Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Cathedral of Our Lady of Vladimir in Zadonsk, in Russia’s Lipetsk region. The question of what makes a nation a nation has been forever fraught. For a small city, Lipetsk conveys a sense of sprawl – of large vacant and unlit spaces right within its urban limits. He sounds as if he regrets coining “nation brand”, because he has watched it become “nation branding”: cynical acts of spin, void of any real reforms. “Unlike strong brands, which are predictable and disciplined, democracy is messy and fractious, if not outright rebellious,” she wrote; the task of gussying up a nation brand “is not only futile but dangerous”.

Source: The Guardian November 07, 2017 06:00 UTC