Bridging empires, weaving civilizations: Cambodia as a nexus of Asian cultural diplomacy between India and China
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69496/cjess.v3i1.135Keywords:
Cambodia–China–India relations, cultural diplomacy, soft power, civilizational exchange, hybridization, heritage diplomacyAbstract
This paper examines Cambodia’s historical role as a civilizational intermediary between India and China and its importance today, aiming to understand its diplomatic function within a system of civilizational trade and its role as the ultimate civilizational mediator. Using qualitative and historical-comparative research techniques, the author examines archival and inscriptional sources, as well as ethnographic interviews, to identify patterns of cultural diffusion, hybridization, and historical continuity. The author discovers that a distinct Khmer civilization emerged from Cambodia’s synthesis of Indian metaphysical ideals and Chinese models of ethical governance. This synthesis helped Cambodia achieve a balance of spirituality and governance. It turned it into the center of Asian cultural diplomacy, where temples, language, and art became tools of symbolic diplomacy. Negotiated soft power, culturally supportive diplomacy, and diplomatic fencing of cultural heritage continue the same partnerships today as the ancient routes of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation. The author argues that diplomacy is a civilizational function and that it offers a form of safe conduct, free of hostility, to a civilization’s borders and provides safe refuge from the dangers of the hostile world. The author suggests the civilizational approach to soft power, cultural diplomacy, and civilizational international relations, and the adaptive hybridity of Cambodia offers a model for sustainable intercultural relations in contemporary Asia.
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