Correspondence: David Wills, Department of Political Science and International Studies, European Research Institute, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Tel. 44 (0) 121 4143059; Fax: 44 (0) 121 4143496; e-mail: d.a.wills@bham.ac.uk

¹is a research fellow in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham. His research focuses on studies of surveillance, identity and critical approaches to political theory.

²is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham. His research focuses on political violence, particularly in Chechnya, and interpretive approaches to International Relations Theory.

Received 4 June 2008; Revised 4 June 2008.

Abstract

This paper examines security and place branding in post-Communist Russia. It begins by offering a critical summary of the tension between place branding and identity, before moving on to apply securitisation theory to the Caucasus. The paper then moves on to advance a more refined reading of 'place branding', so as to trace shifts in the public perceptions of Chechnya since 2004. In so doing, the paper will challenge assumptions underpinning securitisation, and critique the literature on place branding.