ABSTRACT
59The growing interest in the field of nation branding continues unabated to this day, from both academics as well as public and private organizations (Anholt, 2006, 2008; Browning, 2015; Dinnie, 2016; Gupta, Foroudi, Väätänen, Gupta, and Tiu Wright, 2018; Kerr and Wiseman, 2013; Rasmussen and Merkelsen, 2012). In their book Diplomacy in a Globalizing World: Theories and Practices, Kerr and Wiseman (2013: 354) define nation branding as ‘the application of corporate marketing concepts and techniques to countries, in the interests of enhancing their reputation in international relations.’ This image enhances the country’s marketability and serves as a source of influence as nations engage in bilateral or multi-lateral trade and diplomacies, and is the new currency as countries realize that soft power can be as forceful, if not more, than the hard power that has evidently failed in many instances.
