Litrev " Paradox of the East Asia Cool: Pop Culture as Diplomacy Tools and its Discontents in ASEAN"

The manuscript investigates how East Asian popular culture, particularly its adaption in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand), shapes regional integration. It argues that pop culture is increasingly vital for public and cultural diplomacy, influencing global perceptions and traditional governance. The Cool Networking term comes from a formal Japan’s pop culture diplomacy initiative called “Cool Japan”, the initiative was formed in early 2000s and can be seen as the start of Pop Culture Diplomacy. A key finding is the transformative role of digital platforms, which provide unparalleled speed and reach, empowering online communities to become active participants and adding complexity to soft power projection. The article also explains East Asian cultural industries’ growing trend of collaboration and localization in Southeast Asia, fostering deeper, more reciprocal culture ties. Another finding is East Asia popular culture, notably from China, Japan, and South Korea, strongly manifests Susan Strange’s structural power. Their Knowledge Structure is evident as they shape global perceptions: China project history via C-Drama and Games; Japan cultivates creativity through anime, manga, and engaged fan communities; and South Korea crafts a modern image via K-dramas and K-pop. Complementing this is the Production Structure, reflecting their material and industrial capacity. China’s state-directed investment and tech dominance, Japan’s specialized industry ecosystem, and South Korea’s systematized Hallyu model underpin their global dissemination. This intertwining of culture and technology demonstrate a “softer” structural power. However, it exposes a discontent with ASEAN regarding its shared regional identity. Despite frameworks like the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, the study contrasts East Asian nations’ “big planned investment” in culture with ASEAN’s “less-centralized, fragmented” efforts. It concludes by proposing a “Reciprocal Soft Power Model” for ASEAN, advocating enhanced intra-ASEAN collaboration, strategic digital leveraging, investment in homegrown talent, and a collective regional identity. This manuscript aligns remarkably well with the aims of Media, Culture & Society. It provides a major international forum for research by focusing on the dynamic interactions between East Asia and Southeast Asia. It directly addresses the media, specifically popular culture outputs like film, music, games, anime, and digital platforms. It accurately examines these media within their political (diplomacy, soft power, state strategy), economic (cultural industries, markets), and cultural (identity, fan communities, influence). The article engages with a wider range of issues in cultural and social analysis by exploring the impact on regional identity and the complex interplay between state initiatives and societal reception. It offers critique of existing diplomatic approaches and the challenges faced by ASEAN in leveraging its cultural potential, while also suggesting potential innovation through the proposed Reciprocal Soft Power Model. Its interdisciplinary approach, drawing from International Relations and cultural studies, further fits the journal’s scope. The analysis of digital platforms and fan engagement is particularly relevant to currents debates in media and communications research, potentially positioning it well within journal’s interest in stimulating discussion around emerging questions, trends, themes, and concepts.