Cultural congruency in mediated gastrodiplomacy: a qualitative framing analysis of the U.S.–Japan Sushi Summit

Derek Moscato ()
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Derek Moscato: Western Washington University

Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 2018, vol. 14, issue 3, No 5, 187-196

Abstract: Abstract Gastrodiplomacy, the confluence of public diplomacy and national cuisine, has elevated the meal as a symbolic and real tool in the acquisition of soft power among countries. The pairing of food with national values can help a nation reach out to the world (Nirwandy and Awang in Procedia 130:325–332, 2014) or illuminate a region or culture (Williams et al. in Int J Leis Tour Mark 4:1–8, 2014). Utilizing Entman’s theory of mediated public diplomacy and building on the concept of the national leader as a “diplomat-in-chief” (Snow in Persuader-in-chief: Global opinion and public diplomacy in the age of Obama. Nimble Books, 2009; Golan and Yang in Am Behav Sci 57(9):1277–1292, 2013), this study reports from a qualitative analysis of U.S. media coverage of the April 2014 dinner meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe—dubbed the “Sushi Summit” by some media outlets. Through analysis of the projected media frames, highlighting an evolving relationship between the two nations and the role of the meal itself, this study highlights the important role of cultural congruency in mediated public diplomacy.

Keywords: Gastrodiplomacy; Soft power; Mediated public diplomacy; Japan; Sushi; Cultural congruency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1057/s41254-017-0066-6

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