Nation Branding in the Americas

Efe Sevin is Assistant Professor of Public Relations at the Department of Mass Communication at Towson University, in Maryland, US. His current research focuses on identifying and measuring the impacts of social networks on place branding and public diplomacy campaigns. His work has been published in several journals and books including American Behavioral Scientist, Public Relations Review, and Cities. His most recent book is the co-edited volume City Diplomacy: Current Trends and Future Prospects (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).César Jiménez-Martínez is Assistant Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Director of the MSc Strategic Communication and Society. His research focuses on the intersection of media, identity and contestation, paying special attention to branding and national identities, digital nationalism, and more recently protests and violence. He is author of Media and the Image of the Nation during Brazil’s 2013 Protests (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) and co-editor (with Terhi Rantanen) of Globalization and the Media (Routledge, 2019). His work has been published in journals such as The International Journal of Press/Politics, International Journal of Communication, International Communication Gazette, Nations and Nationalism, Geopolitics, and Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. His research has won several awards, including the 2021 Anthony D. Smith Award for best article in nations and nationalism (with Sabina Mihelj), and the Best Faculty Paper in Public Diplomacy Award (with Alina Dolea) in the 2023 International Communication Association annual conference.Pablo Miño is Assistant Professor of Communication at Universidad de Los Andes, Chile. His research focuses on public relations, strategic communication and Latin American studies from a critical-cultural perspective. His work has been published in journals such as Communication, Culture & Critique, International Journal of Communication, Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Inquiry and Public Relations Review.

• 1. Nation Branding: A Contested Field for Contested Identities 2. Branding Against Invisibility: Chile, Costa Rica, and Uruguay 3. Branding Against Stereotypes: Argentina, Brazil and Colombia 4. Branding the Past: Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador 5. Branding For and Against the Hegemon: Mexico and Canada 6. Branding Contradictions: The United States 7. Conclusion: Of the Nation, For the Nation, Without the Nation

"Keith Dinnie’s Nation Branding handbooks are classics. They have established themselves as the go-to course materials and this Nation Branding in the Americas companion book is a great addition to the series. It is a real tour de force to provide this kaleidoscopic view of countries in the region, many of which do not get much coverage elsewhere."- Robert Govers, author of Imaginative Communities: Admired cities, regions and countries."Nation Branding in the Americas is a probing and path-breaking book on the popular yet controversial practice of how nations try to enhance their reputations and promote their images in the global arena. While the book focus is on countries throughout the Americas, the critical questions the authors raise could be asked, and indeed need to be asked about campaigns in other nations around the world: What is the motivation behind the design of the nation branding campaign, what are the levers that make it a success or failure, and ultimately, who really benefits from the campaign? Students and researchers will appreciate the contextual background and cultural insights in the campaign profiles and analyses."- R.S.Zaharna, Professor, School of Communication, American University, Washington, DC"Nation Branding in the Americas provides an important survey of strategic branding activities in the Western hemisphere that should inspire future studies of branding and public diplomacy efforts. Sevin, Jiménez-Martínez and Miño’s work is necessary, not only because it covers cases that need wider attention, but because it does not shy away from persistent cross-disciplinary theoretical questions surrounding branding and public diplomacy practices. This thought-provoking comparative study raises critical questions about the stakeholders to branding efforts and the intended purpose of branding-based influence."- Craig Hayden, Associate Professor of Strategic Studies, Security Studies Department Head, Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia"I am so excited about this book! Not only it focuses on a fascinating topic (nation brands & nation-branding), but it does so centering in the region of Latin America [while including the United States and Canada for comparative purposes]. Its three authors (two of them Latin Americans) are well-respected experts in this area, and the “clustering” of country cases according to branding commonalities and challenges makes a lot of sense. This book is a must-read for those interested in strategic communications, marketing, political science, tourism, international relations, public diplomacy, and more."- Vanessa Bravo, co-editor of the book Latin American Diasporas in Public Diplomacy, Assistant Dean and Professor, School of Communications. Elon University, Elon, North Carolina