Gaza conflict sends ripples through MENA soft power landscape

The findings of the report published annually by Brand Finance were discussed by soft-power experts, researchers and government delegates at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London on Thursday. (AFP/File)
The findings of the report published annually by Brand Finance were discussed by soft-power experts, researchers and government delegates at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London on Thursday. (AFP/File)
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Updated 03 March 2024
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Gaza conflict sends ripples through MENA soft power landscape

Gaza conflict sends ripples through MENA soft power landscape
  • Saudi Arabia rose to 18th place in this year’s Brand Finance ranking, while Israel’s perception declined, possibly due to the ongoing conflict
  • This year’s survey encompassed all UN member states, assessing nations’ presence, reputation, and global impact

LONDON: The latest findings from Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index, one of the world’s leading brand evaluation consultancies, unveiled key shifts in the global soft power landscape, reflecting the intricate dynamics of the regional context.

While Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar have solidified their positions, attention has turned to Israel’s ranking decline and the repercussions of the Gaza conflict.

Israel experienced a noticeable decline in its soft power standing, a trend exacerbated by the recent conflict in Gaza.

“As the Anholt Nation Brands Index has shown since 2005, public opinion does not tolerate conflict,” Simon Anholt, policy advisor, author and one of the world’s leading authorities on national image, told Arab News.

“Conflict harms the images of all parties involved, whether perceived as aggressor or victim, and the effect lingers. Current events in Gaza will likely harm the images of both Israel and Palestine for years to come (even though Palestine does not feature in the index), reducing their ability to attract trade, talent, tourists and investment.”

However, Brand Finance CEO David Haigh highlighted that the full impact of the war on Israel’s performance in this year’s index remains unclear.

“Overall, Israel has dropped fairly obviously, but (since the completion of the survey), things have become a lot worse not only in what Israel is doing, but also the reaction globally,” Haigh told Arab News, suggesting that the true impact may be seen in next year’s report.

He emphasized a shift in global sentiment against Israel, both in the short and long term, requiring “substantial” and “real” changes for image improvement.

“If you don’t do that, whatever you’re doing is just propaganda,” he added.

The survey, which offers “a comprehensive evaluation of nations’ presence, reputation, and global impact” deriving from a range of metrics, was conducted between mid-September and early November, showing a split in results before and after the war.

These metrics encompass familiarity, influence, reputation, and perception. Perception is based on eight pillars: business and trade, governance, international relations, culture and heritage, media and communication, education and science, people and values, and sustainable future. 

Soft power, a concept coined by political scientist Joseph Nye in the 1990s, denotes a nation’s ability to achieve desired outcomes through persuasion rather than coercion or financial incentives. It emphasizes appealing to countries instead of coercing them, in contrast to the traditional reliance on military and economic power.

According to the latest edition of the report, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have surged ahead in the rankings of the most influential soft power nations, outpacing other countries worldwide.

“Nations such as the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have not only ascended in the ranks of global perception but are weaving the fabric of their generous hospitality, innovative achievements, and peace-building initiatives into the tapestry of international diplomacy,” Haigh said, noting how this continued investment could signal the “dawn of a new era, where dialogue and collaboration are the cornerstones of the global order.”

Benefiting from robust oil demand and substantial investments in sports and tourism, the Kingdom achieved a score of 56 out of 100 index points, marking a 4.7-point increase from the previous year and surpassing Denmark.

Similarly, the UAE and Qatar have seen their scores rise due to their resilient economies and the successful hosting of high-profile events like Expo 2020 and COP28 in Dubai and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The UAE also received a 10/10 score for “Strong and stable economy,” ranking first in that category, and scored highly for “Future growth potential” and “Generosity.”

Haigh said: “Saudi Arabia is very similar. Both have been investing heavily.” He emphasized how despite economic and political challenges, these factors have emerged as key drivers of both “Reputation” and “Influence.”

