Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, winter 2015/16
Prof. Dr. Oliver Zöllner

Course title: International communication: Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy
Course module: European & international studies / Actors & processes
Language of instruction: English
Dates: 30 Oct, 27 Nov, 11 Dec 2015, 22 Jan 2016
Venue: 23.03.U1.25

About this course:

In the context of globalisation and mediatisation, nation-states are increasingly seen as marketable, immaterial goods. This is where nation branding sets in. Like a global corporation or a commodified product, a nation-state can be 'branded', or so it seems.
A brand focuses on image, reputation, and certain values. A country with a bad image or reputation, or one standing for values refuted by the majority of relevant stakeholders, or a country with no image or reputation at all, will likely be left behind in the competition for access to monetary and intellectual resources, and may therefore lose out in the sociopolitical arena of influence and power. It's all about 'competitive identity', a perhaps more fashionable term.
Related to nation branding, the rather old, but recently rejuvenated concept of public diplomacy is looking at forming ties with other countries or societies by way of cultural-based public relations. This may present itself as an honest attempt at intercultural dialogue in some cases, or as just another way of self-appraisal in order to create a better image of one's country - or simply as propaganda, as critics say (and they're not always wrong).
In this course we will be looking into concepts of both public diplomacy and nation branding, and see how and where they overlap. Related areas such as marketing, public relations and propaganda will be covered, too. Students will develop research questions of their own and will present examples of how nation-states actively go about branding themselves, how such countries perform public diplomacy, with what kinds of messages, what types of actions, for what target groups, and why they do this.
#public_diplomacy #nation_branding #competitive_identity #marketing #PR #reputation_management #culture #analysis


(Select) reading list:
[green = recommended key texts]

I. OVERVIEWS, INTRODUCTIONS, CONTEXT

Anholt, Simon (2007): Competitive identity: The new brand management for nations, cities and regions. Basingstoke, New York.
Anholt, Simon (2010): Places: Identity, images and reputation. Basingstoke, New York.
Aronczyk, Melissa (2013): Branding the nation: The global business of national identity. Oxford, New York.
Castells, Manuel (2008): The new public sphere: Global civil society, communication networks, and global governance. In: The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 616, No. 1, 78-93.
Dinnie, Keith (2016): Nation branding: Concepts, issues, practice. 2nd ed. London, New York.
Fortner, Robert S. (1993): International communication: History, conflict, and control of the global metropolis. Belmont.
Govers, Robert / Go, Frank M. (2009): Place Branding: Glocal, virtual and physical identities, constructed, imagined and experienced. Basingstoke, New York.
Hepp, Andreas (2014): Transkulturelle Kommunikation. 2nd ed. Konstanz, München.
Leonard, Mark [with Catherine Stead and Conrad Smewing] (2002): Public diplomacy. London. Internet resource: http://fpc.org.uk/fsblob/35.pdf
McPhail, Thomas L. (2014): Global communication: Theories, stakeholders, and trends. 4th ed. Chichester.
Mihelj, Sabina (2011): Media nations: Communicating belonging and exclusion in the modern world. Basingstoke, New York.
Olins, Wally (2002): Branding the nation - the historical context. In: Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 9, No. 4-5, 241-248.
Pamment, James (2013a): New public diplomacy in the 21st century. London, New York.
Pamment, James (2013b): Articulating influence: Toward a research agenda for interpreting the evaluation of soft power, public diplomacy and nation brands. In: Public Relations Review, Vol. 40, No. 1, 50-59.
Pamment, James (2015): Media influence, ontological transformation, and social change: Conceptual overlaps between development communication and public diplomacy. In: Communication Theory, Vol. 25, No.2, 188-207.
Sriramesh, Krishnamurthy / Verčič, Dejan (eds.) (2003): The global public relations handbook: Theory, research, and practice. Mahwah (N.J.), London.
Thussu, Daya Kishan (2006): International communication: Continuity and change. 2nd ed. London.
Snow, Nancy / Taylor, Philip M. (eds.) (2009): The Routledge handbook of public diplomacy. New York, London.
Wessler, Hartmut / Brüggemann, Michael (Hrsg.) (2012): Transnationale Kommunikation. Eine Einführung. Wiesbaden.
Zöllner, Oliver (2009): Internationaler Auslandsrundfunk. In: Hans-­Bredow-­Institut (ed.): Internationales Handbuch Medien. 2008/2009. 28. Aufl. Baden-Baden 2009, 175-183.

