Pawel Surowiec

Ilan Manor

This edited book explores the multi-layered relationships between public diplomacy and intensified uncertainties stemming from transnational political trends. It is the latest wave of political uncertainty that provides the background as well as yields evidence scrutinised by authors contributing to this book. The book argues that due to a state of perpetual crises, the simultaneity of diplomatic tensions and new digital modalities of power, international politics increasingly resembles a networked set of hyper-realities. Embracing multi-polar competition, superpowers such as Russia flex their muscles over their neighbours; celebrated ‘success stories’ of democratisation – Hungary, Poland and Czechia – move towards illiberal governance; old players of international politics such as Britain and America re-claim “greatness”, while other states, like China, adapt expansionist foreign policy goals. The contributors to this book consider the different ways in which transnational political trends and digitalisation breed uncertainty and shape the practice of public diplomacy.

Public Diplomacy and the Politics of Uncertainty

Nation Branding, Public Relations and Soft Power: Corporatizing Poland provides an empirically grounded analysis of changes in the way in which various actors seek to manage Poland’s national image in world opinion. It explores how and why changes in political economy have shaped these actors and their use of soft power in a way that is influenced by public relations, corporate communication, and marketing practices. By examining the discourse and practices of professional nation branders who have re-shaped the relationship between collective identities and national image management, it plots changes in the way in which Poland’s national image is communicated, and culturally reshaped, creating tensions between national identity and democracy. The book demonstrates that nation branding is a consequence of the corporatization of political governance, soft power and national identity, while revealing how the Poland "brand" is shaping public and foreign affairs. Challenging and original, this book will be of interest to scholars in public relations, corporate communications, political marketing and international relations.

Pawel Surowiec

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