Pandemic Diplomacy

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is threefold: addressing a gap in the literature on pandemic diplomacy, providing a theoretical explication of pandemic diplomacy, and relating it to existing public diplomacy constructs of soft power and nation branding to understand how and why states engage in pandemic diplomacy. In its current form, pandemic diplomacy reflects the state of world affairs and geopolitical tensions that existed before COVID-19. Drawing on the COVID-19 context, this chapter examines the conceptual antecedents of pandemic diplomacy and the defining characteristics of pandemic diplomacy and analyzes factors that enabled some states to conduct pandemic diplomacy and the rationale behind this new soft power play.