Place branding within a security paradigm — concepts and cases

This paper argues that place branding is playing an increasingly important role in international politics. It examines the cases of the European Union, the US, as well as China to illustrate the relevance these great powers attach to their security brand. It also studies several cases where negative branding (by others) has become a serious matter of security. This paper concludes that the security aspect of place branding is an area of study in international politics that requires further exploration. Some conceptual clarity is emerging, but more effort needs to be made to examine how place branding can illuminate an area of international politics which remains largely dominated by a Realist security paradigm.