II. THEORY DEVELOPMENT

Anholt, Simon (2006): Public diplomacy and place branding: Where's the link? In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 2, 271-275.
Anholt, Simon (2007): Competitive identity: The new brand management for nations, cities and regions. Basingstoke, New York.
Anholt, Simon (2008): Place branding: Is it marketing, or isn't it? In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 4, 1-6.
Anholt, Simon (2011): Beyond the nation brand: The role of image and identity in international relations. In: Journal of Public Diplomacy, Vol. 2, No. 1, 6-12.
Aronczyk, Melissa (2013): Branding the nation: The global business of national identity. Oxford, New York.
Bahrke, Johannes (2010): Auslandsrundfunk als strategisches Mittel europäischer Public Diplomacy im Nahen Osten. In: Tenscher, Jens / Viehrig, Henrike (eds.): Politische Kommunikation in internationalen Beziehungen. Berlin, Münster, 191-214.
Cowan, Geoffrey / Arsenault, Amelia (2008): Moving from monologue to dialogue to collaboration: The three layers of public diplomacy. In: The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 616, No. 1, 10-30.
Curtin, Patricia A. / Gaither, T. Kenn (2007): International public relations: Negotiating culture, identity, and power. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi.
Dinnie, Keith (2016): Nation branding: Concepts, issues, practice. 2nd ed. London, New York.
Fan, Ying (2006): Branding the nation: What is being branded? In: Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 12, No. 1, 5-14.
Govers, Robert / Go, Frank M. (2009): Place Branding: Glocal, virtual and physical identities, constructed, imagined and experienced. Basingstoke, New York.
Gilboa, Eytan (2000): Mass communication and diplomacy: A theoretical framework. In: Communication Theory, Vol. 10, No. 3, 275-309.
Gilboa, Eytan (2002): Global communication and foreign policy. In: Journal of Communication, Vol. 52, No. 4, 31-748.
Hanna, Sonya / Rowley, Jennifer (2008): An analysis of terminolgy use in place branding. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 4, 61-75.
Horisberger, Marc (2002): Entstehung und Gestaltung von Nationenimages. Eine theoretische und empirische Analyse staatlicher Imagepflege im Ausland aus kommunikationswissenschaftlicher Perspektive. Diss., Univ. Freiburg (Schweiz).
Kaneva, Nadia (2011): Nation branding: Toward an agenda for critical research. In: International Journal of Communication, Vol. 5, 117-141. Internet resource: http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/download/704/514
Kemming, Jan Dirk / Humborg, Christian (2010): Democracy and nation brand(ing): Friends or foes? In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 6, 183-197.
Kotler, Philip / Gertner, David (2002): Country as brand, product, and beyond: A place marketing and brand management perspective. In: Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 9, No. 4-5, 249-261.
