Abstract
The aim of this chapter is threefold: addressing a gap in the literature on pandemic diplomacy, providing a theoretical explication of pandemic diplomacy, and relating it to existing public diplomacy constructs of soft power and nation branding to understand how and why states engage in pandemic diplomacy. In its current form, pandemic diplomacy reflects the state of world affairs and geopolitical tensions that existed before COVID-19. Drawing on the COVID-19 context, this chapter examines the conceptual antecedents of pandemic diplomacy and the defining characteristics of pandemic diplomacy and analyzes factors that enabled some states to conduct pandemic diplomacy and the rationale behind this new soft power play.
TopIntroduction
Pandemics, as global outbreaks of disease traversing international boundaries, not only highlight the important role of public health but also its international dimensions. Pandemics demand international cooperation for mitigation and containment, directing renewed attention onto debates surrounding interactions between states. COVID-19, arguably the most disruptive global event in modern history, offers an important conceptual locus for understanding health’s soft power potential where collaboration can generate health benefits and improve relations simultaneously.
On May 5, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to COVID-19 as a “public health emergency of international concern”—the highest level of WHO alert, which has been in place since January 30, 2020. However, three years of pandemic existence have significantly reshaped geopolitics, altering how nation-states project influence and elevated public health to the top of every agenda as individuals, societies and nation states focused on a common goal: surviving a pandemic. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified fears of globalization and accelerated the transition to a more fragmented world order in which organizing principles of the international system are increasingly unclear. As nation states grapple to contain the pandemic, others view the global health crisis as a strategic opportunity for deploying public diplomacy activities for projecting soft power and nation branding.
In international politics, soft power refers to the state’s ability to attract co-opt rather than coerce, thus influencing the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. Nation branding relates to a country’s image on the international stage, covering political, economic and cultural dimensions (Anholt, 2007; Fan, 2006; Quelch & Jocz, 2004). Fan (2010) defines nation branding as “a process by which a nation’s images can be created or altered, monitored, evaluated and proactively managed to enhance the country’s reputation among a target international audience” (p. 101). There is a positive relationship between nation branding and soft power; “[i]f nation branding as a technique for soft power is used strategically, it projects a positive image of the country and consequently the country will gain soft power” (Kahraman, 2017, p. 94).
Although health-related diplomacy has existed since 1851 when European states gathered for the first International Sanitary Conference to discuss cooperation on cholera, plague, and yellow fever, health as a public diplomatic endeavor has historically “lingered on the sidelines of international relations” and has received scant scholarly attention (Fazal, 2020, p. 78).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Medical Diplomacy: An international relations tool positioned within a framework of humanitarian benefits that views medical aid as a bridge across diplomatic barriers.
Nation Branding: Positively correlated with soft power nation branding involves the creation and management of a country’s international image with the goal of strengthening the country’s reputation.
Soft Power: A state’s ability to appeal to others through the power of attraction rather than force.
International Public Good: Related to the construct of civic virtue, IPGs—in the form of tangible goods (e.g., vaccines) and intangible goods (e.g., vaccine know-how)—help states to frame soft power efforts as contributions to the larger public good and international public sphere.
Civic Virtue: Beliefs about the obligations of states that are associated with the effective functioning of the civil and political world order, based on an interactional framework shaped by international cooperation and conflict.
Pandemic Diplomacy: State-initiated efforts, often unilateral, to generate soft power and international goodwill through the deployment of health goods such as vaccines, test kits and other medical supplies during pandemic contexts.
Vaccine Diplomacy: A subset of pandemic diplomacy, heightened in the COVID-19 context, focusing on the deployment of vaccines to achieve foreign policy, nation branding and soft power goals.