Centering Gender in Public Diplomacy and Nation Branding: An Invitation to Reimagine the Future of the Field

Inspired by feminist thought, this special issue aims to disturb conventional ways of thinking about public diplomacy and nation branding as “soft power” tools of the state. A feminist rethinking of the soft/hard power metaphor reveals its implicit masculinist logic and invites a critical exploration of the gendering of geopolitical contestations. This issue takes one step in addressing this gap and aims to inspire further inquiry into the gender dynamics of geopolitical influence. This introductory essay is organized in four parts. First, it reviews how gender is currently addressed in public diplomacy and nation branding research. Next, it points out several social and geopolitical trends that contextualize the need for a greater engagement with questions of gender. Third, the six articles included in the issue are introduced. Finally, the concluding section outlines directions for future research, organized around the themes of performativity, relationality, and ethics of care. The essay’s key argument is that a focus on gender dynamics in public diplomacy and nation branding must involve more than a challenge to structures of gender inequality and oppression; it must also include a rethinking of the foundational assumptions about human autonomy, rationality, and ethical action that underpin international relations