The development of a positive new brand is aimed at bringing more business and people to the country, promote its tourism sector and cultural institutions, and generally highlight everything Luxembourg has to offer.

Simon Anholt arrived at an outlook similar to that of Ambassador Choi’s commercial paradigmafter a decade of consulting governments on how to improve their national brand.

With the stunning election victory of President Maithripala Sirisena, on a platform of change for good governance, the potential for brand Sri Lanka to strengthen itself has grown exponentially.

While American patriotism -- the love of one's country -- is "awesome" in more ways than one, American nationalism -- the belief that America is the "greatest nation on earth," with the "greatest military power", and the "greatest ideals" -- can become dangerous, and even turn Messianic. The American establishment has been drilling these nationalist slogans, whether mythical or real, into the American mind for decades.