“ART IS NOT SUPPOSED to change the world, to change practical things, but to change perceptions. Art can change the way we see the world”. This is how the french artist JR gave grounds for his illegal street art exhibitions, such as his 2007 Face2Face project on a wall separating Israel and Palestine. His statement raises an interesting question on whether art and culture can be apolitical. One way in which art can work as a political tool is when cultural projects and art become a tool in international politics.
Joseph Nye became very influential with his binary definition of power, distinguishing between hard and soft power. The more traditional notion of power within world politics relies on symmetrical relations of rivalry and negotiation, applying more towards the liberalist and realist traditions of international relations. Instruments for hard power would be coercion and payment. War, diplomacy, sanctions and trade usually make up the headlines for news concerning international politics. This is with all due respect, since such events can have a direct and grave impact on peoples’ lives. However, less attention is paid to more subtle ways of persuasion that constitute global power. Soft power seeks to co-opt rather than coerce the subject’s counterparts. One way to co-opt your opponent would be to influence the counterpart to the extent that they start to believe that your way of things is ideal. This process of influence and subsequently persuasion takes place on an unconscious level. Two common instruments of soft power are culture and political values. Culture aims to persuade the elites of other countries, creating an allure surrounding the subjects cultural heritage, cuisine, language and academics.
“Art is not supposed to change the world, to change practical things, but to change perceptions.”
The act of persuasion through culture and political values is a well employed tool of soft power. If you would consider the role that culture has had in global political changes, you are met with many examples. Often combined with hard power, culture has worked to expand terrain during colonization as well as the Cold War. In the present day, China is suspected of using the attraction towards their ancient philosophy and art as a way to strengthen their position in the world order. Although China is working to become increasingly powerful, there are other countries succeeding them in using soft power.
According to the Soft Power 30 index, France has topped the list by having the biggest soft power in the world. I’m sure many people could agree over the fact that there is a certain allure surrounding French culture. To be well acquainted with its cuisine, language, literature, philosophy and art makes you seem more “sophisticated”. Not so surprisingly, France is also rather aggressive with their foreign politics of soft power. Another country that has made efforts to reach the French level of soft power, is Saudi Arabia. Recently, the French have teamed up with the Saudis for a few, very grand, art projects. The french government has invested a lot of resources into the Desert X project, in which saudi artists showcase art in a “true saudi spirit”. Perhaps even more grand, the Louvre has launched a new branch of their museum – Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Before celebrating these efforts of soft diplomacy, it’s necessary to set the record straight regarding which type of country Saudi Arabia actually is. Since the promotion of Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, to crown prince the country has undergone a few but highly anticipated social and economic reforms. Some of these are the easement of the religious police on women, male guardianship and an upheaval of the ban on female drivers. MBS is also the first Saudi leader to attempt to defrost its relations with the US, being the only country in the region, together with Israel, to have pursued such efforts. However, some argue that these efforts are purely performative. Saudi Arabia is still an extremely authoritarian country, scoring only 7 out of 100 on the freedom index, according to freedom house. This attempt to ease the very heavy restrictions on women ought to be understood as “democratization in absolute control”, where the saudi population are subject to enjoy a minimal level of freedom, while at the same time be very aware that the freedom is given to them, in the total control of the people “above”.
“Through art, the Saudi government wishes to wash their dubious human rights records clean, in the eyes of powerful democratic countries.”
This paradox was evident in the case where the Saudi government allowed for a photo shoot with Israeli underwear models in the Saudi deserts, at the same time as Saudi womens’ rights activists were imprisoned for terrorism. And as MBS was pictured shaking hands and laughing with Donald Trump, the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Turkey. While France and the US enjoy their defrosted relations with the sunni state, the country has signed strategic deals with Russia and China.
The use of Soft Power presupposes an asymmetrical relation between the influencer and the influenced. I would however argue that such an asymmetry is not entirely clear in the french-saudi case. Freedom and equality ought to be two of the three cornerstones of the French spirit, but these seem to have gotten lost in the investment to the authoritarian state that is Saudi Arabia. And it certainly seems like the Saudis are the conductors of this symphony.
Theser art projects are, just as the performative democracy, a part of the Saudi rebranding campaign. Through art, the Saudi government wishes to wash their dubious human rights records clean, in the eyes of powerful democratic countries.
Neighbouring to artwashing, is the more famous phenomenon of sportswashing. The most famous example is Nazi Germany hosting the Olympic Games in 1936. Another interesting example to raise for this article, would be the sportswashing of Qatar, as they hosted the World Cup 2022. For this case, the UEFA-president had been pressured into awarding Qatar as the World Cup host, since the French government had made a lucrative deal of airbuses to Qatar airways. The only way for Qatar to sign the deal was if the French government, in any way, could make sure they would host the World Cup. Regarding the French investments in Louvre Abu Dhabi and Desert X, no clear signs of corruption have been put forward. Although eyebrows were raised when the management of the Louvre chose to not include Salvator Mundi in its highly anticipated exhibition on Leonardo da Vinci in 2019 and 2020. Salvator Mundi is the most expensive painting ever sold, and its price seems to defy all claims of the painting being fake. The identity of its buyer has not yet been revealed, although many believe it was MBS. As a consolation for the fact that his purchase was never exhibited at the Louvre, MBS can now instead enjoy the museum on his own, strictly monitored, playground.
One could almost argue that France has become a consumer of the Saudi rebranding campaign. In order for art to be apolitical, a certain level of democratic autonomy is required. The idea of democratic states investing in art projects in authoritarian states is a beautiful idea. But I should hope that the ambition of such investments would be directed towards facilitating the artistic expression of Saudi artists. As for now, it looks like France is sponsoring the MBS’s artwashing campaign. The direction of Saudi politics appears to be very arbitrary, why France should not expect its investment to result in closer ties to democratic states, nor a freer Saudi population.