Kunczik, Michael (1989): Public Relations für Staaten. Die Imagepflege von Nationen als Aspekt der internationalen Kommunikation: Zum Forschungsstand. In: Max Kaase/Winfried Schulz (Hrsg.): Massenkommunikation. Theorien, Methoden, Befunde. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag (= Sonderheft 30 der Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie), 165-184.
Kunczik, Michael (1990): Die manipulierte Meinung. Nationale Image-Politik und internationale Public Relations. Köln.
Kunczik, Michael (2003): Transnational public relations by foreign governments. In: Krishnamurthy Sriramesh / Dejan Verčič (eds.): The global public relations handbook: Theory, research, and practice. Mahwah, NJ, London 2003, 399-424.
Leonard, Mark [with Catherine Stead and Conrad Smewing] (2002): Public diplomacy. London.
Lord, Carnes (2006): Losing hearts and minds? Public diplomacy and strategic influence in the age of terror. Westport, CT.
Maaß, Kurt-Jürgen (Hrsg.) (2005): Kultur und Außenpolitik. Handbuch für Studium und Praxis. Baden-Baden.
Melissen, Jan (2006): How has place branding developed? Opinion piece. Internet resource: http://www.clingendael.nl/publications/2006/20060400_cdsp_art_melissen.pdf [Originally published in Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 2, No. 1].
O'Shaughnessy, John / O'Shaughnessy, Nicholas Jackson (2000): Treating the nation as a brand: Some neglected issues. In: Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 20, No. 1, 56-64.
Schwan, Anna (2011): Werbung statt Waffen. Wie strategische Außenkommunikation die Außenpolitik verändert. Wiesbaden.
Signitzer, Benno (2008): Public relations and public diplomacy: Some conceptual explorations. In: Zerfaß, Ansgar / van Ruler, Betteke / Sriramesh, Krishnamurthy (eds.): Public relations research: European and international perspectives and innovations. Wiesbaden, 205-218.
Skinner, Heather / Kubacki, Krzysztof (2007): Unravelling the complex relationship between nationhood, national and cultural identity, and place branding. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 3, 305-316.
Stiehl, Tim (2011): Public Diplomacy gleich Nation Branding? Eine theoretische Abgrenzung zweier Konzepte zur Außendarstellung von Staaten. Saarbrücken [eBook].
Szondi, György (2008): Public diplomacy and nation branding: Conceptual similarities and differences. The Hague. Internet resource: http://www.clingendael.nl/publications/2008/20081022_pap_in_dip_nation_branding.pdf
van Ham, Peter (2001): The rise of the brand state: The postmodern politics of image and reputation. In: Foreign Affairs, Vol. 80, No. 5, 2–6.
van Ham, Peter (2008): Place branding: The state of the art. In: The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 616, No. 1, 126-149.
Wang, Jay (2006): Public diplomacy and global business. In: Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 27, No. 3, 41-49.
Wessler, Hartmut / Brüggemann, Michael (Hrsg.) (2012): Transnationale Kommunikation. Eine Einführung. Wiesbaden.
Widler, Janine (2007): Nation branding: With pride against prejudice. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 3, 144-150.

