MELC0640 - Soft Power, Nation Branding, and Business Culture in the Middle East

This seminar considers what happens when states and businesses converge to exert cultural influence that translates into political and economic leverage for host countries. Taking a historical perspective, we will focus on the past seventy-five years (circa 1950 to the present). Our point of departure is political scientist Joseph Nye’s concept of “soft power,” which refers to the ability of states to secure interests on the world stage by deploying cultural appeal rather than military force – inducement instead of coercion.
We will begin by examining theories of imperialism, nationalism, and branding in a comparative international context. We will then ask questions such as: When do national and corporate policies align and reinforce each other to produce “nation branding”? How consciously or assiduously do companies act in the interests of home countries and governments? What happens when companies are “multinational” or when national and corporate interests diverge? What about other, more local forms of place branding, such as in cities?
We will then turn to case studies. These consider Middle Eastern business ventures that involve consumer products, museums, private educational institutions, airlines, shopping malls, and sports franchises, and that connect many countries, including the United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, France, Turkey, Israel, and more. They include McDonalds, Starbucks, Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola, the Louvre Abu Dhabi and New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi; Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines; Ferrari World amusement park; the Newcastle United and Manchester City soccer teams; and the 2020 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
To cap off the semester, students will develop an individual research paper that focuses on one business venture which reflects the interplay of soft power and nation branding.