Sweden’s Image Policy in the Times of Refugee Crisis

Sweden has a substantially long tradition of conducting an image policy using both public diplomacy and nation branding. The refugee crisis is a significant challenge for maintaining a strong nation brand and positive perceptions of this country, mostly owing to contradictions between the declared values of Sweden’s image and nation brand and the real steps undertaken by the government to limit refugee immigration. The aim of this article is to discover potential correlation between the refugee crisis and changes within Sweden’s image and the strategy for promoting the country abroad, as well as Sweden’s methods and forms of international communication.

POLITYKA WIZERUNKOWA SZWECJI W DOBIE KRYZYSU MIGRACYJNEGO

Szwecja posiada stosunkowo długą tradycję realizowania polityki wizerunkowej zarówno poprzez dyplomację publiczną, jak i branding narodowy. Kryzys migracyjny stanowi istotne wyzwanie dla utrzymania silnej marki narodowej oraz pozytywnego postrzegania tego kraju na arenie międzynarodowej, głównie ze względu na przeciwności, jakie pojawiają się między założeniami przyświecającymi kreowaniu marki narodowej i wizerunku Szwecji a realnymi działaniami podejmowanymi przez rząd w zakresie ograniczania napływu uchodźców. Celem artykułu jest znalezienie potencjalnego powiązania pomiędzy kryzysem migracyjnym a zmianami w wizerunku Szwecji oraz zmianami, jakie zachodzą w obrębie strategii promowania Szwecji poza jej granicami oraz metod i form komunikowania międzynarodowego.

BIBLIOGRAFIA:

• Anholt, S.(2007).Competitive Identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions.Palgrave Macmillan.
• Anholt, S.(2017).The Good Country Index.Retrieved from: https://goodcountry.org/index/results.
• Anholt-GfK.(2017).Natoin Brands Index.Retrieved from: http://nation-brands.gfk.com.
• Chan, S.(2017).‘Last Night in Sweden’? Trump’s Remark Baffles a Nation.New York Times.Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/world/europe/last-night-in-sweden-trumps-remark-baffles-a-nation.html.
• Checklista för kommunikationsfrågor vid utlandsmyndigheterna (2017).Stockholm: Utriketsdepartementet.Retrieved from: http://www.regeringen.se/49e3a4/contentassets/4a58eec28f1d4503a11bfc146ce8346b/checklista-for-kommunikationsfragor-vidum.pdf?_t_id=1B2M2Y8AsgTpgAmY7PhCfg%3D%3D&_t_q=strategi+för+sveriges+utvecklingssamarbete&_t_tags=language%3Asv%2Csiteid%3Ac5a774ab-a6e3-4456-8f59-3bde614ae911&_t_ip=66.249.75.9&_t_hit.id=RKWeb_Mod­els_Media_PdfFile/_42af4458-95c7-49da-b7ee-995ae2f5720c&_t_hit.pos=388.
• Dinnie, K.(2016).Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice (2nd ed.).London: Rout­ledge.
• Eurostat (2017).Asylum Statistics.Retrieved from: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Asylum_statistics.
• Government Offices of Sweden (2014).Strategy for the Promotion of Sweden Abroad.Retrieved from: http://sharingsweden.se/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Sverigefold­ern-engelska-i-A5-format.pdf.
• Government Offices of Sweden (2017a).Strategy for the Promotion of Sweden Abroad 2.0.Retrieved from: http://sharingsweden.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/strategy-for-the-promotion-of-sweden-abroad-2.0.pdf.
• Government Offices of Sweden (2017b).Sweden and Immigrants Mostly Get On Well: Opinion Piece by Minister for Justice and Migration Morgan Johansson in Wall Street Journal.Retrieved from: http://www.government.se/opinion-pieces/2017/03/sweden-and-immigrants-mostly-get-on-well/.
• Ham van, P.(2001).The Rise of the Brand State: The Postmodern Politics of Image and Reputation.Foreign Affairs, 80(5), 2–6.DOI: 10.2307/20050245.
• Kaneva, N.(2011).Nation Branding: Toward an Agenda for Critical Research.Interna­tional Journal of Communication, 5, 117–141.
• Melissen, J.(2005).The New Public Diplomacy: Between Theory and Practice.In: J.Melissen (ed.).The New Public Diplomacy: Soft Power in International Relations (pp.3–27).Great Britain: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Melissen, J.(2013).Conclusions and Recommendations on Public Diplomacy in Europe.In: M.K.D.Cross & J.Melissen (eds.).European Public Diplomacy: Soft Power at Work (pp.205–212).USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Migrationsverket (2017).Applications for Asylum Received 2000–2017.Retrieved from: https://www.migrationsverket.se/download/18.4a5a58d51602d141cf41038/1515076827649/Application%20for%20asylum%20received%202000-2017.pdf.
• Ministry for Justice (2017).Sweden’s Migration and Asylum Policy.Retrieved from: http://www.government.se/491b3d/contentassets/26536c43ab3b41df90c064c2049b1bce/swedens-migration-and-asylum-policy.
• Musiał, K.(2002).Roots of the Scandinavian Model: Images of Progress in the Era of Modernisation.Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft.
• Nye, Jr., J.S.(2004).Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics.New York: Public Affairs.
• Offentlig diplomati: Vägledning och checklista [Public Diplomacy: Guide and Check­list].(2013).Stockholm: Utrikesdepartementet/UD-PIK.Retrieved from: http://www.regeringen.se/49e3a4/contentassets/4a58eec28f1d4503a11bfc146ce8346b/checklista-for-kommunikationsfragor-vid-um.pdf?_t_id=1B2M2Y8AsgTpgAmY7PhCfg%3D%3D&_t_q=strategi+för+sveriges+utvecklingssamarbete&_t_tags=language%3Asv%2Csiteid%3Ac5a774ab-a6e3-4456-8f59-3bde614ae911&_t_ip=66.249.75.9&_t_hit.id=RKWeb_Models_Media_PdfFile/_42af4458-95c7-49da-b7ee-995ae2f5720c&_t_hit.pos=388.
• Olsson, H.(2017).Integrationen fungerar inte som den ska.Dagens Nyheter.Retrieved from: https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/integrationen-fungerar-inte-som-den-ska/.
• Pamment, J., & Wilkins, K.G.(2018).Introduction: New Dimensions in the Politics of Image and Aid.In: J.Pamment, & K.G.Wilkins (eds.).Communicating National Image Through Development and Diplomacy: The Politics of Foreign Aid (pp.1–22).Austin: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Reputation Institute (2015).2015 Country RepTrak – Most Reputable Countries.Retrieved from: https://www.reputationinstitute.com/country-reptrak.
• Reputation Institute (2016).2016 Country RepTrak – Most Reputable Countries.Retrieved from: https://www.reputationinstitute.com/country-reptrak.
• Reputation Institute (2017).2017 Country RepTrak – Most Reputable Countries.Retrieved from: https://www.reputationinstitute.com/country-reptrak.
• Söderhavet (2014).Global Brand Sweden.Retrieved form: http://soderhavet.com/uppdrag/sverige/.
• Statistiska Centralbyrån (2016).Finland och Irak de tvåvanligaste födelseländerna bland utrikes födda.Retrieved from: https://www.scb.se/sv_/Hitta-statistik/Artiklar/Finland-och-Irak-de-tva-vanligaste-fodelselanderna-bland-utrikes-fodda/.
• Sveriges Radio (2016).Public Kept in the Dark About Sexual Harassment at Youth Festival.Retrieved from: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=6342236.
• The Local (2016).Norway’s Integration Minister: We Can’t Be Like Sweden.Retrieved from: https://www.thelocal.no/20160330/norways-integration-minister-we-cant-be-like-sweden.
• USC Center on Public Diplomacy (2017).Soft Power 30.Retrieved from: https://softpower30.com.
• Witte, G., & Faiola, A.(2016).Sweden Has Done So Much For Refugees.Now It’s Turned Its Back on Them: Sweden Has Taken in More Asylum Seekers Per Capita Than Any Other Nation in Europe.Independent.Retrieved from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/sweden-has-done-so-much-for-refugees-now-its-turned-its-back-on-them-a6792726.html.