När länder blir varumärken och politiker marknadsförare En kvalitativ analys av den svenska regeringens publicering på sociala medier

Sammanfattning: This study aims to contribute to the research field of public diplomacy and nation branding on social media. The study examines how Swedish government representatives communicated nation branding, reputation management and public diplomacy. The chosen time period was January 12th to February 3rd because two events took place in Sweden that evoked strong reactions from the outside world. The research project is qualitative and a text and document was conducted to review and analyze the empirical material. Sweden is actively working with public diplomacy through its government representatives and with nation branding through the state-owned company Visit Sweden. It is therefore interesting to examine how this type of communication takes place when events appear in a country that evokes strong reactions from the international public. The results show that the Swedish government representatives in the form of ministers, listen, cooperate among them, with other countries, with the civilian population and signal what Sweden actually stands for. Through government representatives' use of public diplomacy on social media, Sweden is portrayed as a responsive, observant, cooperative, open and understanding country.