Place Branding: The State of the Art

Abstract

This article examines the relevance of place branding as a political phenomenon in international politics. After setting place branding in a historical and conceptual context, it maps out the connections between branding and international politics by looking at three examples. First, it examines the challenges facing the European Union to strengthen its image as a global player. Second, it analyzes the efforts of the United States to deal with its collapsing image in the aftermath of its failing “war on terror” and military intervention in Iraq. Third, it examines negative place branding by focusing on the Borat movie that upset Kazakhstan in 2006 and the cartoon crisis that erupted in Denmark in September 2005. This article also aims to situate the practice of place branding in a broader analytical context. It argues that place branding is part of a wider spectrum of postmodern power, where soft power and public diplomacy also have their place.