WHEN ART EQUALS DIPLOMACY

AN OVERVIEW ON HOW A BIG COUNTRY LIKE INDONESIA NEEDS SOMETHING

OTHER THAN POWER

In a globalized, international system, diplomacy is one of the most important things in

defining one country’s position in competition with other states of the world. In the slightest
view, this world has seen more diplomacy in solving problems rather than using military
power in the last twenty years1. Many leaders of the world today, including Indonesia, have
embraced the idea that soft diplomacy, rather than military, is the best solution. Even in
Indonesian foreign policy, diplomacy is the best solution offered for solving even a serious
interstate problem2.
For Indonesia, diplomacy has been taken into a new level of sense: how to use
diplomacy in another fields rather than political and economical matters. Proofs are
everywhere. Indonesia is perhaps one of the best users of other means of diplomacy, for
many reasons that will be discussed later. To say in a sentence: Indonesia has the
capacity to conduct this ‘other diplomacy’.
In this writing, we will focus on a major field in this ‘other diplomacy’, that is the
diplomacy through music and dance.

WHY INDONESIA?
Indonesia has the principle of ‘free and active’ (bebas aktif) in enacting its foreign policy3.
This principle should have emphasized the old saying of “action speaks louder than
words.” To make a loose translation of that sentence, actions are needed more compared
to discussions on the meeting desk.
However, this 21st century international system demands more of ‘soft diplomacy’
rather the usage of military power. Soft diplomacy focuses on non-military power like trade,
aid, empowerment, etc. as opposed to military power4 5. War, pre-emptive measures,
regional armed conflict, and other usage of aggressive military power are simply no longer

1 To say the least, this is signaled by no World Wars or regional conflicts after the end of World War II.

2 Sihaloho, M. J. (2010, September 2). Malaysia Speech Provides a Much-Needed Tonic. Retrieved
September 3, 2010, from The Jakarta Globe: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/malaysia-speech-
provides-a-much-needed-tonic/394293

3 Nau, S. C. (2010, Februari 19). Sejarah Politik Luar Negeri Bebas Aktif. Retrieved September 3, 2010,
from Kompasiana: http://umum.kompasiana.com/2010/02/19/sejarah-politik-luar-negeri-bebas-aktif/

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the trend of the international relations today. Look how more than half of Americans
disapproved the United States military invasion to Iraq in 20036.
Indonesia, in general, has almost all the potentials to enact such ‘soft diplomacy’
through the use of music, dance, movies, and literature. There are some underlying factors
on why this is possible:
1. Multiculturalism. One of the most important features of Indonesia, which other
countries do not have, is the variety of cultures across Indonesia. This can be
advantageous, since with such diversity, there is always a new story to tell, a new
song to sing, a new part of Indonesia to unveil, and so on. Across some 13,000
islands there are hundreds of languages, hundreds of ethnicity and tribes, multiple
religions, and various other conditions that make diversity and multiculturalism
integral in Indonesia.
2. Believe in soft diplomacy. Throughout its history as a sovereign state, Indonesia
has only endured four major armed conflicts with another countries: the Indonesian
National Revolution7 (1945-1949), the Liberation of the West Papua8 (1961-1963),
the Konfrontasi with Malaysia9 (1965-1967), and the Occupation of Timor Leste
(1975-1976)10. Ever since the last armed conflict Indonesia has believed in
diplomacy and negotiation in solving problems with another state. Such examples

4 Kemp, J. (2007, March 13). 'Soft Diplomacy' is the Best Plan. Retrieved September 3, 2010, from Human
Events: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=19791

5 While in many instances ‘soft diplomacy’ has been translated as on trade, aid, empowerment, etc. (see
Ibid.), in reality art holds some influence regarding diplomacy. As a proof, readers can see the examples of
art and culture envoys officially sent by the Indonesia Government through dance groups, choirs,
musicians, etc.

6 Langer, G. (2007, February 26). Disapproval on Iraq Hits Record. Retrieved September 3, 2010, from ABC
News: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2905762&page=1

7 The Indonesian National Revolution of 1945-1949 was the Indonesian Armed Forces and local militias
against the Dutch and the Allies, who took the free ride with the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration
(NICA).

8 The Liberation of West Papua of 1961-1963 was the Indonesian Armed Forces against the Dutch army
occupying the territory of Papua. Indonesia won the armed conflict, and West Papua was integrated as one
of the provinces of Indonesia through a referendum in 1963.

9 The Konfrontasi was a call by President Soekarno in 1965 in regards to the establishment of the new state
of Malaysia, dubbed ‘neo-colonialist’ by Soekarno. It was a close call to an interstate war, yet Presiden
Soeharto called it over in 1967.

