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Diplomacy Of The Spice Route To a Cultural Superpower
Spice Route Diplomacy Towards a Cultural Superpower
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China, Iran, India, Japan, and South Korea have succeeded in carrying out cultural “transcendence” so rapidly in the global world. These countries have long emerged as influential forces in the international arena. They are aware of the importance of managing cultural resources by conducting cultural diplomacy, as important as political diplomacy.
China, for example, has proven to be very good at managing their cultural wealth in positioning itself as the most powerful country in the economic and cultural fields. Japan has long attracted the attention of the world by relying on kosupure or cosplay (costume) culture, anime, manga, and movies. This country wins the global market competition by synergizing traditional wealth and technology well. South Korea plays a big role as a global entertainment provider. The Korean wave that started from the K-Pop and K-Drama entertainment industry is now getting bigger with internationalization projects, recruiting K-Pop stars from outside Korea, such as Lalisa Manoban (Thailand) and Dita Karang (Indonesia). Korean succession in the entertainment industry that includes values, lifestyle, social life, systems and traditions, and beliefs, is loved by the global community (koreanization). This also has a positive impact on the fashion, technology, and automotive industries there.
India takes advantage of the Bollywood film industry, a number of activities that play an important role in the promotion of culture, and the position of the diaspora as an important instrument to support the achievement of its national interests through cultural diplomacy (Jayanti Andina, 2011).
The achievement of these countries is due to implementing the right cultural strategy, which prioritizes culture over political and economic processes. It would be ironic if Indonesia with its cultural gold mine was not able to lift it up to compete in the international arena. The fact that the cultural wealth of the archipelago should be the basic capital in development that has an impact on the welfare of its people. Cultural identity needs to be explored again because this potential is still not, even far from being maximized, to be maintained and used as a cultural power. UNESCO has even long recommended the importance of culture as commander in development processes.
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Spice Culture Route
The archipelago was once an important player and major supplier in world trade, long before Europeans carried out trading activities in Southeast Asia. So important is the spice in human life, so that it becomes the main commodity that is able to influence political, economic, and socio-cultural conditions on a global scale for centuries.
The Spice Route is not just a mere commodity trade, but also a commercial process that allows the exchange of values and cultures that have helped shape the identity of the Indonesian people and shape the development of world civilization. The Spice Route is interpreted not only the connectivity of the regions of Indonesia, but also the historical connectivity of Indonesia with other countries. The Spice Rute program wants to strengthen the network of cultural interactions by cooperating, synergizing, and taking roles in various spaces to redefine the cultural heritage of spices.
Efforts are needed to reconstruct world civilization in the spice trade trajectory, which has been initiated by various parties by identifying various evidences of connectivity between regions in Indonesia and regions in other countries. This of course requires the development of Indonesia’s cultural diplomacy systematically and massively. Moreover, as a cultural route, the prospect of the Spice Route is very large to get world heritage status by UNESCO with joint proposals from other countries.
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Cultural Diplomacy
Looking at the dynamics of the Spice Route in the past, it is very relevant if the Spice Route becomes a reference in looking for the colors of Indonesian diplomacy that prioritizes interaction and warmth of dialogue in various fields and levels of society. The history of the spice route from time to time is a clear example that cultural diplomacy has been practiced on all fronts, both individually, in the community, to the state and nation level.
In historical evidence, in the period from the 10th century to the 13th century AD, Srivijaya’s role was very strategic as a liaison for the spice trade between the Indian Sea and the South China Sea, and Nalanda. Even the King of Srivijaya, Balaputra Dewa, funded the construction of an ancient university as the world’s first center of Buddhist religious education in Nalanda (which today is comparable to world-renowned universities - say Oxford, Harvard, or Cambridge). The Srivijaya and Nalanda kingdoms in India built relationships through education. Both send students to each other.
Likewise, the kingdom of Aceh once established diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire through spice diplomacy. Turkey competed with other European countries in the spice trade. Acehnese envoys came to Istanbul starting in 1562 to ask for the support of the Ottoman Empire against the Portuguese in Malacca.
Then also in his diplomacy, in 1605, Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa once wrote a letter requesting that the British were willing to sell weapons to Banten, through diplomacy with the warmth of spices by slipping a gift in the form of black pepper. In the letter, it contains writings about friendship accompanied by ‘100 bahar of black pepper and 100 pikul of ginger as a form of love and peace’.
By understanding various historical sources, the Spice Route can be seen as a foothold in exploring various possibilities of cooperation between nations that prioritizes intercultural understanding, equality and mutual contribution, as well as recognition of the diversity of traditions and their heritage.
The initial step taken is of course conducting a survey and a diplomatic approach to the destination countries, but a narrative is needed so that there is a common understanding of cultural diplomacy as a projection of values - “how Indonesia radiates its values” through soft power, so that other countries have an interest. in collaboration with Indonesia (Indonesian Cultural Diplomacy Guidebook. 2020).
Cultural diplomacy must also be implemented in all lines, not only at the state level but also at the community level. For this reason, it is crucial to organize and strengthen the cultural potential in diplomacy, both institutionally, regulatory, infrastructure and human resources. With precise international cultural diplomacy, Indonesia can position itself as a cultural superpower. (Mohammad Atqa,