III. CASE STUDIES

Anholt, Simon (2007): 'Brand Europe' - Where next? In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 3, 115-119.
Anholt, Simon (2010): Places: Identity, images and reputation. Basingstoke, New York.
Auer, Claudia / Srugies, Alice (2013): Public diplomacy in Germany. CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy, Paper 5. Internet resource: http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/publications/perspectives/CPDPerspectives_Paper_5_2013_German.pdf
Aveline, Julie (2006): Branding Europe? Branding, design and post-national loyalties. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 2, 334-340.
Avgerinos, Katherine P. (2009): Russia's public diplomacy effort: What the Kremlin is doing and why it's not working. In: Journal of Public and International Affairs, Vol. 20, 115-132. Internet resource: https://www.princeton.edu/jpia/past-issues-1/2009/6.pdf.
Bayles, Martha (2014): Through a screen darkly: Popular culture, public diplomacy, and America's image abroad. New Haven, CT.
Berkowitz, Pere et al. (2007): Brand China: Using the 2008 Olympic Games to enhance China's image. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 3, 164-178.
Brünner, Thomas (2011): Public Diplomacy im Westen. Die Presseagentur Panorama DDR informiert das Ausland. Frankfurt am Main.
Byrne, Caitlin / Hall, Rebecca (2011): Australia's international education as public diplomacy: Soft power potential. In: Discussion Papers In Diplomacy, Netherlands Institute Of International Relations 'Clingendael' and Antwerp University, No 121. Internet resource: http://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/20110700_cdsp_discussion_paper_cbryne_rhall.pdf.
Cooper Ramo, Joshua (2007): Brand China. London. Internet resource: http://fpc.org.uk/fsblob/827.pdf
Davis Cross, Mai’a K. / Melissen, Jan (eds.) (2013): European public diplomacy: Soft power at work. Basingstoke, New York.
Dinnie, Keith (2016): Nation branding: Concepts, issues, practice. 2nd ed. London, New York.
Fleischer, Florian / Füser, Katharina / Isermeyer, Johanna (2014): Israelische Public Diplomacy und ihre Wahrnehmung durch deutsche Journalisten. In: Global Media Journal (German Edition), Vol. 4, No. 1. Internet resource: http://www.db-thueringen.de/servlets/DerivateServlet/Derivate-29830/GMJ7_Fleischer_Fueser_Isermeyer_final.pdf
Fullerton, Jami et al. (2007): Attitudes towards American brands and Brand America. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 3, 205-212.
Fullerton, Jami et al. (2008): Brand Borat? Americans' reaction to a Kazakhstani place branding campaign. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 4, 159-168.
Garbacz Rawson, Elizabeth A. (2007): Perceptions of the United States of America: Exploring the political brand of a nation. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 3, 213-221.
Gilmore, Fiona (2002): A country - can it be repositioned? Spain - the success story of country branding. In: Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 9, No. 4-5, 281-293.
Govers, Robert (2012): Brand Dubai and its competitors in the Middle East: An image and reputation analysis. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 8, 48-57.
Hall, Derek (2002): Brand development, tourism and national identity: The re-imaging of former Yugoslavia. In: Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 9, No. 4-5, 323-334.
Hartig, Falk (2012): Cultural diplomacy with Chinese characteristics: The case of Confucius Institutes in Australia. In: Communication, Politics & Culture, Vol. 45, 256-276. Internet resource: http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=lss0puqtrbsl1
Heller, Steven (2008): Iron fists: Branding the 20th-century totalitarian state. London, Berlin.
Horisberger, Marc (2002): Entstehung und Gestaltung von Nationenimages. Eine theoretische und empirische Analyse staatlicher Imagepflege im Ausland aus kommunikationswissenschaftlicher Perspektive. Diss., Univ. Freiburg (Schweiz).
Jäger, Thomas / Viehrig, Henrike (eds.) (2008): Die amerikanische Regierung gegen die Weltöffentlichkeit? Theoretische und empirische Analysen der Public Diplomacy zum Irakkrieg. Wiesbaden.
Jansen, Sue Curry (2008): Designer nations: Neo-liberal nation branding – Brand Estonia. In: Social Identities, Vol. 14, No. 1, 121-142.
Kaneva, Nadia (ed.) (2012): Branding post-communist nations: Marketizing national identities in the "new" Europe. New York, London.
Kaneva, Nadia / Popescu, Delia (2014): "We are Romanian, not Roma": Nation branding and postsocialist discourses of alterity. In: Communication, Culture and Critique, Vol. 7, No. 4, 506-523.
Kemming, Jan Dirk (2009): Nation brand management in political contexts: Public diplomacy for Turkey's EU accession. Diss., Univ. Gießen. Internet resource: http://geb.uni-giessen.de/geb/volltexte/2009/7248/pdf/KemmingJan_2009_09_18.pdf.
