The potential of museums and cultural heritage centres in facilitating the Sino- Malawi diplomacy

Abstract

This paper explores the potential of museums and cultural heritage centers in facilitating Sino- Malawi diplomacy. Studies elsewhere have shown that heritage plays an important role in diplomacy between nations. Desktop survey, interviews, exhibition analysis and archival research were used to collect data to determine the potential of museums and cultural heritage centers in diplomacy. The paper engaged with cultural diplomacy as its theoretical and analytical framework. This paper notes that lack of a centralized national museum in the Malawi’s capital city, Lilongwe, and the lack of initiatives to engage community museums and local cultural heritage centers hinder efforts at cultural exchange which is crucial for promoting cultural diplomacy between China and Malawi. The paper argues that proper and adequate engagement with a national museum and cultural heritage centers have a potential to reinforce good relations between China and Malawi through cultural exchange framed as cultural diplomacy.