "New Soviet Man" was expected to have an understanding of the arts and be able to contribute to society.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1959, the Soviet Union decided to send one of its highly regarded ballet companies, the Bolshoi, to tour the United States. Their goal was to demonstrate the artistic and physical abilities of their citizens. The repertoire included Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Giselle, and The Stone Flower. There were also two mixed bills that included both pre and post-revolutionary content.<ref name=":12"/> Swan Lake and its composer, P. I. Tchaikovsky, were considered Russian classics that fit into Marxist ideology and were therefore accepted in the Communist repertoire.<ref name=":12"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Other classic ballets were redesigned to demonstrate this ideology. While Americans were extremely excited to see the ballets and praised the ballerinas, the repertoire was not received as well.<ref name=":22">Template:Cite book</ref> This was a tool critics used to express the joy of seeing the ballet company while critiquing Soviet politics. The complaint that Communism was an old-fashioned ideology was given life as most of the ballets performed were classical pieces.<ref name=":22"/> Dance produced in the United States, for example Balanchine and Martha Graham, was seen as modern with an individualistic style.Template:Citation needed

A later example of dance during the Cold War was the Soviet Union and the United States exchanging ballet companies for a time in order to improve cultural relations. In October 1962, the New York City Ballet (NYCB) toured the Soviet Union. In New York City, the Bolshoi was performing Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This ballet was meant to excite American audiences and prove that the Soviet Union could produce new, action-packed performances. The Soviet Union's creation was still not considered innovative because the Hollywood film Spartacus by Stanley Kubrick had been released prior to this performance. At the same time, seventeen ballets by George Balanchine, who is considered a very influential figure in American ballet though he was born in Russia, were being performed in the Soviet Union.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref> Once again ballet was used to showcase artistry and power while bettering international affairs. Many factors made this tour a pinnacle in Cold war exchanges. The tour occurred at the same time as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also, NYCB making an appearance in the Soviet Union was questionable because reviews of Balanchine's ballets had been censored. Instead of feelings of hostility, the company received a warm welcome.<ref name=":12"/> Both the United States and the Soviet Union agreed with Balanchine's decision to emphasize music throughout his choreography.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> There was still a fundamental disagreement to this as Balanchine often declared that music has no meaning and Soviet society did not have the same ideology.<ref name=":3" /> Because each company's ballets were being judged with preconceived notions about society and the arts, opinions clashed and interpretations were different. The United States was mainly known for producing abstract modern pieces which align with Capitalist and individualistic thinking. On the other hand, the Soviet Union was producing narrative ballets which were meant to reeducate citizens and emphasize the importance of society.<ref name=":22"/> These exchanges were also seen as a battle between Capitalism and Communism,<ref name=":22" /> with each showing off its values and power. These are only a few examples of dance being used to showcase artistry and power while bettering international affairs.Template:Citation needed

Exhibitions

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Soviet Pepsi label

Exhibitions were often used during the Cold War to demonstrate culture and progress by both the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1959, the American National Exhibition was held on Sokolniki Park in Moscow. The exhibition was opened by Vice President Richard Nixon and attended by Walt Disney, Buckminster Fuller, William Randolph Hearst, and senior executives from Pepsi, Kodak and Macy's. It featured American consumer goods, cars, boats, RCA color TVs, food, clothing, etc., and samples of American products such as Pepsi. There was a typical American kitchen set up inside in which spectators could watch a Bird's Eye frozen meal be prepared. An IBM RAMAC computer was programmed to answer 3,500 questions about America in Russian. The most popular question was "what is the meaning of the American Dream?" The Soviets tried to limit the audience by only giving tickets to party members and setting up their own rival exhibition. But ultimately people came, and the souvenir pins that were given out turned up in every corner of the country. The Soviets banned printed material, but the Americans gave it out anyway. The most popular items were the Bible and a Sears catalogue. The guides for the exhibition were American graduate students, including African Americans and women, who spoke Russian. This gave Russians the ability to speak to real Americans and ask difficult questions. The ambassador to Moscow, Llewellyn Thompson, commented that "the exhibition would be 'worth more to us than five new battleships."<ref>Nicholas John. Cull, The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945–1989 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 162–167.</ref>

Exchanges

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New US-UK Fulbright logo
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Fulbright Fellow Riccardo Giacconi was a pioneer of X-ray astronomy.

