David Livingstone and Heritage Diplomacy in Malawi–Scotland Relations

Abstract

This article engages with discourses of public memory and heritage as constituted by the biography of David Livingstone to understand how the past is instrumentalised in present-day Malawi and Scotland. It discusses how in Malawi and Scotland, Livingstone’s memory has influenced, and continues to influence, the making of bilateral relations between these two nations. Drawing on archival and documentary sources, interviews and exhibition analysis the article argues that the memory and mythology of David Livingstone have been preserved and reconstructed to enhance international co-operation between the two nations in what could be understood as ‘heritage diplomacy’. This heritage diplomacy makes claims to a mutual relationship that spans from Livingstone’s arrival on Malawian territory through the colonial period and into the post-colonial present. Moreover, this heritage diplomacy functions to create and strengthen strategic bilateral economic, cultural and political ties. At the same time, it promotes and solidifies Scotland’s national identity and its aspirations to sovereignty, autonomy and to the status of a global player. Commemorations, memorials, museum exhibitions, state institutions and civil organisations have become the main sites through which Livingstone’s memory is invoked or reconstructed as a shared heritage to facilitate international co-operation. The article contributes to our understanding of how heritage diplomacy is mobilised by nations to reinforce relations and promote their interests.