Gastronomy as a diplomatic tool: A systematic literature review

Background

Food and gastronomy can significantly influence a country's domestic and foreign diplomatic settings or strategies. Either from the perspective of cultural diplomacy, diplomatic relationships, benefits attraction, and soft/hard power exercise. This involves the mobilization of national cuisines, traditions, food cultures, and food power ideas to create positive perceptions of a country or community, leading to its engagement in the global gastronomic and food systems. However, the conceptual and epistemological frameworks of those mobilisations frequently remain ambiguous from the academic, practical, and policymaking perspectives, leading to imprecisions about their configurations.

Objectives

This systematic review aims to organise the architectural and conceptual features of the “taste diplomacies” (gastrodiplomacy, culinary diplomacy, and food diplomacy) and their actions at the intersection of gastronomy and diplomacy. It clarifies key concepts, allowing solid intersections between cultural aspects and international relations in policymaking, scientific advancements, and social/cultural events. The review seeks to clarify the core features of food-related foreign public policies.

Methods

A 47-article Systematic Literature Review (SLR) has been carried out with PRISMA guidelines. The search was performed through Google Scholar, Open Alex, Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCO Host.

Key findings

The findings indicate the novelty of the concepts and the ongoing process of conceptual and theoretical stabilisation, highlighting a recent chronology and conceptual tensions in scientific production. The conceptual genealogy originates from two authors who, in their definitions, have paved the way for conceptual interchangeability.

Conclusions

The terms “gastrodiplomacy”, “culinary diplomacy”, and “food diplomacy” have been solidified as a) the practices of global promotion of food products/foodways/national cuisines expressively or tacitly associated with sovereign States' cultural diplomacy/nation branding policies and soft power-driven actions, b) the utilisation of national food and foodways in ceremonial and diplomatic meals, and c) a state's participation in the world food movements, including food security measures and humanitarian food aid in times of conflicts, respectively.