Competitive Authoritarian Regimes and Transnational Politics of Nation-Branding

• In Event: MENA Diasporas, Authoritarianism and Activism in Exile (Pre-Recorded)

Abstract

Increasingly, diasporas are pivotal non-state actors in helping their homelands to engage in public diplomacy and build soft power capabilities to gradually enhance home state’s reputation-building capacities globally. Based on existing diaspora networks which can be harnessed effectively and systematically when needed (Dinnie 2008), home states can complete traditional forms of diplomacy with innovative forms of public relations. This paper examines how competitive authoritarian regimes use nation-branding strategies to create a positive international reputation while mobilizing their diasporas as brand ambassadors (Baser and Ozturk 2020). Increasingly, authoritarian states use nation-branding to ameliorate their image in international platforms (Gudjonsson 2005) through various branding strategies which capture both internal (domestic) and external (foreign) audiences (Volcic and Andrejevic 2011, Van Ham 2001). By combining insights into political marketing, diasporas and foreign policy, we assess this newly emerging complex relationships between home states and diasporas through examining the case studies of Turkey, Mexico and India. We argue that competitive authoritarian states mobilize their diasporas to garner support and legitimacy abroad and by the nation brand they perpetuate through diaspora networks, they remain competitive in the international political arena. Moreover, their transnational branding strategies also aim at wooing their local constituencies at home by demonstrating strength as a capable state whose influence transcends borders.

Authors

• Bahar Baser, Durham University

• Gözde Böcü, University of Toronto