Danish Culture - a way of branding Denmark in China
Author
Jakobsen, Maria Blok
Term
4. term
Publication year
2015
Abstract
This thesis examines how the Danish government uses Danish culture as a tool to brand Denmark in China. It starts from the premise that culture is both a distinctive asset and a sensitive area in relation to national identity. Using an inductive, qualitative text analysis of government reports, media coverage, and company materials, the study structures its analysis across three sectors—knowledge services, content-based industries, and manufacturing and wholesale trade—covering cultural fields such as literature, design, fashion, and film. National branding theory is applied through three perspectives—the “absolutes,” the “royalists,” and the “moderates”—to assess how different cultural elements are deployed. Set against recent Danish initiatives and partnerships in China in education, energy, and culture, the thesis concludes that Denmark does not follow a single pure approach but blends elements from all three, most often aligning with the moderates’ view that government should act, while also exhibiting features of the other two approaches.
Specialet undersøger, hvordan den danske regering bruger dansk kultur som redskab i branding af Danmark i Kina. Udgangspunktet er, at kultur både er et særkende og et følsomt område i forhold til national identitet. Med en induktiv, kvalitativ tekstanalyse af regeringsrapporter, presseomtale og virksomhedsmateriale struktureres analysen i tre sektorer: videnservice, indholdsbaserede industrier samt fremstilling og engroshandel, der tilsammen rummer kulturfelter som litteratur, design, mode og film. National brand-teori anvendes gennem tre perspektiver – “absolutterne”, “royalisterne” og “moderaterne” – til at vurdere, hvordan kulturens forskellige elementer bringes i spil. På baggrund af nyere danske initiativer og partnerskaber i Kina inden for bl.a. uddannelse, energi og kultur finder specialet, at Danmark ikke følger én ren brandingtilgang, men kombinerer elementer fra alle tre, oftest i tråd med moderaternes syn på en aktiv statslig indsats, dog med indslag af de to øvrige tilgange.
[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]