The pandemic of COVID-19 struck the world in early 2020. China, which is regarded as the source of the new disease was also the first one to overcome it. After controlling the outbreak domestically, China started conducting public diplomacy offensive, which we will call ‘coronavirus diplomacy.’ Its main focus is put on assisting other countries that are still struggling with high numbers of infections and many difficulties, such as shortages in medical equipment or medical staff. This article aims to review public diplomacy activities undertaken by China in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020. The goal is to determine what messages the Chinese government has been sending through those activities. The investigation was qualitative and the main research method employed is content analysis. The authors analyzed statements of China’s representatives in search of the messages that were supposed to be communicated.

Norway is perceived as a country with a clear international identity. The aim of the article is to investigate the sports diplomacy of Norway and to examine its influence on the international brand of this country. The author will define the term “sports diplomacy” and attempt to outline the strategy of Norway’s public diplomacy; an analysis of the methods used in Norwegian sports diplomacy will follow. The main hypothesis of this paper is that sports diplomacy only plays a subsidiary role in Norwegian nation branding.

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Abstract:The aim of the paper is to investigate ping-pong diplomacy between the Unites States and China, which was used by both countries as a diplomatic tool, aimed at achieving political rapprochement despite ideological dissonance and conflict over Taiwan. Both governments were seeking a way to establish closer relations but the circumstances prevented them from traditional diplomatic contacts. Sports exchange proved to be a convenient solution. In the paper the Author attempts to verify a hypothesis on a subsequent legacy of the ping-pong diplomacy in American foreign policy. The study allowed to determine reasons for the need to employ sport in order to establish closer relations between two hostile actors of international relations. It is an attempt to answer a question concerning the intentional or coincidental character of the analysed sports exchange. The paper is an empirical case study on one of the prime examples of positive sports diplomacy and was conducted with the use of decision-making.

The aim of this article is to show how sport can matter in international relations. Sport can be a subject or a tool of international relations. It can be used by states or geopolitical blocks to display their alleged superiority or any other desired characteristic. Governments may desire athletic victories, which are meant to imply, for example, the power of the state and its political and economic system. Participation in sport can also be used for political reasons on an international scale; a number of political objectives can be achieved by states by participating (or not) in sports events. Not only is sport affected by a country’s policies, but on certain occasions sports events can influence states.