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What happens when a country bleeds soft power? Conceptualising ‘Negative Watch’: towards an epistemology for negative and adversarial place branding

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  • Sameera Durrani

    (University of Technology Sydney)

Abstract

This article contends that the classic public diplomacy model prioritising scholarly research on maximising soft power in the eyes of foreign publics needs to be extended. It proposes a new concept, Negative Watch, which dyadically complements Nye’s in (Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci 616: 94–109, 2008) idea of soft power. By extending the epistemology surrounding negative place branding, this paper seeks to expand the debates around it. Where soft power is about accruing power via credibility, Negative Watch maps its loss, approaching it from a communicative dimension. Using a case study approach, the article presents the concept as a model with two key components (1) An index comprising a typology of unfavourable narratives connoting negative affect towards nation brands; (2) a heuristic model outlining a spectrum of outcomes precipitated by reputational decline. The index can be used as a self-assessment tool by a nation to track its reputational erosion, so that it may take measures before it progresses too far down the spectrum of consequences. It can also facilitate systemic assessment of external actors, including allies as well as adversaries, to facilitate strategic decision making within the realm of international relations and public diplomacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Sameera Durrani, 2023. "What happens when a country bleeds soft power? Conceptualising ‘Negative Watch’: towards an epistemology for negative and adversarial place branding," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(4), pages 456-475, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:pbapdi:v:19:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1057_s41254-023-00302-9
    DOI: 10.1057/s41254-023-00302-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nye, Joseph S., 2008. "Public Diplomacy and Soft Power," Scholarly Articles 11738397, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Eytan Gilboa, 2008. "Searching for a Theory of Public Diplomacy," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 616(1), pages 55-77, March.
    3. Sameera Durrani, 2022. "Damsels in distress: gender and negative place branding," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(4), pages 357-371, December.
    4. Joseph S. Nye Jr., 2008. "Public Diplomacy and Soft Power," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 616(1), pages 94-109, March.
    5. Kevin Brett & Todd Schaefer, 2019. "Formalizing the American brand: the case for the US culture, language, and soft-power institutes," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 15(2), pages 124-133, June.
    6. Alina Dolea, 2022. "Transnational diaspora diplomacy, emotions and COVID-19: the Romanian diaspora in the UK," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(1), pages 12-14, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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