Research Paper on Cultural Diplomacy: Promoting Exchange of Ideas, Traditions, Culture & Identity

Introduction

Cultural Diplomacy is the move or action taken by either the government, civil society, or the private entities to promote the exchange of ideas, traditions, culture, and identity of a particular country or community. Cultural diplomacy creates awareness of cultural practices of a country or region, thus exposing a country or region to foreign nations. It strengthens interactions, enhances sociocultural relationships, and promotes the interests of a particular country. Therefore, cultural diplomacy plays a critical role in promoting tourism and cross-cultural understanding.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Objectives and Research Questions

What impact has the cultural diplomacy had on the efficiency in promoting Qatar's tourism and cross-cultural understanding?

The research aims at analyzing how cultural diplomacy has enhanced tourism and cross-cultural understanding in Qatar. The study aims at establishing the relationship between the cultural diplomacy and tourism activities of Qatar. The government of Qatar and the private sector for many years have been using cultural diplomacy as a way of creating awareness on the various tourism opportunities available in Qatar to enhance global understanding and unite its legitimacy in the country. Therefore, the research will be focusing mainly on the cultural diplomacy create by Qatar museum to strengthen international collaboration and promote tourism. Hypothetically, the government of Qatar tactically employs cultural diplomacy to develop global awareness of the productive cultural practices of Qatar. It will be essential to study cultural diplomacy in Qatar and determine the role it plays in promoting tourism and cross-cultural activities.

Significance of Research

Cultural diplomacy is an essential tool for creating a bridge between disparate cultures. It enhances local and international collaboration by employing aspects like the varied traditional exchange programs, foreign delegations, and sports competitions. These aspects are a unique way of influencing intercultural and interfaith acknowledgment and understanding. As a result, they help in promoting peace and reconciliation among different traditions and cultures. The research in this field is essential to understand how cultural diplomacy works. It will help in understanding the various ways through which the government and the private sector in Qatar are using different tools of cultural diplomacy to promote tourism. Understanding the relationship between cultural diplomacy and tourism activities in Qatar will help device ways that the country can better encourage tourism activities in a foreign country. The research will help identify bottleneck activities in the process of promoting tourism activities in Qatar by studying cultural diplomacy in Qatar.

Research into cultural diplomacy and its significance in tourism in Qatar will help in building and organizing a body of knowledge that serves as the custodian of Qatar's cultures. The findings and compilations from the research are vital to study material not only for learners in Qatar but the entire world. The research results will be available and accessible to people all over the world. Therefore, the research itself will help in cultural dissemination. It will ensure that people can read different cultures in Qatar. The study will help increase tourism activities as many foreigners will find it necessary to visit Qatar and observe these customs. It will also boost local and international awareness of the various cultures in Qatar.

Methodology and Indicative Structure

The type of research that best suits the study is conducting a survey, collecting and mining data from available written sources, and interviewing staff working in the museum and archives. The investigation will mainly involve the use of questionnaires distributed to tourists visiting Qatar's cultural events, such as the culture week in various learning institutions. The surveys will include a series of questions that aim at establishing whether cultural diplomacy played in role in influencing their decision to visit Qatar's cultural events. The data collected will be analyzed to draw the connection between cultural diplomacy and tourism activities in Qatar. Apart from survey and data collection, the research will involve studying available scholarly content from other researchers. It will include a critical analysis of books and articles relating to the topic of cultural diplomacy and tourism and cross-cultural activities. The staffs working at the museum and archives are essential components for the research. Therefore, the study will involve interviewing these staff to get firsthand credible information on the relationship between cultural diplomacy and tourism and cross-cultural practices.

Annotated Bibliography

Hurn, B. J. (2016). The role of cultural diplomacy in nation branding. Industrial and Commercial Training, 48(2), 80-85.

Brian J Hurn, in this book, draws the connection between tourism and industrial training. He sees cultural diplomacy as an essential way of building a nation as a brand. According to him, cultural diplomacy serves as an integrated marketing technique whereby a country is exposed to other countries enabling people from other countries to learn rich cultures and traditions of different countries. Hurn looks at a nation's culture as a product that needs to be marketed in a global atmosphere. He suggests cultural diplomacy as the only effective way to brand and market a country's culture. The books are vital for the research of cultural diplomacy and the role it plays in enhancing tourism in Qatar.

Eggeling, K. A. (2017). Cultural diplomacy in Qatar: between 'virtual enlargement,' national identity construction, and elite legitimation. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 23(6), 717-731.

