Ukraine is still being referred to as a country “between Europe and Russia” not only in ordinary public discourse and media but by top officials and diplomats, those in the US, EU and Russia, first and foremost, but also in Ukraine itself. Why there is such an “in-betweenness”, two decades after the end of the Cold War?

In a couple of recent postings I have tried to elaborate the notion of a nation brand, to identify some of the salient issues surrounding the relationship between public diplomacy and branding, and to illuminate the more subtle distinctions.

METI hopes to facilitate the global entry of some of Japan's small and midsize companies, while luring their creative foreign counterparts here to give them a competitive edge. It is hoped that the increased presence of Japanese cultural products will attract more international travelers and boost domestic tourism, METI said.