Sweden’s Public Diplomacy Strategy in the 21st Century : An Analysis

• Main Author: Marzynska, Kamila
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Södertörns högskola, Statsvetenskap 2021
• Subjects: public diplomacy; diplomacy; sweden; nation branding; brand sweden; critical discourse analysis; social constructivism; new public diplomacy; sverigebilden; diplomati; offentlig diplomati; sverige; strategisk kommunikation; internationella relationer; offentlig förvaltning; Political Science; Statsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-46568

Public diplomacy is a form of diplomatic activity aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics. In light of the technological developments of recent decades, digital tools and platforms have transformed the field of public diplomacy and became a significant force in shaping the diplomatic field. Sweden is a country with a strong international presence, where public diplomacy is a prioritized field for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. This study contributes to the limited research on Swedish public diplomacy strategy by analyzing the way in which Sweden’s four core values are communicated in the digital sphere. The analysis is conducted in two segments. First, the Swedish public diplomacy strategy is examined. Secondly, using Critical Discourse Analysis, twelve articles published on the website for Swedish Foreign Policy Stories were analyzed. The analysis shows that the core values are incorporated in the texts. The values are not stated overtly, but strong indications in the discourse can be found suggesting their relevance. The size of the sample is not large enough to allow for generalizations of the findings. The study concludes that except for discourse, other elements, such as the visual semiotic choices also contribute to the communication of Sweden’s four core values.