Securitization of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia: The Role of the UK Public Diplomacy

Abstract

As the UK Government is currently actively working to create a clear public political narrative that defines the national interests of this state in Southeast Asia, the issues of securitization of cultural heritage in the region have become firmly rooted in the process of implementing its public diplomacy which guarantees not only the success of such initiatives, but also public support for the country’s long-term foreign policy course in the international arena. The purpose of this study is to provide a general description and analysis of the phenomenon of securitization of cultural heritage in Southeast Asia and to determine the role of public diplomacy of the UK in this process based on the research of the main features of the implementation of the foreign policy of this state and its key components at the global level.

This study used the following methods: discursive analysis, content analysis, case study, comparative analysis and interpretative (hermeneutic) approach.

As a result, the essence and significance of the phenomena of securitization of cultural heritage and public diplomacy which uses the issue of protecting cultural values ​​as a “soft power tool” of foreign policy were analyzed. The article determines how the United Kingdom applies this tool in practice by implementing its geopolitical strategy in Southeast Asia.

The conclusion proves that securitization of cultural heritage as an element of the United Kingdom’s “soft power” is a key component of the modern British vision of a more stable and accountable global policy. The participation of this state in international activities to protect cultural heritage in the Southeast Asian countries is inextricably linked to global and regional political processes, as well as to the peculiarities of their domestic policies that requires broad support for the actions of representatives of the United Kingdom not only at the regional level, but also within the framework of British society.