Public Diplomacy in Conflict: Nordic, Baltic and East European Perspectives - day 1

Panel talks with practicioners, researchers and representants from media and culture about current conflicts and the future of public diplomacy and nation branding.

Public diplomacy and nation branding are expanding fields at the intersection of policy, practice and research. The approaches and models for diplomacy and branding practices are getting more diverse, and so are the theoretical and methodological approaches to these phenomena as study objects.

Especially for small and medium sized states, public diplomacy has been seen as a way to gain influence and shape the international agenda beyond their limited hard power resources, whereas nation branding presents a way for smaller nations to create and maintain a distinct international image. Scandinavia, the Baltic area and Eastern Europe are thus excellent regions for discussing this phenomenon, as they include small nations, both with a long history, as well as newly founded countries in search of an international image.

The implementation of public diplomacy and branding strategies as well as the emergence of related research fields have not only created a variation in methods and approaches, but also different forms of tensions and conflicts on various level.

The purpose of the conference is to bring together practicioners and researchers to discuss current conflict lines within the field of public diplomacy and nation branding.

The conference is hosted by Södertörn University in cooperation with the Swedish Institute and supported by thre Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES) and NordForsk through ReNEW.

12.30: Registration

13.00: Welcome and introduction

13.15: Branding in Conflict

This panel discusses how social, ethnic or even military conflicts affects the practices of Branding, Communication and Public Diplomacy. Discussion topics include the branding of new nations in Eastern Europe, the place of nation branding and national images in disputes in or between nations and the uses of media in these conflicts.
Participants: Artem Bidenko (Ministry of Information Policy, Ukraine), Pawel Surowiec, Centre for Politics and Media Research, Bournemouth University, UK), Vasyl Myroschnyshenko (CFC consulting, Ukraine), Martin Kragh (Swedish Institute for Foreign Affairs)

14:15: National Images in Conflict

This panel deals with the conflict between country oriented communication and communication strategies and competing country images held by individuals or groups, foreign or domestic. Discussion topics include:

To which extent Public Diplomacy actors can and should involve conflicting perspectives in its communication.
The relation between current party politics or government policies and more general ideas of national identity.
The relation between domestic and foreign images.
The balance between an open discussion and the need to correct disinformation.

Participants: Paulina Neuding (European editor, Quillette), Kurt Bratteby (Swedish Institute), James Pamment (Media and Communication sciences, Lund university).

15.00-15.30: Coffe break

15.30-16.15: The Future of Public Diplomacy

This panel discusses the future of public diplomacy practices in its widest sense.

Which problems do we see in the future regarding the nations as brands?
How will practitioners of public diplomacy as well as the societies they represent have to deal with changes in values, images or self-identification within the nations themselves?
Will we see a feedback from the nation brands on the self-perception of citizens?
To which extent will soft power, values and culture in the wider sense be of importance for future conflicts?

Participants: Torbjörn Elensky (writer and essayist), Beata Ociepka (Wroclaw University, Poland), N.N.

For more information please contact:

Andreas Åkerlund, andreas.akerlund@sh.se
Jerker Sundstrand, jerker.sundstrand@si.se

02 May 2019, 13:00-17:00

Conference

Näringslivets hus, Storgatan 19, Stockholm

English

Arranged by

Södertörn University in cooperation with the Swedish Institute

Contact

Email Andreas Åkerlund Email Jerker Sundstrand Email Göran Bolin Email Per Ståhlberg

Useful links

Swedish Institute

Sidinformation

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