10 The Occupation of Timor Leste was done under the President Soeharto administration in 1975-1976,
after the Portuguese left the area of Timor Leste.

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 are the settlement on the Sipadan-Ligitan islands issue with Malaysia11.
3. The recognition of Indonesian art and culture. Indonesian art and culture have
been widely recognized in international fora. For example, some universities across
the world have taught Indonesian culture (such as gamelan) to their students12.
Such recognition often makes Indonesia a very plausible host for many international
culture-related events.
The above factors are just a few reasons on how relying on soft diplomacy is really
possible for Indonesia. In further explanations throughout this writing readers will see
some examples on how Indonesia used the above fields to help Indonesia in creating a
better recognizable image of Indonesia in the international fora.

MUSIC AND DANCE

Indonesia has been recognized of having some of the best music and fine arts in the
World. This recognition is not without proof. Such recognition has been the underlying
reason for making Indonesia host of some related events and competitions. Some music
groups and art envoys have been invited to many other countries to show the diverse
culture of Indonesia.
If we believe that ‘music is a universal language’ then Indonesia has the capacity to
use this universal language on its behest. The variety of music is unprecedented: the
Indonesian music even recognizes two kinds of scale: the diatonic and the pentatonic13.
This diversity contributes to the variety of colors of Indonesian music.
Let us see two interesting things about music and Indonesian diplomacy. The first is
the recognition of Indonesian talents. There are some recognized Indonesian talents in
music. To say the few, there are the pianist Ananda Sukarlan; singers Krisdayanti, Harvey
Malaiholo, and Agnes Monica; and even few Indonesian bands that are popular in many
other countries, from the United States to Malaysia. Some of them become ‘diplomatic

11 The issue of Sipadan-Ligitan was ultimately solved through the International Court of Justice in 2003,
giving both islands the status of Malaysian territory.

12 Santosa, E. (2009, December 19). Gamelan Jadi Materi Ujian Akhir Universitas La Sapienzia. Retrieved
September 4, 2010, from Detik News:
http://www.detiknews.com/read/2009/12/19/035810/1262564/10/gamelan-jadi-materi-ujian-akhir-
universitas-la-sapienzaf

13 This paper, of course, is not a discussion on music. To give readers a brief insight, diatonic scale is the
scale that we use the most, consists of seven different tones, while the pentatonic scale is a scale used
mainly in traditional music (such as Sundanese music), with only five different tones.

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volunteer’, expressing the goodwill and relations between two countries, often with another
talented musicians of the other country14.
The second thing is choral music. Indonesia has produced a lot of talented choirs,
recognized not only by word of mouth, but also by achievements. During the past years,
Indonesian has sent some of its best choirs to another countries, mostly to international
festivals. To mention some of them, there are the Gracioso Sonora Choir of Malang, the
Batavia Madrigal Singers of Jakarta, the Paduan Suara Mahasiswa Universitas
Tarumanegara of Jakarta, the Paduan Suara Mahasiswa Universitas Katolik Parahyangan
of Bandung, the Paduan Suara Mahasiswa Institut Teknologi Bandung, and Elfa Singers
(which heads a lot of other choirs).

Figure 1. Distribution of choirs by country on the Musica Mundi World Ranking List.
Source: Musica Mundi World Ranking List: Top 1,000 Choirs (March 2010)

The quality of Indonesian choirs as ambassadors on the world stage has been
recognized widely; so wide that Indonesia has been given several opportunities to stage
some of the best international choir competitions and festivals in the world. In conjunction
with the Ministry of Tourism and Art, Indonesia hosted the 1st Asian Choir Games in 2007
and the 1st ITB International Choir Competition in 2010.
As remarked by Günter Titsch, the President of INTERKULTUR Foundation and the
President of the Choir Olympics (the organizing committee for Asian Choir Games and
many Choir Olympics), in recognition to Indonesia’s talent and its role in international fora:

“The successes of Asian, and not least Indonesian choirs, have been enormous
wherever they have performed. Regarded from this point of view, our idea of a
worldwide choral community falls on very fertile soil indeed here in Indonesia
and in Asia in general. Thus our motto “Singing together brings nations
together” will stand over this event as an essential aim; the events and
competitions will take place in this spirit. I would now like to take this opportunity
to express my heartfelt gratitude to our Indonesian partners and the Indonesian
government for their tremendous support.”15

14 One of the examples would be the Indonesian singer Krisdayanti, partnered with Siti Nurhaliza of
Malaysia.

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 The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also
endorsed the other event, the 1st ITB International Choir Competition. As stated by
UNESCO Director and Representative for Indonesia, Mr. Hubert Gijzen,

“This event, …, reflects the harmony to strengthen the bonds of friendship and
has been specially designed to further enhance mutual interest among various
countries through the artistic intermediary of songs and music. The main
objective … is to value the benefits of the world’s cultural diversity and help
strengthen dialogue among citizens. Exchange and dialogue between cultures
are the best tools for building peace.”16

Other than music, there are also cultural envoys on dance groups to many countries
of the world. Many of them go to Malaysia, Japan, even as far as the Czech Republic.
People of various backgrounds and origins welcome the art envoys’ performances17.

