Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE December 2016 Analyzing Nation Branding Through Public Relations Lenses-- the Case of the 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony Ruoshi Li Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Li, Ruoshi, "Analyzing Nation Branding Through Public Relations Lenses-- the Case of the 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony" (2016). Dissertations - ALL. 545. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/545 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. ! Abstract! Studies across several disciplines, including marketing, political science and culture studies, have already touched on the concept of nation branding. Different experts with distinct academic backgrounds look at nation branding from different angles. This paper first takes a critical review of the conceptualizations of nation branding and then revisits the public relations theories, followed by a synthesis of public relations concepts with nation branding in a case study of the Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony. It also seeks to open a conversation within the field of communication and public relations on the trend of nation branding. With an aim of contributing to the theoretical development of nation branding, the author attempts to review classic public relations theories and seeks for possibilities to integrate public relations theories into this fast-growing field. Because nation branding is an umbrella term, the author narrows the research field to the case study of the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony.