Cultural diplomacy could reduce Xenophobia

       

          Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, “If you differ from me, my brother, rather than do me harm, you enrich me” is an ideal reaction when meeting a foreigner there is an opportunity to learn from other experiences. As the world gets smaller through globalization and migration, the world becomes more heterogeneous in terms of cultures, people, languages, and race which is enriching. The US military like many organizations is successful through leveraging on the diversity of its officers’ skill or languages and recruits from different ethnicity and religion. Although enrichment through the heterogeneity of the world is easily seen in organizations, it is often perceived negatively in some communities. The egoistic nature of some communities regularly driven by self-preservation leads to Xenophobia, as explained by Hurlemann et al (2017), this is partly due to evolution since only through solidarity within one's own group was it possible to survive against unknown and rivaling groups for scarce resources in pre-civilized times. Xenophobia is usually a natural survival response due to fear induced by the lack of knowledge about a foreign person, culture or religion. With the rapid increase in xenophobia attacks and hate crimes, the importance of cultural diplomacy and intelligence is crucial for an effective and peaceful heterogeneous community.

          According to Patterson (2017), hate crimes against Muslims spiked 67 percent in 2016 while the increased average of 7 percent for all categories of hate crimes in the US in the same year. The rise of xenophobic attacks disregards the laws established to prosecute and criminalize such hate crimes as this is a reactive solution. A proactive solution would be to address the root cause of these fears that lead perpetrators into these actions through cultural diplomacy. Cultural Diplomacy utilizes the exchange of ideas, values, and culture to enhance socio-cultural cooperation by providing a common frame of reference and identifies lacunas that may exist in different cultures there by improving the knowledge and connection of each group. Cultural diplomacy has been in use through the centuries in different forms, one of the earliest being the Emperor of the Chinese’s Tang dynasty in 625-705 AD, sends Pandas to as China's 'Goodwill Ambassadors' which are regarded as a symbol of peace and friendship in the Chinese culture. One of the most notable examples is the gifting of a panda to the United States in 1972, following the thawing of Sino-American relations and Nixon's visit to Beijing.

          As in any human endeavor, improved knowledge on the concern usually reduces fear and increases confidence and safety, increased cultural exchange through preservation and promotion of cultural diversity has been identified by the United Nations in 2012 as a tool that can contribute to the eradication of xenophobia and intolerance. This is because intercultural exchange promotes a common platform to express a shared humanity and gives points of connection for each group. Fosler-Lussier (2012) explained the US cultural diplomacy efforts created a sense of connection between the American musician and audience and the foreigners to create an imagined community and developed new sympathies towards foreigners which indirectly improved the American foreign policy.

          In the wake of the Charlottesville anti-supremacist protest on August 12, where Heather Heyer was killed, Obama‏ tweeted quote of Nelson Mandela "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion..." which became the most liked tweet because its truth resonates with many.  Cultural differences are not usually recognized at childhood but are learned and may lead to xenophobia when thought in a negative context instead of being taught through respect of each culture. According to McPhail (2013), the proliferation of US culture through exposure to music, programs, and social media increases non-American teenagers’ connection with the US teenagers as the cultural gap has been minimized.While the exposure to US culture may help reduce xenophobia with non-Americans teenagers towards Americans, the unevenness of the electronic colonialism, lack of international news features and foreign culture programs in the American media would not benefit US teenagers as they do not have equal exposure or knowledge of other cultures, however this cultural exchange through the media although one-sided should ultimately improve the connection between foreigners in this generation.however this cultural exchange through the media although one-sided should ultimately improve the connection between foreigners in this generation.however this cultural exchange through the media although one-sided should ultimately improve the connection between foreigners in this generation.

          International news is another tool that could improve the knowledge of foreign cultures however this is usually lopsided as the rate of international news is shrinking and the content often portrays the foreigners in negative stereotypes, typically only wars, epidemic virus outbreaks, and terrorism are reported as international news. Also, depending on the sensitivity of the topic, foreign policy bias or the media system the country where the international news is published, the content or perspective of the news may differ to influence the audience towards certain propaganda. The principles of cultural diplomacy promote the appreciation of each culture through the exposure to foreign music, art, film, literature, monuments, and intercultural exchange and create a stage for a positive relationship to be built upon unlike the content on the international news which thrives on fear. Some notable art cultural diplomacy examples are; France’s gift of the statue of liberty in centennial anniversary of US independence and abolishment of slavery consequently promoting international trade and cultural exchange between the countries, and the Cannes film festival which is another modern cultural diplomacy effort that seeks to celebrate and promote movies from different cultures thus improving audience exposure, and the Cannes film festival which is another modern cultural diplomacy effort that seeks to celebrate and promote movies from different cultures thus improving audience exposure.

            Globalization and migration are inevitable, as the world shrinks and mixes cultures through contact with people of different origins, improved cultural sympathy is required for a peaceful coexistence. Cultural diplomacy provides a platform to share cultural values which show the shared understanding of different cultures. It shows how similar people of different origins are with respect to basic aspirations instead of focusing on what differentiates and creates misunderstanding. As Peter Alfandary explains, introducing cultural intelligence part of the education curriculum at all levels may help combat bigotry and stereotypes. The use of cultural diplomacy at all levels would reduce the fear of foreigners and intolerance, if not display the astonishing benefits of heterogeneity in a globalized world as it forms a basis for understanding each other.

Reference

Academy for Cultural Diplomacy. (n.d.). Retrieved August 17, 2017, from                                                      http://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/academy/index.php?en_historical-acts-of-cd

Hurlemann R., Marsh N., Scheele D., Feinstein J., Gerhardt H., Strang S., Maier W., (2017) :                       Oxytocin-enforced norm compliance reduces xenophobic outgroup rejection, Proceedings of                the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), DOI: doi/10.1073/pnas.1705853114

McPhail, T. L. (2013). Global communication: theories, stakeholders and trends. Retrieved from                  http://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Patterson, B. E. (2017, June 23). Hate crimes against Muslims spiked 67 percent last year.                         Retrieved August 19, 2017, from http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/heres-what-we-know-about-hate-crimes-us/

T. (2015, June 05). The myth of globalization | Peter Alfandary | TEDxAix. Retrieved August 19,                2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUYNB4a8d2U

United Nations (2012, July). United against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related  Intolerance. Retrieved from      http://www.un.org/en/letsfightracism/pdfs/United%20against%20Racism_English_web.pdf

            Printed at the United Nations, New York 12-36291—July 2012—1,200

Wamsley, L. (2017, August 16). Quoting Mandela, Obama's Tweet After Charlottesville Is The Most-      Liked Ever. Retrieved August 19, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-         way/2017/08/16/543882516/obama-s-tweet-after-charlottesville-is-the-most-liked-tweet-ever