THE PROOF THAT MUSIC IS A GREAT TOOL OF DIPLOMACY

There is no empirical or scientific evidence whatsoever on how art can influence diplomacy
directly. Yet there are proofs that music has been used in many instances as a tool to
make thaw what was initially a hard relation of two states.
One of the examples would be dubbed ‘the Orchestra Diplomacy’ or ‘the Symphonic
Diplomacy’18. In 2008, one of the most legendary orchestras of the world, the New York
Philharmonic, paid a visit to North Korea, one of the most isolated countries in the world. In
an unprecedented gesture, these orchestrators from the United States – a country without
any diplomatic relations with North Korea, and both are hostile enemies, the sole remnant
of the Cold War – played the Aegukka, the North Korean anthem, while standing. They
might be the first Americans to play the song, even more astonishing, on foreign soil.

15 INTERKULTUR, Germany. (2007). The 1st Asian Choir Games. Jakarta, Indonesia: INTERKULTUR,
Germany.

16 Festival Paduan Suara Institut Teknologi Bandung. (2010). The Big Book of Festival Paduan Suara XXII
ITB 2010 and 1st ITB International Choir Competition 2010. Bandung, Indonesia: Melsamedia.

17 Kawilarang, R. R. (2010, March 2). Tari Bali dan Kalimantan Memikat Warga Ceko. Retrieved
September 4, 2010, from VivaNews: http://dunia.vivanews.com/news/read/133336-
tari_bali_dan_kalimantan_memikat_warga_ceko

18 Wakin, D. J. (2008, February 27). North Koreans Welcome Symphonic Diplomacy. Retrieved September
5, 2010, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/world/asia/27symphony.html?_r=2

5
 This event was unprecedented for several reasons.
1. It was the first time The Star-Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United
States, was played on North Korea, a country without diplomatic ties with the United
States19. It was deemed ‘even more incredible that it was not played as an encore,
but as part of the regular program.’20
2. It was the first time ‘a North Korean sees American flag in North Korea’21.
3. It was the moment that North Korea opened its doors to international media, even
allowed phone lines and internet connection, which were normally banned22.
The above visit was done twice before, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra to the
Soviet Union in 1956 (again, two states with different ideologies in the midst of the Cold
War) and Philadelphia Orchestra to China in 197323.
The conductor, Lorin Maazel, drew the parallel of the Pyongyang visit with the Soviet
Union visit,

“It showed Soviet citizens that they could have relations with foreign
organizations and these organizations could come in the country freely,” he
said. “But what the Soviets didn’t realize was this was a two-edged sword,
because by doing so they allowed people from outside the country to interact
with their own people, and to have an influence. It was so long lasting that
eventually the people in power found themselves out of power”24

The visit was ‘diplomatically successful’. While the Orchestra had been warned not to
stir political issues into the performance, both countries admired the performance as “the

19 The Economist. (2008, February 28). Cultural Diplomacy: Soft power and a rapturous ovation. Retrieved
September 5, 2010, from The Economist: http://www.economist.com/node/10758160?story_id=10758160

20 The Hankyoreh. (2008, February 27). Music and diplomacy are just the ticket in N. Korea. Retrieved
September 5, 2010, from The Hankyoreh:
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/272286.html

21 Herskovitz, J. (2008, February 28). Musical diplomacy as New York Phil plays Pyongyang. Retrieved
September 5, 2010, from Reuters UK: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKSEO3031620080226

22 Ibid.

23 Wakin, op. cit.

24 Ibid.
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good feelings of the ordinary citizens of the United States toward the Korean people”25,
“both countries had reached a range of agreements in the six-party talks and are now
taking measures aimed at easing the antagonism it sees as being a major culprit in the
nuclear problems on the Korean Peninsula”26, “will be a big step toward increased bilateral
cultural exchange between our two countries”27, “an important occasion to open a chapter
of mutual understanding between the two countries.”28
So there is a proof that ‘music diplomacy’ can really do something to thaw a frozen
relationship between two countries. To make things even interesting, both countries are
archenemies, yet through goodwill both countries were able to decrease tensions with
music as an intermediary.

