Celebrity Diplomacy in Non-Western Countries

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A special cultural report in the Celebrity Studies journal explores the diplomacy of non-state actors like celebrities, with an emphasis on non-western countries. An introduction by Andrew F. Cooper, Hugo Dobson, and Mark Wheeler outlines how diplomacy has changed to include non-diplomats: Cooper argues that "celebrity diplomacy creates a new ‘space’ in which celebrities provide a conduit between public and foreign affairs to overcome the ‘disconnect’ which has occurred as official diplomats have sought to husband information rather than share it."

The four articles included in this report are "From Project Putin to Brand Putin," "Nation Branding and Celebrity Diplomacy in Bahrain," "China's 'Big V' Bloggers: How Celebrities Intervene in Digital Sino-Japanese Relations," and "Blue Sky Thinking: The Effects of Aoi Sola in a Sino-Japanese Context." The special report spans pages 312-343 in Volume 8, Issue 2 and is available here on Taylor & Francis Online.