Research by Eggeling comments on the importance of cultural diplomacy in promoting the arts and cultures of Qatar. It draws its quotes from Safiya Al Hajari. Eggeling summarizes the roles of cultural diplomacy in promoting the traditions and heritage of Qatar. His research focuses on the past, present, and future of Qatar concerning cross-cultural practices and tourism. According to Eggeling, cultural diplomacy brings disparate cultures of the world together. Thus, Qatar takes its cultures, heritage, art, and traditions to the rest of the world through intercultural possibilities created by cultural diplomacy.

Knezevic, M. A. (2014). Building on culture. Australasian Leisure Management, (103), 58.

Knezevic, in this article, talks of cultural diplomacy as a way of building cultural practices. He examines the various ways through which the Australian government has promoted and enhanced cultural cohesion. Knezevic sees cultural diplomacy as a way of bringing different cultures into contact. He talks of both the local community and the international cultures. He uses this article to raise awareness of the heritage, art, and culture of a community. Nevertheless, he talks of cultural diplomacy in Qatar and its role in promoting cultural tourism. The article provides vital information to help in the research of cultural diplomacy and the role it plays in enhancing tourism and cultural cohesion.

Von Maltzahn, N. (2015). The Syria-Iran axis: cultural diplomacy and international relations in the Middle East (Vol. 137). IB Tauris.

In this book of cultural diplomacy in the Middle East, Von Maltzan provides crucial information in understanding the role of cultural diplomacy as a tool of understanding the needs of other people through understanding their cultures and traditions. The book talks of cultural diplomacy as a vital component in enhancing tourism activities in the Middle East. The book is an essential research tool that will help in the study of cross-cultural practices in the Middle East as well as Qatar. I intend to use this book to research the cultural practices in Qatar and how it influences tourism activities in the country.

Henderson, J. C. (2015). The development of tourist destinations in the Gulf: Oman and Qatar compared. Tourism Planning & Development, 12(3), 350-361.

Henderson, in this book, offers a comparison between tourism activities in Oman and Qatar. He farther goes ahead to analyze vital elements that enhance the development of tourism and cross-cultural activities in these two countries. Among the various critical factors discussed in this book are the cultural diplomacy and the role it plays in promoting tourism and mutual understanding of traditions. The book is an essential component for the research on cultural diplomacy and the role it plays in promoting tourism in Qatar.

Planned Research Schedule

The first step in the planning of the research schedule will involve a chronological organization of the relevant questions to be asked when conducting interviews with staff from the museum. Preparation of the items is the most critical part since the discussions will allow me to obtain firsthand information on the topic. Therefore, the questions will have to be structured in a way that they do not lead the response. It is essential to analyze the problems that continue to ensure they remain relevant to the study, and they follow each other in the desired order. After preparing the interview questions, the planning stage will involve extensive data mining from both the school library and the public library. The process of obtaining relevant written resources is vital and should be in the initial stage of the research planning. Any books or articles that are not available can be replaced by other materials early in the research stage. The process helps to avoid the last-minute rush that can result in inadequate or irrelevant sources. Accumulation of written content can also be incorporated into the general studies since the topic lies within my field of study.

After researching available literature, the next step will be conducting interviews, which will take place mostly on Friday afternoons and Saturday morning. The selection of these times is strategic to ensure that the research does not clash with the routine course work. It also considers the time when the museum staff and other interviewees are not occupied. The interview sessions can take between five to ten minutes per respondent so that the study covers a broader sample. The final step will be the transcription of the interviews recorded during the conversations and organizing and recording the data in a presentable form. The organization of the data stage is the last step. The only factor affecting this step is my availability. Therefore, it is possible to complete the level anywhere and at any time making the research feasible.

Research Motivations

There are a variety of beautiful cultures in Qatar and the rest of the world that people do not know. These cultures and traditions form the core of society. Research into cultural diplomacy, cross-cultural practices, and their impacts on tourism help in expanding the knowledge of various traditions. They dictate how people holding the cultures live and interact with others. By exposing these cultures, people from other parts of the world will appreciate and understand why different people act differently in different settings. It would be critically important to study the role that cultural diplomacy has played so far in exposing these cultures. That way, it will be possible to understand the hindrances in cross-cultural practices. Understanding the limitations of cultural diplomacy in presenting cultural practices of Qatar to the rest of the world will help in finding better ways to use cultural diplomacy to promote tourism. Therefore, the study is motivated by the desire to create cross-c...