Nation Branding in the European Union: the role of Covid-19

Abstract

This research examines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Nation Branding of the European Union through the analysis of its digital diplomacy. On the one hand, the importance of public communication in the information age, the economic and political outcomes of image management and social media as a new strategic tool justify the social relevance of this paper. On the other hand, this work participates in the debate between the concepts of soft power, nation branding, public diplomacy and digital diplomacy. Moreover, if some research has been done in this field, its application to the supranational level and the impact of Covid-19 has not received much attention. Therefore, this research examines the following research question: To what extent did the Covid-19 pandemic strengthen or weaken the EU's Nation Branding? Using data gathered from Twitter on the European External Action Service account from the 1st of December 2019 to the 19th of June 2020, this research provides a study of the European Union's approach to Nation Branding during the pandemic. The content analysis presents a classification of the Tweets according to the 4-D Model and the Dialogic Engagement categories. Results show (1) an increase in the number of tweets, (2) a majority of content aimed at informing the public on economic...