Cultural diplomacy is a type of
soft power
In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft power is the ability to co-option, co-opt rather than coerce (in contrast with hard power). It involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. Soft power is ...
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". 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. In essence "cultural diplomacy reveals the soul of a nation", which in turn creates influence.
[United States, Department of State, Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, Diplomacy Report of the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, 3.] Public diplomacy
In international relations, public diplomacy broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence with the aim of bui ...
has played an important role in advancing national security objectives.
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."
Culture
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
is a set of values and practices that creates meaning for society. This includes both
high culture
In a society, high culture encompasses culture, cultural objects of Objet d'art, aesthetic value that a society collectively esteems as exemplary works of art, as well as the literature, music, history, and philosophy a society considers represen ...
(literature, art, and education, which appeals to
elites) and
popular culture
Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art f. pop art
F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet.
F may also refer to:
Science and technology Mathematics
* F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems
* ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function
* F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
(appeals to the masses). This is what governments seek to show foreign audiences when engaging in cultural diplomacy. It is a type of
soft power
In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft power is the ability to co-option, co-opt rather than coerce (in contrast with hard power). It involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. Soft power is ...
, 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." 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
In international relations, public diplomacy broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence with the aim of bui ...
. 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". 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.
[Carnes Lord, ''Losing Hearts and Minds?: Public Diplomacy and Strategic Influence in the Age of Terror'' (Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2006), 30.] Cultural diplomacy has been called the "linchpin of public diplomacy" because cultural activities have the potential to demonstrate the best of a nation.
Richard T. Arndt, a former State Department cultural diplomacy practitioner, said: "Cultural relations grow naturally and organically, without government intervention – the transactions of
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...
and
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
, student flows, communications, book circulation,
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
, 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." 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. An important aspect of this is listening- cultural diplomacy is meant to be a two-way exchange. 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.
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:
* have a positive view of the country's people, culture and policies,
* induce greater
cooperation
Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English and, with a varied usage along time, coöperation) takes place when a group of organisms works or acts together for a collective benefit to the group as opposed to working in competition ...
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. 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.
Generally, cultural diplomacy is more focused on the longer term and less on specific policy matters.
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. 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. Therefore, ideologies spread by cultural diplomacy about American values enables those that seek a better life to look towards the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
where
happiness
Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...
and
freedom
Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws".
In one definition, something is "free" i ...
are portrayed as desirable and achievable goals.
Connections to national security
Cultural diplomacy is a demonstration of
national power
National power is defined as the sum of all resources available to a nation in the pursuit of national objectives. Assessing the national power of political entities was already a matter of relevance during the classical antiquity, the Middle Ages ...
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. 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.
["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.] 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."
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. 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.
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
Open source intelligence (OSINT) is the collection and analysis of data gathered from open sources (overt sources and publicly available information) to produce actionable intelligence. OSINT is primarily used in national security, law enforceme ...
.
Tools and examples
Cultural diplomacy relies on a variety of mediums, including:
* 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.
Arts
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. The United States was known for its involvement in the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
and for preserving the status quo. In an effort to change this perception, the
United States Information Agency
The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999.
Previously existing United States Information Service (USIS) posts operating out of U.S. embassies wor ...
(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
Edward Jean Steichen (; March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter and curator and a pioneer of fashion photography. His gown images for the magazine ''Art et Décoration'' in 1911 were the first modern ...
. 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 Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. 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".
A similar effort was carried out by the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
in February 2002 entitled Images from Ground Zero. The display included 27 images, detailing the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
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.
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. During the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, the plot and choreography choices used in dance demonstrated
Socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
vs.
Capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
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.
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.
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.
Her performances were received with praise and repositioned the image of the United States in the eyes of the international community.
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.
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.
Swan Lake and its composer,
P. I. Tchaikovsky, were considered Russian classics that fit into
Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
ideology and were therefore accepted in the Communist repertoire.
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.
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.
Dance produced in the United States, for example Balanchine and Martha Graham, was seen as modern with an individualistic style.
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
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
(NYCB) toured the Soviet Union. In New York City, the Bolshoi was performing
Spartacus
Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
Historical accounts o ...
by
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Armenians, Armenian composer and conductor. He is considered one of the leading Music of the Soviet Union#Classical music of the Soviet Union, Soviet composers.
Khachaturian was born and rai ...
. 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
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
had been released prior to this performance. At the same time, seventeen ballets by
George Balanchine
George Balanchine (;
Various sources:
*
*
*
* born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
, who is considered a very influential figure in American ballet though he was born in Russia, were being performed in the Soviet Union.
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
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...
. 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.
Both the United States and the Soviet Union agreed with Balanchine's decision to emphasize music throughout his choreography. 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.
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.
These exchanges were also seen as a battle between Capitalism and
Communism
Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
,
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.
Exhibitions

Exhibitions were often used during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
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
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
and attended by
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
,
Buckminster Fuller,
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...
, 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."
Exchanges

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. 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.
An example of exchanges is the United States'
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
.
The US and Soviet Union hosted a range of educational exchange programs during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
.
TV, music, film
Popular entertainment is a statement about the society which it is portraying.
These cultural displays can carry important messages regarding individualism,
consumer choices and other values.
[ 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. These observations were not intended to be political messages when Hollywood created the films, but they nonetheless carried them.