HOW THE GOVERNMENT OF INDONESIA SUPPORTS

Let us refer to Article 4 on Law No. 37 Year 1999 concerning Foreign Relations29,

“Foreign policy is conducted through a creative, active, and anticipative

diplomacy, routine and reactive, strong in principle and standing, rational and
flexible in approaches30.”

In a loose interpretation, we can see that the law gives an open and flexible way on
conducting diplomacy. Not only a rigid and routine, but may also through ‘non-
conventional’ ways. Art would be one of the non-conventional ways. In many instances,
the Government of Indonesia has done many of these ‘non-conventional ways’, by
endorsing many cultural envoys to many countries around the world. The Government of
Indonesia does this through the cooperation of many organizations and people, for
example, in conjunction with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, various cultural, music,
and dance groups, and many other partners.

25 Herskovitz, op. cit.

26 The Hankyoreh, op. cit.

27 Wakin, op. cit.

28 Ibid.

29 Undang-undang Nomor 37 Tahun 1999 tentang Hubungan Luar Negeri

30 Politik Luar Negeri dilaksanakan melalui diplomasi yang kreatif, aktif, dan antisipatif, tidak sekedar rutin
dan reaktif, teguh dalam prinsip dan pendirian, serta rasional dan luwes dalam pendekatan.

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CONCLUSION
Rather than using ‘hard diplomacy’, the Government of Indonesia should try using more
this kind of ‘soft diplomacy’, by using art as one of the intermediaries. There are many
examples of successful usage of art in diplomacy – at least indirectly – and usage of this
kind of diplomacy may, at least, decrease an alarming tension between to conflicting
states (as proven by the visit of New York Philharmonic to North Korea in 2008). While
there is still no empirical or scientific evidence on how art influences diplomacy, the above
example should provide some curiosity to try art as a new mean of diplomacy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
All citations are made in APA style.
Festival Paduan Suara Institut Teknologi Bandung. (2010). The Big Book of Festival
Paduan Suara XXII ITB 2010 and 1st ITB International Choir Competition 2010.
Bandung, Indonesia: Melsamedia.

Herskovitz, J. (2008, February 28). Musical diplomacy as New York Phil plays Pyongyang.
Retrieved September 5, 2010, from Reuters UK:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKSEO3031620080226

INTERKULTUR, Germany. (2007). The 1st Asian Choir Games. Jakarta, Indonesia:
INTERKULTUR, Germany.

Kawilarang, R. R. (2010, March 2). Tari Bali dan Kalimantan Memikat Warga Ceko.
Retrieved September 4, 2010, from VivaNews:
http://dunia.vivanews.com/news/read/133336-
tari_bali_dan_kalimantan_memikat_warga_ceko

Kemp, J. (2007, March 13). 'Soft Diplomacy' is the Best Plan. Retrieved September 3,
2010, from Human Events: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=19791

Langer, G. (2007, February 26). Disapproval on Iraq Hits Record. Retrieved September 3,
2010, from ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2905762&page=1

Nau, S. C. (2010, Februari 19). Sejarah Politik Luar Negeri Bebas Aktif. Retrieved
September 3, 2010, from Kompasiana:
http://umum.kompasiana.com/2010/02/19/sejarah-politik-luar-negeri-bebas-aktif/

Santosa, E. (2009, December 19). Gamelan Jadi Materi Ujian Akhir Universitas La
Sapienzia. Retrieved September 4, 2010, from Detik News:
http://www.detiknews.com/read/2009/12/19/035810/1262564/10/gamelan-jadi-materi-
ujian-akhir-universitas-la-sapienza

Sihaloho, M. J. (2010, September 2). Malaysia Speech Provides a Much-Needed Tonic.

Retrieved September 3, 2010, from The Jakarta Globe:
8
 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/malaysia-speech-provides-a-much-needed-
tonic/394293

The Economist. (2008, February 28). Cultural Diplomacy: Soft power and a rapturous
ovation. Retrieved September 5, 2010, from The Economist:
http://www.economist.com/node/10758160?story_id=10758160

The Hankyoreh. (2008, February 27). Music and diplomacy are just the ticket in N. Korea.
Retrieved September 5, 2010, from The Hankyoreh:
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/272286.html

Wakin, D. J. (2008, February 27). North Koreans Welcome Symphonic Diplomacy.

Retrieved September 5, 2010, from The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/world/asia/27symphony.html?_r=2