Publications

Branding Canada

Projecting Canada’s Soft Power through Public Diplomacy

Evan H. Potter

Looking at Canada’s public diplomacy abroad through culture, international education, and international broadcasting.

6 x 9
464pp
3 tables 8 diagrams 2 drawings

Subjects:
International Affairs/Foreign Policy: Canadian  Political Science: Canadian

The communications revolution and increased democratization and globalization have made every country more aware of its image and reputation – its “national brand.” Whether a country needs to build international coalitions against terrorism, encourage cooperation to protect the environment, or attract investment and skilled labour, influencing foreign public opinion is now as crucial to national success as negotiating with foreign governments.

Evan Potter analyses how the federal government has used the instruments of public diplomacy – cultural programs, international education, international broadcasting, trade, and investment promotion – to exercise Canada’s soft power internationally. He argues that protecting and nurturing a distinct national identity are essential to Canada’s sovereignty and prosperity, and suggests ways to achieve this through the strategic exercise of public diplomacy, at home and abroad.

In offering the first comprehensive overview of the origins, development, and implementation of the country’s public diplomacy, Branding Canada offers policy advice on Canada’s approach and advances the thinking on public diplomacy in general.

Evan H. Potter is assistant professor in the Department of Communication, University of Ottawa. He is the founding editor of the Canadian Foreign Policy journal and a former Fulbright Visiting Chair in Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California. He is also a former senior strategist in the Communications Bureau at the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the author of Cyberdiplomacy: Foreign Policy in the 21st Century.

Selected publications

Books authored

POTTER, E. H., Branding Canada: Projecting Canada’s Soft Power Through Public Diplomacy. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.(forthcoming).

POTTER, E. (1999). Transatlantic Partners: Canadian Approaches to the European Union. Published for Carleton University Press by McGill University Press.

Books edited

POTTER, E. (2002). Cyberdiplomacy: Foreign Policy in the 21st Century. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

POTTER, E. and L. BERNIER (2001). Business Planning in Canadian Public Administration. Toronto: Institute of Public Administration of Canada.

POTTER, E. (1998). Economic Intelligence and National Security. Ottawa: Carleton University Press and the Centre for Trade Policy and Law.

EDEN, L. and E. POTTER (1993). Multinationals in the Global Political Economy. New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press.

Chapters in books

POTTER, E. (forthcoming). “Canada and the New Diplomacy”, in The Administration of Canadian Foreign Policy, edited by Nelson Michaud and Luc Bernier. UBC Press.

POTTER, E. (2002). “The Coming Anarchy? Connected Citizens and Economic Diplomacy”. In Civic Discourse and Cultural Politics in Canada: A Cacophony of Voices, edited by Sherry Ferguson and Leslie Shade, Norwood, NJ: Greenwood/Elsevier.

POTTER, E. (2001). “Transatlantic Free Trade: Myth or Reality?”. In Between Actor and Presence: The EU and the Future for Transatlantic Relations, edited by George McLean. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.

POTTER E. (2000). “Treasury Board as Management Board: The Re-invention of a Central Agency”. In How Ottawa Spends 2000-2001, edited by Leslie A. Pal. Toronto: Oxford University Press, pp. 95-130.

Journal articles

POTTER, E (2007).  “Canada in the Commonwealth”. The Round Table, Vol. 96, Issue. 391: 447-463.

POTTER, E. (2003). “Branding Canada: Renaissance of Canada’s Commercial Diplomacy”. International Studies Perspectives, 5 (1): 55-60.

POTTER, E. (2002-2003). “Canada and the New Public Diplomacy”. International Journal, LVIII, No. 1: 43-64.

POTTER, E. (2002). “ Canada and the world: Continuity and Change in Public Opinion on Aid, Trade, and International Security”. Études internationales, 33 (4): 698-722.