From Orient to Occident: Sauna diplomacy and Finland’s challenge to diplomatic culture

Finnish sauna diplomacy has become an increasingly popular trend on the Washington, DC, London, Brussels, and Berlin diplomatic circuits. However, this is a relatively recent phenomenon, with the sauna being considered ‘Eastern’ or ‘oriental’ by certain American and Western European diplomats during the Cold War. Over the past 15 years the Finnish state has successfully re-narrated and elevated the sauna’s meaning as a diplomatic symbol, from a questionable diplomatic practice associated by some with ambiguous perceptions of Finland between East and West during the Cold War, to a symbol of Finland as a responsible member of Western international society. To help explain the success regarding changing international perceptions of the sauna as a site, a symbol, as well as a practice of Finnish diplomacy, theoretical contemplations on what is termed a diplomatic sublime are presented here. A diplomatic sublime elucidates how innovative diplomatic practices, along with presentation, or state narration of diplomatic sites and practices, can renegotiate the geographical boundaries of where certain diplomatic practices are considered appropriate and effective. This article is thus a contribution to the growing scholarly literature on diplomatic sites and diplomatic culture, which is part of the larger study of diplomacy in theory and practice.