BU Research Blog

I am pleased to announce the publication of a new book – the first in the English-speaking world research monograph analysing the link between nation branding and the governance of Poland’s soft power. The book covers the following themes: Poland’s foreign and public affairs; the marketization of statecraft and its implications for exercising soft power by Poland and other Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) states; shift in the governance of soft power resources – avenues of changes from propaganda to marketing communication; the mediation of state identities, national identities and soft power; the significance of nationalism(s) and promotional culture for Poland’s soft power; the role and position of Poland in European affairs.

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 disourse 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 identity 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.

This monograph analysing nation branding in Poland’s soft power has been described as “a major intervention into debates surrounding transition and Europeanisation” (for more details about the book see: https://www.routledge.com/Nation-Branding-Public-Relations-and-Soft-Power-Corporatising-Poland/Surowiec/p/book/9781138818835; ISBN 978-1138818835; hardcover).

Dr Paweł Surowiec
Senior Lecturer
Bournemouth University
Faculty of Media and Communication
Fern Barrow, Poole
Dorset, BH12 5BB, UK
Tel. 01202 965236
Email: psurowiec@bournemouth.ac.uk