Simulation nations: Nation brands and Baudrillard’s theory of media

This article outlines a new perspective on the role of media in nation branding, drawing on Jean Baudrillard’s post-structuralist media theory. I argue that, following Baudrillard, we can see nation brands in a new light, namely, as simulacra which exist within a transnational media system for the creation, circulation and consumption of commodity-signs. In this capacity, nation brands shed their representational burden of standing in for the nation and, instead, operate as self-referential entities. I use the example of Brand Kosovo to provide illustrations for my theoretical points. However, while the case of Kosovo has its specificities, I propose that the theoretical claims presented here hold beyond its parameters. This article forms part of the Theorizing Media in Nation Branding Special Issue