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culture Culture

Ambassadors’ Recipes to Nexus: Food, Culture and International described as “winning hearts and minds” of a
Relations
targeted population to make them support policies,
Food is an essential ingredient of human goals or cultural traditions. The connection between
Foster Peace Dialogue existence and has always been important in public diplomacy and food can summed up by
interstate relations and diplomatic practice. It the old phrase “the way to man’s heart is through
has been used to communicate culture, identity his stomach”. Gastrodiplomacy wins hearts and
and messages which can express friendship or minds via stomachs.
animosity. This role is becoming increasingly
noticeable in public diplomatic practice, but Culinary Diplomacy: What is it and what
Ambassadors’ Menu for Peacemaking – academic accounts of gastro, food or culinary does it do?
diplomacy have so far been limited.
Food has long been an important route for
Diplomats’ recipes For example, the term food diplomacy is rarely diplomacy; it is the universal medium that all
used in political and academic discourse but there humans, regardless of background or belief,
are many examples of it from diplomatic history can share and enjoy. Culinary diplomacy is a
and contemporary diplomatic practice. These relatively recent term, as is gastrodiplomacy,
By Evelina Rioukhina in collaboration with Marit Fosse can be used to assess the role food can play in but they are increasing in use. The basic idea
Edited by Ash Charlton • interstate relations, public diplomacy, diplomatic is sharing food with people from different
communication and “soft power”. cultures to break down barriers and begin
fostering cultural understanding among
Food as “soft power” vs “hard power” countries.
Joseph Nye, an influential theorist on international
relations, is credited with coining the term soft “Culinary diplomacy” vs
power, using it in distinction to “hard power” “Gastrodiplomacy”
based on military capability and coercion, The terms “culinary diplomacy” and
which dominates so-called realist theories of “gastrodiplomacy” have been used since the
international relations. Soft power uses other early 2000s. Both terms have been popularized
means to influence desired outcomes, and the by American public diplomacy scholars Paul
concept has gained prominence in the post- Rockower and Sam Chapple-Sokol. Rockower
Cold War period. Nye argued that the Cold War defines gastrodiplomacy as a tool of public
changed the nature of power and security in world diplomacy, while culinary diplomacy is
politics. The central question for the great powers “a means to further diplomatic protocol
was how to achieve influence in a complex and through cuisine”. Chapple-Sokol considers
increasingly interdependent international political that culinary diplomacy is the general term,
environment. To quote Nye, “If a state can and gastrodiplomacy refers to its public face.
make its power seem legitimate in the eyes Rockower says food can be a key element of a
of others, it will encounter less resistance “nation branding” strategy, a method that holds
to its wishes. If its culture and ideology are great promise for “middle powers” seeking to
attractive, others will more willingly follow. increase international influence through cultural
If it can establish international norms promotion. Chapple-Sokol believes use of food in
consistent with its society, it is less likely to diplomacy has always been an important form of
have to change. If it can support institutions non-verbal communication. He defines culinary
that make other states wish to channel or limit diplomacy as use of food on a government-to-
their activities in ways the dominant state government level. As a tactic it is many-faceted,
prefers, it may be spared the costly exercise of with thousands of years of history behind it. It
coercive or hard power”. includes issues like how people are seated at a
table, the food presented, and the venue chosen.
Breaking of bread to win hearts and minds • Ash Charlton is
In other words, soft power encompasses an Food is an ambassador in and of itself a writer, editor,
abundance of mostly non-tangible factors and Historically food has often been used consultant and
freelance trainer
instruments such as attractiveness, influence, to build peace, even though it has only who has worked
image or ideology. Its final aim is to create appeal, recently returned to popularity in global with the UN for
attraction, and non-military persuasion. It is often public diplomacy. The Romans used food over 15 years.

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