Kemming, Jan Dirk / Sandikci, Özlem (2007): Turkey's EU accession as a question of nation brand image. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 3, 31-41.
Kluver, Randolph (2014): The sage as strategy: Nodes, networks, and the quest for geopolitical power in the Confucius Institute. In: Communication, Culture & Critique, Vol. 7, No. 2, 192-209.
Litvinsky, Marina (2011): European Union public diplomacy: The need for a new frame. Saarbrücken.
Loo, Theresa / Davies, Gary (2006): Branding China: The ultimate challenge in reputation management? In: Corporate Reputation Review Vol. 9, 198-210.
Martinović, Stjepo (2002): Branding Hrvatska - a mixed blessing that might succeed: The advantage of being unrecognisable. In: Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 9, No. 4-5, 315-322.
McGray, Douglas (2002): Japan's gross national cool. In: Foreign Policy, No. 130 (May/June), 44-54.
Morgan, Nigel, et al. (2002): New Zealand, 100% pure: The creation of a powerful niche destination brand. In: Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 9, No. 4-5, 335-354.
Murai, Yasuko (2011): 'Alive with Possibility': Brand South Africa and the discursive construction of South African national identity. MSc dissertation, London School of Economics and Political Science. Internet resource: http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/mediaWorkingPapers/MScDissertationSeries/2010/2nd/Murai.pdf.
Nation Branding Luxemburg (2015). Internet resource: http://www.nationbranding.lu/de/
Nuttavuthisit, Krittinee (2007): Branding Thailand: Correcting the negative image of sex tourism. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 3, 21-30.
Olins, Wally (2005): Making a national brand. In: Jan Melissen (ed.): The new public diplomacy: Soft power in international relations. Basingstoke, New York, 169-179.
Ostrowski, Daniel (2010): Die Public Diplomacy der deutschen Auslandsvertretungen weltweit. Theorie und Praxis der deutschen Auslandsöffentlichkeitsarbeit. Wiesbaden.
Pamment, James (2013): New public diplomacy in the 21st century: A comparative study of policy and practice. London, New York.
Sinha Roy, Ishita (2007): Worlds apart: Nation-branding on the National Geographic Channel. In: Media, Culture and Society, Vol. 29, No. 4, 569-592.
Sudjic, Deyan (2006): The edifice complex: How the rich and powerful shape the world. London. [Chapter 6: Inventing a nation, 155-188].
Sun, Wanning (2014): Mediatization with Chinese characteristics: Political legitimacy, public diplomacy and the new art of propaganda. In: Knut Lundby (ed.): Mediatization of communication. Berlin, Boston, 87-105.
Swedish Institute (2009): Brand Sweden: The road to an updated image of Sweden abroad. Stockholm: Swedish Institute. Internet resource: https://paprikash.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/brand-sweden.pdf.
Szondi, György (2007): The role and challenges of country branding in transition countries: The Central and Eastern European experience. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 3, 8-20.
Thussu, Daya Kishan (2013): Communicating India's soft power: Buddha to Bollywood. Basingstoke, New York.
Visconti, Luca M. / Üçok Hughes, Mine / Bagramian, Ruben (2012): Diversity appreciated? A visual longitudinal analysis of Ukraine's nation branding campaigns. In: Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 40, 935-936. Internet resource (extended abstract): http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v40/acr_v40_12523.pdf.
Zerrillo, Philip C. / Thomas, Gregory Metz (2007): Developing brands and emerging markets: An empirical application. In: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 3, 86-99.
Zöllner, Oliver (2006): A quest for dialogue in international broadcasting: Germany's public diplomacy targeting Arab audiences. In: Global Media and Communication, Vol. 2, No. 2, 160-182.
Zöllner, Oliver (2009): German Public Diplomacy: The Dialogue of Cultures. In: Snow, Nancy / Taylor, Philip M. (eds.): Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy. New York, London, 262-269.


» Helpful Internet resources for locating relevant books and articles:
» Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog
» Center on Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California (USA) - and especially their PD Hub with loads of resources to check out!
» Journal: 'Public Diplomacy Magazine'
» Journal: 'Place Branding and Public Diplomacy" (ISSN 1751-8040)
» The Foreign Policy Centre (UK)
» IdentityLab (Germany)
» Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (Germany)
» Anholt-GfK Roper's Nation Brands Index
» FutureBrand's Country Brand Index
» Nation-Branding.info: "Everything about Nation Branding and Country Brands"
» Research Center Nation Branding der Hochschule RheinMain, Wiesbaden