Cultural diplomacy between nations, its widest sense, encompasses any interaction between two or more parties in which aspects of culture as diverse as food, music, art, film, theatre or fashion are exchanged, resulting in greater mutual understanding and the formation of new relationships. Thus we can include as examples the numerous receptions that diplomatic missions host on national days, military exhibitions and international sporting events. But also included are events hosted by private organisations, educational institutions, civil society and businesses, as well as long-term contributions made by museums, theatres and other cultural venues.
Many of these are private institutions, and democracies are more likely to enable the establishment of non-state actors that will engage across borders: in dictatorships, citizens are less able to form voluntary and or independent associations in the first place. In the realm of popular culture, we are undoubtedly shaped by what we consume from Hollywood or Bollywood or K-Pop – and we are proud when Malaysians share in the limelight.
Portrayals of societies, relationships, the role of superheroes, imagined futures of humanity all contribute to inculcating certain attitudes that can spill into the public policy arena, ultimately resulting in political debate and legislative change – when we discuss the role of women, the treatment of ethnic and other minorities, or the scourge of child marriage. And with the rise of YouTube stars and Instagram influencers, cultural exchange is occurring all the time between people of different backgrounds without regard to physical geography.
However, not everyone consumes the same cultural products, leading to the echo chamber effect in which people seek to confirm their existing biases. This can be damaging to democracy as politicians turn to populism to target those constituencies. That also affects their view of international relations.
As is clear today, not every government views the promotion of democracy as central to its foreign policy objectives. Some regimes actively clamp down on their citizens seeking to strengthen democracy by reaching out to foreign partners. Even democracies sacrifice their democratic principles for the sake of national security or to acquire goodwill from other nations that can be later redeemed. Diplomacy has become more transactional, with free trade deals being signed not based out of an ideological belief that prosperity results from increased exchange of goods and services, but based on wider geopolitical goals.
Of course, heads of government do not solely represent their countries: the late Senator John McCain reminded us how diverse American democratic culture can be even with parties. And constitutional heads of state invoke soft power in other ways too: the recent visit of the President of Singapore impressed upon Malaysians that ethnic minorities can rise to the top in neighbouring countries.
In Malaysia, constitutional heads of state can and do stress the primacy of the constitution. When opening the current session of the Negeri Sembilan State Assembly, the Yang di-Pertuan Besar reminded all assemblymen, enforcement agencies and civil servants to carry out their duties with integrity and accountability while condemning the abuse of power and misappropriation of funds that occurred: such institutional failure must never recur.
Now, in the international arena, Malaysia has new opportunities enabled by the recent general election and peaceful transfer of power. The Prime Minister’s address at the United Nations General Assembly was widely praised by the international community, though many Malaysians saw it as directed at themselves as well. Certainly, the vocabulary of human rights and democracy was uttered (albeit not sufficiently for some), and with the government’s election manifesto containing promises to abolish oppressive legislation and empower the institutions created by our Federal Constitution and other laws, there will hopefully be considerable pressure for this to be matched with actions if trust in institutions is to be restored and maintained.
Crucially, civil society organisations are now a permanent part of Malaysian public life, and we will continue engaging with all stakeholders to pursue what we believe to be the best vision of Malaysia there is. Cultural diplomacy will stand to benefit from greater freedoms, as citizens, businesses and voluntary groups reach out on their own to conduct diplomacy without permission from the government.
Indeed, cultural diplomacy is the most honest form of diplomacy: for it contains no ulterior motive apart from the expression of humanity’s finest qualities. Even if others attach sinister objectives to cultural diplomacy, at the very least, some people-to-people connections will have been made upon which further voluntary exchanges can be built. Those human connections lie at the heart of strengthening democracy as citizens of different countries cooperate to find the best ways to learn from each other.
Adapted from the writer’s speech at the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) on Oct 4.
Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin is Founding President of IDEAS