The usefulness of exchanges is based on two assumptions- some form of political intent lies behind the exchange and the result will have some sort of political effect. The idea is that exchanges will create a network of influential people abroad that will tie them to their host country and will appreciate their host country more due to their time spent there.<ref>Giles Scott-Smith, "Mapping the Undefinable: Some Thoughts on the Relevance of Exchange Programs within International Relations Theory," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 16 (March 2008): 174.</ref> Exchanges generally take place at a young age, giving the host country the opportunity to create an attachment and gain influence at a young impressionable age.<ref name="Lord" />

An example of exchanges is the United States' Fulbright Program.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The US and Soviet Union hosted a range of educational exchange programs during the Cold War.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

TV, music, film

Popular entertainment is a statement about the society which it is portraying.<ref name = borgerson>Template:Cite book</ref> These cultural displays can carry important messages regarding individualism, consumer choices and other values.<ref name = borgerson/> For example, Soviet audiences watching American films learned that Americans owned their own cars, did not have to stand in long lines to purchase food, and did not live in communal apartments.<ref>Carnes Lord, Losing Hearts and Minds?: Public Diplomacy and Strategic Influence in the Age of Terror (Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2006), 52.</ref> These observations were not intended to be political messages when Hollywood created the films, but they nonetheless carried them.Template:Citation needed

Cultural programming featuring Latin Jazz music and the Bolero was already recognized by the United States Department of State as an important diplomatic tool during the World War II period. In the early 1940s, Nelson Rockefeller at the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs collaborated with Edmund A. Chester of the CBS to showcase leading musicians from both North and South America for audiences on both continents. Musical artists such as Alfredo Antonini, Terig Tucci, John Serry Sr.,<ref>Eastman School of Music - University of Rochester - Sibley Music Library: John J. Serry Sr. Collection: Autographed Photograph of John Serry accordionist on CBS' C de Las A program circa 1940s p. 3, Series 3, Collection Box 3, Item 1: The John J. Serry Sr. Collection archived at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music </ref> Miguel Sandoval, Juan Arvizu, Elsa Miranda, Eva Garza, Manuolita Arriola,<ref>Photograph of Manolita Arriola and Nestor Chayres for "Viva America" 1946 CBS on Getty Images</ref> Kate Smith<ref>Photograph of actor Pat O'Brien and singer Kate Smith on the Viva America program for CBS Radio on Getty Images.com</ref> and Nestor Mesta Chayres<ref>Nestor Mesta Chayres photographed on the CBS "Viva America" Program on Getty Images</ref> participated in this truly international effort to foster peace throughout the Americas through shared musical performances on CBS's La Cadena de las Americas network. (See Viva América).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>The New York Times, January 8, 1941, pg. 8</ref><ref>The New York Times, January 1, 1942, pg. 27</ref><ref>The New York Times, May 10, 1942, pg. Sm10</ref><ref>The New York Times February 28, 1943, pg. X9</ref><ref>The New York Times, January 18, 1942, pg. 27</ref><ref>Media Sound & Culture in Latin America & the Caribbean. Editors – Bronfman, Alejandra & Wood, Andrew Grant. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 2012 Pg. 49 Template:ISBN Books.Google.Com See Pg. 49</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Time">Time - Radio: La Cadena, June 1, 1942 William S. Paley, La Cadena de las Americas on Content.time.com</ref>

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In the post World War II era, the United States Army also acknowledged the importance of cultural programming as a valuable diplomatic tool amidst the ruins in Europe. In 1952 the U.S. Seventh Army enlisted the expertise of the young conductor Samuel Adler to establish the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart, Germany in order to demonstrate the shared cultural heritage of America and Europe.<ref>The Juilliard Journal Faculty Portraits of Samuel Adler at the Juilliard School of Music, New York, October 2013 on Juilliard.edu</ref><ref>A Conductor's Guide to Choral-Orchestral Works, Part 1 Jonathan D. Green, Scarecrow Press, Oxford, 1994, Chapter II – Survey of Works p. 14 Template:ISBN Samuel Adler on https://books.google.com</ref> Performances of classical music by the orchestra continued throughout Europe until 1962.<ref>The Directory of the Armed Forces Radio Service Series Harry MacKenzie, Greeenwood Press, CT. 1999, p. 198 Template:ISBN "Seventh Army Symphony on Armed Forces Radio in 1961 performing works by Vivaldi and Dvorak" on https://books.google.com</ref><ref>New Music New Allies Amy C. Beal, University of California Press, Berkeley, 2006, P. 49, Template:ISBN "Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra (1952–1962) performing works by Roy Harris, Morton Gould and Leroy Anderson" on https://books.google.com</ref> They showcased the talents of several noted conductors and musicians including: James Dixon, John Ferritto, Henry Lewis and Kenneth Schermerhorn.<ref>A Dictionary for the Modern Composer, Emily Freeman Brown, Scarecrow Press , Oxford, 2015, p. 311 Template:ISBN Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra founded by Samuel Adler in 1952 on https://books.google.com</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

