Opinion

Justin Trudeau’s India debacle shows the pitfalls of ‘nation branding’

The commentary on the Canadian Prime Minster’s recent media missteps are a sign of global attitudes towards nation branding, writes Rebecca Ogden in this crossposting from The Conversation.

REBECCA OGDEN

March 7, 2018 9:42

Justin Trudeau’s multiple missteps on his recent visit to India — wearing inappropriately formal dress and posing for corny photo-ops, at least once with a controversial figure — have prompted critical onlookers to suggest that self-awareness is sorely lacking from the Canadian prime minister’s “brand.”

Justin Trudeau, his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, and children, Xavier, 10, Ella-Grace, 9, visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India on Feb. 21. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The ease with which we use the term “brand,” especially when speaking of political diplomacy, underscores how the discourse and practice of corporate branding has spread into previously unbranded contexts.

Branding now encompasses the management of a nation’s image.

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