Public diplomacy in times of crisis: A closer look at Sweden's governmental communication and mass media frames during the coronavirus pandemic

Abstract: Public diplomacy in times of crisis: A closer look at Sweden’s governmental communication and mass media frames during the coronavirus pandemic. Public diplomacy is an important concept in the literature of strategic communication. It the one that allows governments around the world to promote a positive image about their country and increase their country’s reputation. However, during times of crisis, especially a health crisis, public diplomacy of a country experiences implications created by the frames international media uses to depict the country. This study aims to understand how the Swedish Government frames their communication during the coronavirus (Covid-19) first two months of the crisis and how the United Kingdom media outlets then framed Sweden. The study adopts the theory of framing together with Entman’s cascading model to research how each actor framed the first two months of the coronavirus pandemic. Swedish governmental press releases and UK news articles are analysed with the help of qualitative content analysis method. Result show that the Swedish government framed their communication in a way to show their measures and provide information and advice to their public. On the other hand, UK media framed Sweden as a country whose strategy was questioned, showing the conflict surrounding their response strategy. The discrepancy in the frames suggests different implication for the public diplomacy between both countries that are further discussed in the research.