Cultural programming featuring ]Latin Jazz
Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...
music and the Bolero was already recognized by the United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
as an important diplomatic tool during the World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
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., Miguel Sandoval
Miguel Sandoval (born November 16, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his role on the NBC/ CBS drama series '' Medium'' (2005–2011), where he played D.A. Manuel Devalos.
Biography
Sandoval was born in Washington, D.C. He began wo ...
, Juan Arvizu, Elsa Miranda, Eva Garza, Manuolita Arriola, Kate Smith and Nestor Mesta Chayres participated in this truly international effort to foster peace throughout the Americas through shared musical performances ''(See Viva América)''.
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. Performances of classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
by the orchestra continued throughout Europe until 1962. They showcased the talents of several noted conductors and musicians including: James Dixon, John Ferritto, Henry Lewis and Kenneth Schermerhorn.
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. 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. 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. 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
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
, Milton Katims, and the music critic Alfred Frankenstein. 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. 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
''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...
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.[Richmond, Yale. Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: Raising the Iron Curtain. (University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2004), 205–209.][ Von Eschen, Penny M., Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War. (Harvard University Press, 2004), 10, 13, 34, 225.] 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.
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. 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.[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.] During the 1950s to 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement, the decolonization of Africa and Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, and the cultural and political rivalry of the United States and the Soviet Union created the need for cultural exchange. 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.
Duke Ellington, B.B. King, and Dizzy Gillespie all made trips to Africa that fostered connections with the African diaspora. In 1956, Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...
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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
The effect The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
had in Russia during the Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
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. The Beatles symbolized the Western culture in a way that introduced new ideas that many believe assisted in the collapse of communism.[John Alter, "You say you want a revolution," Newsweek (September 22, 2003): 37.] 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.
Kolya Vasin, the founder of The Beatles museum and the Temple of Love, Peace and Music in St. Petersburg, 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." 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. 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." Pavel Palazchenko, Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
'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...". 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.
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
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
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." 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". 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.
In September 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken launched the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative in partnership with The Recording Academy
National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...
at the U.S. Department of State.
There are growing calls for Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
to strengthen its music diplomacy activities.
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.
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
Reputation management, refers to the Social influence, influencing, controlling, enhancing, or concealing of an individual's or group's reputation. It is a marketing technique used to modify a person's or a company's reputation in a positive way. ...
. In short, a country can use its culture to create a brand for itself which represents positive values and image.
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 exhibition
A travelling exhibition, also referred to as a "travelling exhibit" or a "touring exhibition", is a type of exhibition that is presented at more than one venue.
Temporary exhibitions can bring together objects that might be dispersed among sever ...
s.
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.
In 1974, People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
organized its first archaeological exhibition in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, ''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
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. 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.
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
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
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. To be cultural relevant in the age of globalization
Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
, a government must exercise control over the flows of information and communication technologies, including trade. 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.[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.]
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.[Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (Cambridge: Perseus Books, 2004), 56.] 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
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
while official government policy still supported it. Simultaneously the prevalence of the protest may have attracted some foreigners to the openness of America.
Sample institutions
* Brazilian Cultural Center, Brazil
* Confucius Institute, People's Republic of China
* Caro and Cuervo Institute, Colombia
* Czech Centres, Czech Republic
* Danish Cultural Institute, Denmark (1940– )
* European Union National Institutes for Culture, European Union
* Alliance Française, France
* Institut Français, France
* Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes, Finland
* Goethe-Institut, Germany
* Center for the Greek Language, Greece
* Hellenic Foundation for Culture, Greece
* Balassi Institute, Hungary (1927– )
* Indian Council for Cultural Relations
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people. It was founded on 9 April ...
, India
* Culture Ireland, Ireland
* Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Italy
* Dante Alighieri Society, Italy
* EMMA for Peace, Italy
* Jewish Agency for Israel, Israel
* Japan Foundation, Japan
* Korean Friendship Association, North Korea
* Sentro Rizal, Philippines
* Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Poland
* Polish Institute, Poland
* Instituto Camões, Portugal
* Romanian Cultural Institute, Romania
* Russkiy Mir Foundation, Russia
* Korean Cultural Center, South Korea
* Korean Foundation, South Korea
* Instituto Cervantes
Instituto Cervantes (, the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the most important fi ...
, Spain
* Swedish Institute, Sweden
* Ukrainian Institute, Ukraine
* British Council, United Kingdom (1934– )
* Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the United States Department of State fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries around the world. It is responsible for the Un ...
, United States
* United States Information Agency
The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999.
Previously existing United States Information Service (USIS) posts operating out of U.S. embassies wor ...
, United States (1953–99)
* Yunus Emre Institute, Turkey
See also
* Culinary diplomacy
* Digital diplomacy
* Panda diplomacy
* Paradiplomacy
Paradiplomacy is the involvement of non-central governments in international relations. The phenomenon includes a variety of practices, from town twinning to transnational networking, decentralized cooperation, and advocacy in international summits ...
* Public diplomacy
In international relations, public diplomacy broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence with the aim of bui ...
* Science diplomacy
* Soft power
In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft power is the ability to co-option, co-opt rather than coerce (in contrast with hard power). It involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. Soft power is ...
* Twin towns and sister cities
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inte ...
References
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): 76–9
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): 49–6
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.
*
* Isar, Y. R. "Cultural diplomacy: an overplayed hand?" ''Public diplomacy magazine,'' 3, Winter 2010
online
* 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).
External links
*
{{Authority control
Types of diplomacy
*
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...