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Anime and manga. Art conferences. Coffee prepared with sugar. Soccer games. These things seem hardly relevant to the cutthroat negotiations and politically charged interchanges that jump to mind at the mention of international diplomacy. However, countries throughout the world are turning to popular culture - entertainment, sports, national traditions - as a way of improving their international image and furthering their foreign policy goals. The use of pop culture as a diplomatic strategy stands in appealing, warm, and humane opposition to the threat of military power. "Cultural programs are a demonstration of our good faith. They can help to change the mood if successful," said Nicholas Burns, former Under Secretary of State under the Bush Administration and Harvard Kennedy School professor. But the success of this style of soft diplomacy is not guaranteed, and the use of culture as a pragmatic mechanism is questionable as well. While a reliance on pop culture as a means of soft diplomacy and nation-branding has significant potential for international relations, nations must be cautious in their deployment of these practices. An analysis of recent initiatives in Japan, Britain, Turkey, and the United States reveals both the possible benefits and pitfalls of soft diplomacy and nation branding through popular culture.
Recent Initiatives in Soft Diplomacy: Japan and Britain
Perhaps the most salient example of the soft diplomacy phenomenon is Japan's "Pop Culture Diplomacy." The Japanese government's program uses anime (animated cartoons) and manga (a style of comic) in an attempt to achieve foreign policy goals. Both art forms enjoy a broad audience, inside and outside of Japan.
The Japanese government asserts that the worldwide promotion of manga and anime through competitions and festivals serves the purpose of furthering "understanding of and trust in" Japan. The initiative began in 2007 with the establishment of the International Manga Award. At the Eighth International Manga Award in February 2015, the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kentaro Sonoura, gave the keynote address. Crystallizing this goal, he said, "Of all the attractive things that Japan has, manga and other forms of pop culture have powerful appeal worldwide...[this] is an important asset that provides robust support for Japanese diplomacy." Sonoura called manga a "gateway" to Japanese culture: a widespread, popular form of media that could serve...