Sweden’s online nation branding in times of refugee movement: A multimodal analysis of “Portraits of migration”

Weronika Rucka; Rozane De Cock

doi:10.1515/commun-2021-0130

Article

Sweden’s online nation branding in times of refugee movement: A multimodal analysis of “Portraits of migration”

Weronika Rucka and Rozane De Cock

Published/Copyright: March 10, 2023

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From the journal Communications Volume 49 Issue 1

Abstract

Textual and visual analyses of nation-branding campaigns are rare but highly needed (Bolin and Ståhlberg, 2010; Hao, Paul, Trott, Guo, and Wu, 2019) as online media have become a popular tool for states to shape people’s perception (Volcic and Andrejevic, 2011). In Anholt’s much applied nation brand hexagon (2007), immigration and investment, society, governance, and culture and heritage are, along with tourism and export, the core aspects that build a country’s reputation. As the 2015 refugee peak situation resulted in a more restrictive approach of the Swedish government towards asylum applicants, the country’s brand was put under pressure. How could Sweden’s values related to openness be highlighted while policymakers chose a deterrent road? In this study, we bridge streams of research on nation branding, framing, and migration studies by presenting a multimodal analysis of the “Portraits of migration” campaign as a strategic response to the refugee situation.

Keywords: nation branding; migration; refugees; content analysis; framing

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Appendix

Frame matrix (based on textual and visual analysis)

	Reasoning devices					Framing devices
Frame	Definition of the problem/situation	Cause	Consequences	Possible solution	Moral values	Catchphrases, lexical choices, visual representation
Refugees as passive actors	Refugees have had to leave their country of origin and not chosen actively to move to Sweden.	Situation in refugees’ country of origin: war, persecution	Refugees are passive and unhappy as they had to leave their homes and now need to wait for an asylum permit.	Not mentioned	Loneliness Anger Frustration	“have to flee” “had to leave” “forced to flee” “We didn’t choose to come here. (…) We ended up here” “now we wait” Photos presenting subjects sitting, lying, sleeping, no direct eye-contact with the camera
Refugees as active and future-oriented actors	Refugees choose to act in their new country: Sweden.	Escaping from war, persecution, and coming to Sweden is perceived as a new chance.	Refugees can benefit from their new life and be happy in Sweden.	Not perceived as a problem, so no solution needed	Enthusiasm Happiness Feeling of agency	“a new beginning” “I got this life and this chance” “Life is too short (…). I want to experience every moment of it. (…) I want to learn things, meet people. My philosophy is that you only live once.” “Life will be good” “Refugee team playing in the cup. It was one of the best days of my life” “We opened our restaurant” “We founded Refugees Welcome Stockholm”
						Photos presenting dynamic subjects being in a motion: throwing or kicking a ball while doing sport; subjects laughing, smiling, positive face expression
Refugees as talented and passionate individuals	Refugees are people having their interests and talents. They can follow them in Sweden.	Because of war, persecution refugees are not able to focus on their passions and career in countries of origin.	Coming to Sweden and pursuing career there	Coming to Sweden	Talent Passion Progress Success Authenticity	“I was a famous conductor in my home country” “I was a champion in Syria. Me and my teammates won a lot” “Everyone has a passion. Mine is water polo” Photos presenting individual subjects focused on playing water polo, football, piano, weaving
Refugees as caring and loving individuals	Refugees are humans who feel love, care about their beloved ones.	Human nature	Refugees are portrayed as people like any others who have feelings, families.	Not perceived as a problem so no solution needed	Love Feeling of community Care Authenticity	“(…) his honesty enticed me. (…) We fell in love” “I love the people I’m surrounded by” “there are some people who mean a lot to me, like the family that took me in”
						Images presenting small groups of subjects, gestures of intimacy: kissing, hugging, smiling, laughing
Sweden as a safe country	Refugees flee from their country of origin to live safely with their beloved ones in Sweden.	Situation in refugees’ country of origin: war, persecution	Refugees have to flee to be able to live with their beloved ones; they can do so in Sweden.	Fleeing to Sweden	Security Peace Care Love Feeling of community	“secure” “But now, we all wake up under the same roof” “Now we want to live in a house together (…)” “It takes time to feel at home. But now we do” “(…) Sweden is bound by the European Convention, which guarantees everyone the right to family life.”
Sweden as an open country	Sweden as an open country where people can be free and whoever they want	Openness as a Swedish value	Refugees can live in Sweden freely and happily.	Not perceived as a problem so no solution needed	Freedom Authenticity Integrity	“People here are mostly open-minded (…). You can be whoever you want to be, do whatever you want (…).” “(…) it’s very diverse, something (…) that can give me new perspectives”
Sweden as a strict country	Sweden as a strict country regarding asylum policy	Unprecedented number of asylum seekers coming to Sweden (“state of emergency”)	Newcomers need to wait for asylum permit which causes their frustration.	Limiting number of given asylum permits; Waiting for asylum permit by newcomers	Strictness Impassiveness Adamancy Lack of solidarity Frustration	“struggled to get [a personal identification number]” “the Migration Agency, the agency that decides if you’ll get shelter or get kicked out of Sweden” “Sweden has made the refugee rules stricter in the past year. Now we are among the strictest in Europe when it comes to denying families the right to be reunited.” “(…) the police came. They thought I was undocumented”
Negative image / bad memories of refugees’ country of origin	Bad situation in their country of origin caused that refugees had to leave their homeland.	War Dictatorship Persecution	Fleeing from country of origin; Leaving families and friends	Fleeing to Sweden	Fear Loneliness	“the war came” “we fled a dictatorship” “(…) the asphalt had been bombed to pieces. Then came the alarm.” “A grenade fell (…).”

Published Online: 2023-03-10

Published in Print: 2024-03-01

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https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2021-0130

Keywords for this article

nation branding; migration; refugees; content analysis; framing