As the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union escalated in the 1950s, the Department of State also supported the performance of classical music as an indispensable diplomatic tool.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With this in mind, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established an Emergency Fund for International Affairs in 1954 to stimulate the presentation of America's cultural achievements to international audiences in the realms of dance, theatre and music.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1954, the State Department's Cultural Presentations program established a cooperative relationship with the Music Advisory Panel of the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) to evaluate potential musical performers who could best represent America at performance venues throughout the world.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Members of the advisory panel included such noted American composers and academics as: Virgil Thomson, Howard Hanson at the Eastman School of Music, William Schuman at the Juilliard School, Milton Katims, and the music critic Alfred Frankenstein.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In addition, the State Department selected Hanson's Eastman Philharmonia Orchestra to perform during a sweeping international cultural exchange tour in 1961. Concert performances by this elite group of students from the Eastman School of Music were received to critical acclaim by enthusiastic audiences in thirty four cities in sixteen countries throughout Europe, the Middle East and Russia.<ref>Howard Hanson in Theory and Practice Allen Laurence Cohen, Praeger Publishers, CT., 2004 p.13 Template:ISBN Howard Hanson and the Eastman Philharmonia on books.google.com</ref> Similarly, the bass-baritone William Warfield was recruited by the Department of State to perform in six separate European tours during the 1950s which featured productions of the opera Porgy and Bess<ref>William Warfield – Biography at the Rochester Music Hall of Fame on rochestermusic.org</ref><ref>William Warfield biography at the Eastman School of Music on esm.rochester.edu</ref>

Jazz played a critical role during the Cold War in establishing political ties. Producer Willis Conover explained jazz as an embodiment of an anti-ideology or an alternative way of living by introducing a new style of music with a loose structure and improvisation.<ref name="Cultural exchange">Richmond, Yale. Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: Raising the Iron Curtain. (University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2004), 205–209.</ref><ref name="Satchmo">Von Eschen, Penny M., Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War. (Harvard University Press, 2004), 10, 13, 34, 225.</ref> In November 1955, The New York Times declared Louis Armstrong as America's most effective ambassador. What American diplomats could not do, Armstrong and his jazz music did. This article claimed that musicians, such as Armstrong, created a universal language to communicate.<ref name="Satchmo"/>

Jazz originally surfaced in the Soviet Union during the 1920s and 1930s, but quickly faded. After World War II, jazz began to reemerge, but was condemned by Andrei Zhdanov.<ref name="Cultural exchange"/> He considered jazz as corrupt and capitalistic due to the fact that it grew out of the United States during a time of political unrest.<ref name="Jazz diplomacy">Fosler-Lussier, Danielle, "Jazz Diplomacy: Promoting America in Cold War Era by Lisa E. Davenport (review)," American Music 31, no. 1, (Spring 2013), 117–118.</ref> During the 1950s to 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement, the decolonization of Africa and Asia, and the cultural and political rivalry of the United States and the Soviet Union created the need for cultural exchange.<ref name="Jazz diplomacy"/> As a result, the United States government sent a jazz band composed of African American musicians abroad to tour places, including the Middle East and Africa, with the goal of the black musicians establishing connections with their African heritage.<ref name="Satchmo"/>

Duke Ellington, B.B. King, and Dizzy Gillespie all made trips to Africa that fostered connections with the African diaspora.<ref name="Satchmo"/> In 1956, Dizzy Gillespie took on the role as a musical ambassador during his trip to the Middle East. He reported to President Eisenhower that he and his jazz band were effective against Red propaganda.<ref name="Satchmo"/> With their interracial group, the jazz band was able to communicate across social and language barriers. During the band's trip to Athens, Greece, a performance transformed an audience of Anti-American students angered by the U.S. stance on Greece's right-wing dictatorship.<ref name="Satchmo"/> By the end of the performance, Gillespie said the audience loved the music and threw him up on their shoulders after the performance. Diplomats emphasized the positive effects of musical diplomacy on the public.<ref name="Satchmo"/>

