The missing link: cities and soft power of nations

Abstract

This theory-building research identifies how cities generate soft power for nation-states through their communicative and diplomatic practices. Building on the relatively nascent studies of city diplomacy and city branding, the main objective is to establish a taxonomic categorisation of cities as soft power assets. The reason for conducting a research is three-fold. First, the excitement about the potential of cities to lead in providing solutions to global problems overshadows their role as sub-state units. Second, mega-cities and metropolitan areas dominate the research carried. Third, cities and nations do not have to share the same policy priorities, images, or even landscape. Against this background, the research asks one main question: What are the different ways through which cities generate soft power assets? The answer is presented as a taxonomic categorisation that defines five different roles for cities to generate soft power.