• New theme: nation branding and history
• New approach: introduces a new way of thinking about nation self-projection in the international arena
• Comparison: a comparative book on the history of nation branding - there is none to date
• Intercontinental approach: that comparison reaches across several continents, including North and South America, Europe, Asia
• Interdisciplinary: historical analysis joined by expertise of media/communication scholars, political scientists
• Past and Present: connects present discourses on the nation's performance/representation with analysis of the past

A recent coinage within international relations, "nation branding" designates the process of highlighting a country's positive characteristics for promotional purposes, using techniques similar to those employed in marketing and public relations. Nation Branding in Modern History takes an innovative approach to illuminating this contested concept, drawing on fascinating case studies in the United States, China, Poland, Suriname, and many other countries, from the nineteenth century to the present. It supplements these empirical contributions with a series of historiographical essays and analyses of key primary documents, making for a rich and multivalent investigation into the nexus of cultural marketing, self-representation, and political power.