From 1955 to 1996, jazz producer Willis Conover hosted a music program called "Music USA," for the Voice of America to assist in the emergence of jazz musicians as U.S. ambassadors.<ref name="Satchmo"/> Conover explained: "Jazz is a cross between total discipline and anarchy," for the way the musicians agree on tempo, key, and chord, but is distinguishable by its freedom of expression.<ref name="Cultural exchange"/> As many as thirty million listeners worldwide, including millions in the Soviet Union, listened to the forty-five minutes of pop music and forty-five minutes of jazz with a newscast preceding each. Many critics have stated that Conover's program played a major role in the resurgence of jazz within the Soviet Union after the WWII.<ref name="Cultural exchange"/>

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The Beatles

The effect The Beatles had in Russia during the Cold War is an example of how music artists and their songs can become political. During this time, rock music channelled liberal "Western" ideas as a progressive and modernized art form.<ref name="Cultural exchange"/> The Beatles symbolized the Western culture in a way that introduced new ideas that many believe assisted in the collapse of communism.<ref name="Newsweek">John Alter, "You say you want a revolution," Newsweek (September 22, 2003): 37.</ref> As a result, the Beatles served as cultural diplomats through their popularity in the Soviet Union. Their music fostered youth communication and united people with a common spirit of popular culture.<ref name="Cultural exchange"/>

Kolya Vasin, the founder of The Beatles museum and the Temple of Love, Peace and Music in St. Petersburg,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> commented that The Beatles "were like an integrity test. When anyone said anything against them, we knew just what that person was worth. The authorities, our teachers, even our parents, became idiots to us."<ref name="guardian">Template:Cite news</ref> Despite the attempts of the Soviet Union's government to prevent the spread of the Beatles' popularity amongst their citizens, the band proved to be as popular in the USSR as it was in Britain. The government went as far as censoring the expression of all Western ideals, including the Beatles' bourgeois eccentricity, limiting the Soviet citizens' access to their music.<ref>Bratersky, Alexander, "Back in the USSR: the Beatles shaped a generation in Soviet Russia," Russia: beyond the headlines.(November 8, 2012).</ref> Leslie Woodland, a documentary film maker, commented regarding what the Russian people were told about the West – "Once people heard the Beatles' wonderful music, it just didn't fit. The authorities' prognosis didn't correspond to what they were listening to. The system was built on fear and lies, and in this way, the Beatles put an end to the fear, and exposed the lies."<ref name="guardian" /> Pavel Palazchenko, Mikhail Gorbachev's conference interpreter, stated that the Beatles' music was a "source of musical relief. They helped us create a world of our own, a world different from the dull and senseless ideological liturgy that increasingly reminded me of Stalinism...".<ref name="Cultural exchange"/> Like Gorbachev, many Russian youth agreed that the Beatles were a way to overcome the cultural isolation imposed by the Cold War and reinforced by their current political system.<ref name="Cultural exchange"/>

In this way the music of The Beatles struck a political chord in the Soviet Union, even when the songs were not meant to be political. This contact went both ways. In 1968, when the song "Back in the USSR" was released, the album included a quote on the cover from Paul McCartney that read "In releasing this record, made especially and exclusively for the USSR, I am extending a hand of peace and friendship to the Soviet people."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During Paul McCartney's first trip to Russia in May 2003, nearly half a million fans greeted him. One Russian critic reported, "The only person in Red Square who wasn't moved was Lenin".<ref name="Newsweek"/> This is an example of how products of culture can have an influence on the people they reach outside of their own country. It also shows how a private citizen can unintentionally become a cultural ambassador of sorts.Template:Citation needed

In September 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken launched the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative in partnership with The Recording Academy at the U.S. Department of State.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite web</ref>

There are growing calls for Australia to strengthen its music diplomacy activities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Food

The US Embassy in Beijing leveraged food as a tool of diplomacy in 2023, when its public affairs section collected lunch photos from officers posted across the country and created a "photo montage video titled "What American Diplomats Have for Lunch," which became one of the most-viewed and most-engaged posts on its WeChat and Weibo accounts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Place branding

