From the kitchen to the embassy: a rapid review of gastronomic approaches in diplomacy

Abstract

This review explores the complex interrelations between food, diplomacy, and politics. It examines the emergence of a new field of studies that interrelates diplomacy, food and gastronomic practices, providing attention to academic concepts such as gastropolitics, gastrodiplomacy, culinary diplomacy, and food diplomacy. Arjun Appadurai was the first author to conceptualise this interconnection analysing its semiotics. The paper delves into historical and contemporary reports to trace the development of this transdisciplinary field. Following a comprehensive state-of-the-art approach, the study investigates how nations strategically employ food to enhance soft power, encourage cultural exchange, and promote national identity through food on a global scale. The rapid review outlines the pioneering efforts of countries like France in gastronomic promotion as a way of cultural diplomacy and Thailand and South Korea in gastrodiplomacy, two examples of the materialisations of diplomacy and gastronomic sciences alignment. It highlights food’s many roles in public diplomacy, cultural representation, and economic development. Additionally, the paper explores both the role of food in international governance and humanitarian aid as well as in paradiplomacy and protodiplomacy concepts where food promotion and identity are correlated. 86 articles were included in this rapid review through research carried out between March and April 2024. Those articles have been retrieved from Google Scholar, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect.