Correspondence: Özlem Sandikci, Bilkent University, Faculty of Business Administration, Ankara 06800, Turkey. Tel: +90 312 2901436; Fax: +90 312 2664958 e-mail: sandikci@bilkent.edu.tr

¹works as Creative Planner for Weber Shandwick in Germany. He recently finished his MSc in Marketing at Bilkent University, Turkey, and is currently engaged with his PhD dissertation on Turkey's nation brand image in political contexts.

²is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Business Administration at Bilkent University, Turkey. She has a PhD in Marketing from the Pennsylvania State University. Her research interest lies in the areas of consumption and globalisation.

Received 29 November 2006; Revised 29 November 2006.

Abstract

Despite the significance of politics and public diplomacy for nation brands, there is little research on the topic. The study seeks to contribute to the literature by investigating Turkey's European Union (EU) accession, which seems endangered by negative public opinion in other EU member states, as a case to understand how nation brand images can influence a given course of action in international politics. Specifically, through an exploratory qualitative research, the content of Turkey's nation brand image, its antecedents, and potential consequences within the political context of the country's accession negotiation are explored. The findings suggest that Turkey, at the moment, does not appear to be a well-run nation brand. Not only do the poor results indicate room for improvement, but also the management of Turkey in all relevant nation brand dimensions does not seem promising with regard to a successful EU application process. Furthermore, the analysis point to a truly complicated positioning dilemma for Turkey's nation brand and the challenge of accomplishing an integrated nation brand management. The paper concludes by outlining policy and research implications.