This Image and reputation has become an essential part of a "state's strategic equity". Place branding is "the totality of the thoughts, feelings, associations and expectations that come to mind when a prospect or consumer is exposed to an entity's name, logo, products, services, events, or any design or symbol representing them." Place branding is required to make a country's image acceptable for investment, tourism, political power, etc. As Joseph Nye commented, "in an information age, it is often the side which has the better side of the story that wins", this has resulted in a shift from old style diplomacy to encompass brand building and reputation management. In short, a country can use its culture to create a brand for itself which represents positive values and image.<ref>Peter Van Ham, "Place Branding: The State of the Art," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 616 (March 2008): 127–133, doi:10.1177/0002716207312274.</ref>

Museum diplomacy

Museum diplomacy is a subset of cultural diplomacy concerned with museums and the cultural artifacts they exhibit. This can take the form of building/supporting museums, gifting art/antiquities, and travelling exhibitions.<ref name= "Grincheva 2020" >Template:Cite book</ref>

France has led the way in using the return on art and artifacts looted during their colonial past to its home country for diplomatic means.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1974, People's Republic of China organized its first archaeological exhibition in the United States, The Exhibition of Archaeological Finds of the People's Republic of China, held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. during the Cold War. This exhibition, showcasing 385 artifacts, was a strategic act of cultural diplomacy, aimed at improving China–United States relations while also promoting China's state ideology.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Panda diplomacy

China has been using panda diplomacy to advance its national interests.

Goodwill tours

A goodwill tour is a tour by someone or something famous to a series of places, with the purpose of expressing benevolent interest or concern for a group of people or a region, improving or maintaining a relationship between parties, and exhibiting the item or person to places visited.

Goodwill tours are meant to be friendly; however, in some cases, they may be intimidating to the people or the government at the place visited. At the same time, a visit by a goodwill tour might be used as a way of "reminding" the place and government visited of a friendship previously established or assumed.

Notable goodwill tours include the Latin America goodwill tour by President-elect Herbert Hoover in November–December 1928, the goodwill tour to Japan by the San Francisco Seals (baseball) in 1949,Jacqueline Kennedy's 1962 goodwill tour of India and Pakistan, and the worldwide GIANTSTEP-APOLLO 11 Presidential Goodwill Tour by the Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969.

Complications

Cultural diplomacy presents a number of unique challenges to any government attempting to carry out cultural diplomacy programs. Most ideas that a foreign population observes are not in the government's control. The government does not usually produce the books, music, films, TV programs, consumer products, etc. that reaches an audience. The most the government can do is try to work to create openings so the message can get through to mass audiences abroad.<ref>Mark Leonard, "Diplomacy by Other Means," Foreign Policy 132 (September/October 2002): 50.</ref> To be cultural relevant in the age of globalization, a government must exercise control over the flows of information and communication technologies, including trade.<ref>Louis Belanger, "Redefining Cultural Diplomacy: Cultural Security and Foreign Policy in Canada," Political Psychology 20, no. 4 (December 1999): 677–8, doi:10.1111/0162-895X.00164.</ref> This is also difficult for governments that operate in a free market society where the government does not control the bulk of information flows. What the government can do is work to protect cultural exports where they flourish, by utilizing trade agreements or gaining access for foreign telecommunication networks.<ref>Louis Belanger, "Redefining Cultural Diplomacy: Cultural Security and Foreign Policy in Canada," Political Psychology 20, no. 4 (December 1999): 678, doi:10.1111/0162-895X.00164.</ref>

It is also possible that foreign government officials may oppose or resist certain cultural exports while the people cheer them on. This can make support for official policies difficult to obtain.<ref name="Nye">Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (Cambridge: Perseus Books, 2004), 56.</ref> Cultural activities may be both a blessing and a curse to a nation. This may be the case if certain elements of a culture are offensive to the foreign audience. Certain cultural activities can also undermine national policy objectives. An example of this was the very public American dissent to the Iraq War while official government policy still supported it.<ref name="Waller" /> Simultaneously the prevalence of the protest may have attracted some foreigners to the openness of America.<ref name="Nye" />

