Frontline Messenger: Preliminary Study on Indonesian “Diaspora” in Gastrodiplomacy

Abstract

This paper underlines Indonesian “diaspora” as the front liner in implementing gastrodiplomacy. Many studies of the gastrodiplomacy actors focus mostly on the state and the NGOs of the home country. Those previous studies seem to overlook the fact that the diaspora has done on Indonesia‟s gastrodiplomacy overseas. Within the academic works, diaspora and its role got less the attention that they deserve. Diaspora has been taking its part by doing direct communication with the public in the international world. Diaspora is among the first and, maybe the foremost, in applying how gastrodiplomacy works. By using the descriptive qualitative method, this paper sees that the diaspora has an essential role in the gastrodiplomacy. This paper suggests that the inclusion of diaspora into the list of the key act or of gastrodiplomacy may shape the more effective public and cultural diplomacy of Indonesia.