Cool Nations

Nation Branding and the Concept of Cool traces the mediated ways in which the transnational idea of "cool" has circulated from popular culture into describing nations. It argues that "cool" is a vehicle for the commodification of nations, and that the ideas of promotional culture come to redefine concepts of democracy or citizenship.

Nation branding is the most recent feature of imagined nation-making in the history of nations. Facing global competition, national decision-makers aim to distinguish their countries from others by means of branding. Quite a few nations have considered the term 'cool' suitable for describing some essence of their country's brand.

Cool Nations. Media and the Social Imaginary of the Branded Country* traces the mediated ways in which the transnational idea of "cool" has circulated from popular culture, fashion, and marketing into describing nations. The book explores the commodification of the nation, the shift to a promotional political culture, and the role of media in contributing to the circulation of the idea of the Cool Nation.

The social imaginary of nation branding takes its theory and practices from marketing, unlike earlier imaginations based on ideas of democracy or citizenship. Cool Nations argues that "cool" is one of the vehicles through which the commodification of nations takes place.

Autorentext

Katja Valaskivi is the Director of The Tampere Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET) at the School of Communication, Media and Theatre (CMT), University of Tampere, Finland.

Zusammenfassung
Nation Branding and the Concept of Cool traces the mediated ways in which the transnational idea of "cool" has circulated from popular culture into describing nations. It argues that "cool" is a vehicle for the commodification of nations, and that the ideas of promotional culture come to redefine concepts of democracy or citizenship.

Inhalt

1. Cool Nation: Imagining the nation through branding 2. The Circulation of Cool 3. Nation Branding in Action 4. Manufacturing Authenticity 5. The Population and Consumers of the Cool Nation 6. The Cooling Effect