Image versus Reform: Saudi Arabia's Strategic Use of Formula 1 for Global Image Enhancement"
Translated title
Image versus Reform: Saudi Arabia's Strategic Use of Formula 1 for Global Image Enhancement
Author
Duello, Simone
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-28
Pages
50
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan Saudi-Arabien udnytter deltagelsen i Formel 1 som et redskab til international imageopbygning under Vision 2030. Det spørger, hvordan fortællinger om modernitet og reform iscenesættes til vestlige målgrupper, og hvordan disse budskaber modtages, udfordres og omfortolkes i medier og offentlig debat. Med afsæt i nation branding, strategisk kommunikation og framingteori, soft power, sportsdiplomati og forskning i autoritær branding behandles det saudiske Grand Prix som et strategisk spektakel, hvor legitimitet og omdømme både opføres og anfægtes. Metodisk anvendes kritisk diskursanalyse af officiel kommunikation og promoveringsmateriale knyttet til løbet, brandingpartnerskaber og kuraterede visuelle udtryk samt global—særligt vestlig—nyhedsdækning og kommentarer. Analysen fokuserer på temaer som økonomisk diplomati og globale partnerskaber, køn og inklusion, bæredygtighed og miljø, spektakel og prestige, ungdoms- og fremtidsorientering, kendiskultur samt kulturel identitet og kunstnerisk udtryk. Specialet argumenterer overordnet for, at Formel 1 udgør en medieintensiv scene til at projicere et billede af fremskridt, modernitet og global tilpasning, men at vestlig dækning ofte genindsætter modrammer om menneskerettigheder og politisk repression, hvilket skaber en fragmenteret modtagelse, hvor pragmatisk samarbejde sameksisterer med moralsk kritik. Dermed belyser specialet både muligheder og begrænsninger ved sportsdrevet nation branding for stater, der søger at omkalibrere deres globale position gennem spektakel.
This thesis examines how Saudi Arabia leverages participation in Formula 1 as a vehicle for international image-making under Vision 2030. It asks how narratives of modernity and reform are crafted for Western audiences, and how those messages are received, challenged, and reframed in media and public debate. Drawing on nation branding, strategic communication and framing theory, soft power, sports diplomacy, and scholarship on authoritarian branding, the study treats the Saudi Grand Prix as a strategic spectacle where legitimacy and reputation are performed and contested. Methodologically, it employs Critical Discourse Analysis of official communications and promotional materials linked to the race, branding partnerships and curated visuals, and global—especially Western—news coverage and commentary. The analysis focuses on themes including economic diplomacy and global partnerships, gender and inclusivity, sustainability and the environment, spectacle and prestige, youth and future orientation, celebrity culture, and cultural identity and artistic expression. The thesis advances the overall argument that Formula 1 provides a media-intensive platform to project an image of progress, modernity, and global alignment, yet Western coverage frequently reintroduces counter-frames tied to human rights and political repression, producing a fragmented reception that mixes pragmatic collaboration with moral critique. In doing so, it highlights both the possibilities and limits of sport-led nation branding for states seeking to recalibrate their global standing through spectacle.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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