Sample institutions

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

  • Ang, Ien, Yudhishthir Raj Isar, and Phillip Mar. "Cultural diplomacy: beyond the national interest?" International Journal of Cultural Policy 21.4 (2015): 365–381. online
  • Arndt, R. The first resort of kings. American cultural diplomacy in the twentieth century (Potomac Books, 2006). excerpt
  • Barghoorn, Frederick C. The Soviet cultural offensive : the role of cultural diplomacy in Soviet foreign policy (1976) online
  • Becard, Danielly Silva Ramos, and Paulo Menechelli. "Chinese Cultural Diplomacy: instruments in China's strategy for international insertion in the 21st Century." Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional 62 (2019) online.
  • Brown, John. "Arts diplomacy: The neglected aspect of cultural diplomacy." in Routledge handbook of public diplomacy (Routledge, 2020) pp. 79–81.
  • Carta, Caterina, and Richard Higgott. "Cultural Diplomacy in Europe." in Between the Domestic and the International (2020) org/10.1007/978-3-030-21544-6 online
  • Chan, Shing-Kwan. "Relics and rapprochement: The intricacies of cultural diplomacy in China's first archaeological exhibition in the U.S. during the Cold War era." Museum History Journal 17.1 (2023): 76–94 online.
  • Clarke, David, and Paweł Duber. "Polish cultural diplomacy and historical memory: the case of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk." International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 33.1 (2020): 49–66 online.
  • Davidson, Lee, and Leticia Pérez-Castellanos, eds. Cosmopolitan Ambassadors: International exhibitions, cultural diplomacy and the polycentral museum (Vernon Press, 2019) online.
  • DeCarli, Ashley M. Topics Performing arts, International relations, Multiculturalism in art (Naval Postgraduate School, 2010) online
  • Gienow-Hecht, Jessica C. E. Transmission impossible : American journalism as cultural diplomacy in postwar Germany, 1945–1955 (1999) online
  • Goff, Patricia M. "Cultural diplomacy." in Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy (Routledge, 2020) pp. 30–37.
  • Template:Cite book Template:ISBN
  • Isar, Y. R. "Cultural diplomacy: an overplayed hand?" Public diplomacy magazine, 3, Winter 2010. online Template:Webarchive
  • Lane, Philippe. French scientific and cultural diplomacy (2013) online
  • Lee, Seow Ting. "Film as cultural diplomacy: South Korea's nation branding through Parasite (2019)." in Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 18.2 (2022): 93–104. online
  • Liu, Xin. China's Cultural Diplomacy: A Great Leap Outward? (Routledge, 2019) online.
  • Mitchell, J. M. International cultural relations (Allen and Unwin, 1986).
  • Ninkovich, Frank A. U.S. information policy and cultural diplomacy (1996) online
  • Paschalidis, G., "Exporting national culture: histories of cultural institutes abroad" International journal of cultural policy, (2009) 15 (3), 275–289.
  • Pells, Richard. Not like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated and Transformed American Culture since World War II (1997) online
  • Prevots, Naima. Dance for export : cultural diplomacy and the Cold War (2001) online
  • Sadlier, Darlene J. Americans all : good neighbor cultural diplomacy in World War II (2012) online, in Latin America
  • Scott-Smith, Giles, and Hans Krabbendam, eds. The Cultural Cold War in Western Europe, 1945–60 (Routledge 2004)
  • Singh, Rana PB, and Pravin S. Rana. "Cultural Diplomacy in India: Dispersal, Heritage Representation, Contestation, and Development." Transcultural Diplomacy and International Law in Heritage Conservation (Springer, Singapore, 2021) pp. 231–256.
  • Trommler, Frank, and Elliott Shore, eds. The German-American Encounter: Conflict and Cooperation Between Two Cultures, 1800–2000 (2001).
  • Tuch, Hans J. Communicating with the World: US Public Diplomacy Overseas (Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University, 1990).
  • Wagnleiter, Reinhold. Coca-Colonization and the Cold War: The Cultural Mission of the U.S. in Austria after the Second World War ( U of North Carolina Press, 1995).
  • Wieck, Randolph R. Ignorance Abroad: American Educational and Cultural Foreign Policy and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of State (Praeger, 1992).
  • 10 Great Moments in Music Diplomacy, USC Center on Public Diplomacy, February 12, 2015.

Historiography and memory

  • Clarke, D., "Theorising the role of cultural products in cultural diplomacy from a cultural studies perspective" International journal of cultural policy (2014). doi:10.1080/10286632.2014.958481.
  • Gienow-Hecht, Jessica C.E., and Mark C. Donfried, eds. Searching for a cultural diplomacy (Berghahn Books, 2010).
  • Tomlinson, John. Cultural Imperialsm: A Critical Introduction (Pinter, 1991).

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