BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

THE ART OF MAXIMISING DIPLOMACY THROUGH CULTURE: POTENTIALS FOR BANGLADESH

Author: Razia Sultana

DOI Link: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2024v45n3a1

ABSTRACT

The paper aims to explore the potential of cultural diplomacy in Bangladesh in contemporary time when global crises loom larger than ever before. Cultural diplomacy—is claimed to be an alternative approach to soft power and public diplomacy acts as a source of crisis management and positive labelling which assist in upholding a country’s image in the world arena. Despite the significance of cultural diplomacy, research in this domain of Bangladesh has been notably sparse since its independence in 1971. Drawing upon a synthesis of both primary and secondary data sources, the paper substantiates that there is a little systematic discussion on the extent to which cultural diplomacy can be utilised by government apparatuses, non-state actors, cultural associations, as well as other cultural actors to serve the country’s national interests abroad. Unlike other Asian countries, Bangladesh lags in optimising the potential of cultural diplomacy in the global context due to some formidable challenges in the cultural arena, for example, fund constraints, failure to create additional value of cultural resources, dominance of foreign culture, etc. Therefore, there is a compelling need for Bangladesh to glean insights from other regional countries on how to use culture as a resource for its diplomacy with a view to exploring avenues for the country in this regard. Since the spectrum of cultural diplomacy is continuously widening, the paper underscores the need of scrutinising interconnected gaps in the context of Bangladesh. The paper offers some niche areas (in language, music, film, tourism, etc.) as focal points for further inquiry and knowledge acquisition on this subject.