Face-work in East Asia’s Diplomatic Culture

Abstract This article examines the role of “face” in East Asian diplomacy and argues that attention to it provides crucial insights into how regional states manage status, hierarchy, and mutual recognition. Drawing on Erving Goffman’s concept of face-work and adapting it to the international level, the paper analyzes how East Asian diplomats navigate the challenge of preserving national dignity while avoiding loss of face in their regular diplomatic interactions. It identifies three forms of face-work—affirming equality, negotiating contested status, and enacting hierarchy—and shows how each contributes to either stabilizing or destabilizing inter-state relations. Through case studies involving ASEAN, Indonesia–Malaysia relations, Sino-Japanese relations, and China–Southeast Asia dynamics, the article demonstrates that face-work is both a mechanism of relational maintenance and a tool of status assertion. It further highlights the conditions under which face becomes especially conflict-prone: status incongruence, symbolic stakes, and high public visibility. While grounded in East Asia, the article concludes by reflecting on the broader significance of face dynamics for global diplomacy in an era of rising powers and contested international order.