Exploring the Role of Brands in Public Diplomacy

diplomacy receives more attention, both in research and in practice. At thesame time, with the increasing role of non-state actors in internationalrelations, their significant roles and functions have come under substantialscientific analysis. While companies engage in business abroad, unintendedresults may emerge, affecting the image of their country of origin. One ofthem is the effects that brands and products have on the perception of theirhome countries’ foreign policy. This article examines the role of brands in public diplomacy. Thequestion is whether it is scientifically reasonable to assign a publicdiplomacy role to brands. While such a relation has not been treated inprevious research, the authors of this article try to explore and analyze thevarious elements of this relation to find a well-founded answer. Our analysisuses the national image as a mediator concept between brands and publicdiplomacy. It starts with a definition of new public diplomacy and itsdifferences with the classical one. It then continues along the concept ofcorporate diplomacy, national image, the country of origin (COO) effect, andits inverse version. In the end, the most possible and clear answer, accordingto currently available literature, will be discussed.