Correspondence: Peter van Ham, Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', The Hague. e-mail pham@clingendael.nl

¹is Director of Global Governance Research at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations "Clingendael" in The Hague, and Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium).

Received 2 June 2008; Revised 2 June 2008.

Abstract

This paper argues that place branding is playing an increasingly important role in international politics. It examines the cases of the European Union, the US, as well as China to illustrate the relevance these great powers attach to their security brand. It also studies several cases where negative branding (by others) has become a serious matter of security. This paper concludes that the security aspect of place branding is an area of study in international politics that requires further exploration. Some conceptual clarity is emerging, but more effort needs to be made to examine how place branding can illuminate an area of international politics which remains largely dominated by a Realist security paradigm.