Abstract

A recent coinage within international relations, “nation branding” designates the process of highlighting a country’s positive characteristics for promotional purposes, using techniques similar to those employed in marketing and public relations. Nation Branding in Modern History takes an innovative approach to illuminating this contested concept, drawing on fascinating case studies in the United States, China, Poland, Suriname, and many other countries, from the nineteenth century to the present. It supplements these empirical contributions with a series of historiographical essays and analyses of key primary documents, making for a rich and multivalent investigation into the nexus of cultural marketing, self-representation, and political power.

Annika Estner received her MA in History, English, and Slavic studies from the University of Cologne. Her fields of interest are the history of Eastern European dissidents and German POWs during World War II.

Marcel K. Will holds a doctorate in Medieval and Modern History from the University of Cologne.

Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht is Chair of the Department of History in the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin.

“With a particularly impressive range of case studies that include Eastern and non-European case studies, the contributors to this volume bring to light new and hitherto unexplored episodes in the history of cultural diplomacy and nation branding, all supported by a wealth of empirical detail.” • Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, Kingston University

Carolin Viktorin holds a MA in History from the Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf. Her current research focuses on tourism, advertising, and public relations in the Franco dictatorship.