Title: The missing link: cities and soft power of nations

Authors: Efe Sevin

Addresses: Department of Mass Communication, Towson University, Towson, Maryland, USA

Abstract: This theory-building research identifies how cities generate soft power for nation-states through their communicative and diplomatic practices. Building on the relatively nascent studies of city diplomacy and city branding, the main objective is to establish a taxonomic categorisation of cities as soft power assets. The reason for conducting a research is three-fold. First, the excitement about the potential of cities to lead in providing solutions to global problems overshadows their role as sub-state units. Second, mega-cities and metropolitan areas dominate the research carried. Third, cities and nations do not have to share the same policy priorities, images, or even landscape. Against this background, the research asks one main question: What are the different ways through which cities generate soft power assets? The answer is presented as a taxonomic categorisation that defines five different roles for cities to generate soft power.

Keywords: city diplomacy; public diplomacy; city branding; communication; soft power; small cities; mega cities; reputation; resources; relations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDIPE.2021.114826

International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy, 2021 Vol.7 No.1, pp.19 - 32

Received: 22 May 2020
Accepted: 17 Aug 2020
Published online: 07 May 2021 *

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