However, he pointed out that Gulf countries still have room for improvement in the aspect of “Familiarity,” an area where the entire region has historically lagged behind, and “Friendly people,” an aspect that the Brand Finance CEO attributes to high costs associated with visiting these countries and, thus, not being able to interact directly with their cultures.

“Although increasing numbers of people are going there on holidays, the exposure to the actual Emiratis (and Gulf populations at large) is quite low,” Haigh said, arguing that regular interactions are essential for people around the globe to understand “whether you’re friendly or not.”

The findings of the report published annually by Brand Finance were discussed by soft-power experts, researchers and government delegates at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London on Thursday.

This year’s survey involved 170,000 respondents worldwide and an expanded ranking covering all 193 UN member states.

On a global scale, the US and the UK lead as the most influential soft power nations, with China ranking third, surpassing Japan and Germany, which hold the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

Speaking to Arab News, Courtney Fingar, FDI consultant, journalist, and commentator on international investment trends, also addressed the potential economic implications of the Gaza conflict spreading beyond current borders.

“The war spilling (over) and escalating beyond the current borders is not good news for anyone in the region, but (also) not for the world.”

Recognizing the improved resilience of Gulf markets due to diversification efforts, Fingar cautioned against volatility risks, highlighting investors’ prioritization of security, a trend corroborated by the report.

She observed that the challenge for Gulf economies lies in “translating that attention and that energy into tangible investments,” Fingar said.

Saudi Arabia, alongside other nations, has prioritized economic diversification as a cornerstone of its Vision 2030. Central to this vision is the Kingdom’s effort to attract investment across various sectors, notably sports and tourism.

Florian Kaefer, founder and editor of The Place Brand Observer, a platform focusing on country brand reputation, emphasized Saudi Arabia’s significant strides in rebranding itself as a sustainable tourist destination.

Citing projects like Red Sea Global and AlUla, Kaefer highlighted the Kingdom’s shift toward a narrative imbued with purpose.

“Tourism, if it’s done well, like in terms of regenerative development — an approach that focuses on supporting local communities and creating positive relationships that will benefit society and the environment — has the potential to emphasize the power of a country,” he remarked.

Kaefer pointed out the transformative impact of high-profile events like the World Expo, to be hosted by Riyadh in 2030, in reshaping perceptions and benefiting countries striving to establish themselves as hubs of sustainability and regeneration.

“The image of Dubai has changed over the last 10 years quite a bit. I think Saudi Arabia is going to follow that path, which is smart regenerative development, sustainability,” Kaefer noted, underscoring the importance for the Kingdom to “stay true” to its promises of regeneration and sustainability, as this will enhance its reception and popularity both globally and domestically.

Apart from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Israel, this year’s Global Soft Power Index also involved 14 other Middle East and North African nations.

Kuwait, Egypt, and Oman secured ranks 37, 39, and 49, respectively, followed closely by Morocco at 50, Bahrain at 51, and Iran at 62. Jordan, Algeria, Tunisia, and Lebanon followed suit, securing ranks 63, 73, 77, and 91, respectively.

Iraq made a notable return to the top 100, securing the 99th position, while new entries like Syria (129th), Libya (139th), and Yemen (149th) also made their debut in the index.


Journalists berate Blinken over Gaza policy at his final press conference

Security personnel forcibly pick up Sam Husseini and carry him out of the room as he heckles Secretary Blinken.(@ryangrim)
Security personnel forcibly pick up Sam Husseini and carry him out of the room as he heckles Secretary Blinken.(@ryangrim)
Updated 16 January 2025
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Journalists berate Blinken over Gaza policy at his final press conference

Security personnel forcibly pick up Sam Husseini and carry him out of the room as he heckles Secretary Blinken.(@ryangrim)
  • “Criminal! You belong in The Hague,” shouted Sam Husseini, an independent journalist and longtime critic of Washington’s approach to the world

WASHINGTON: Several journalists who are outspoken critics of US support for Israel loudly lambasted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the war in Gaza on Thursday, repeatedly interrupting his final press conference as he sought to defend his handling of the 15-month-old conflict.
Israel’s assault on Gaza is likely to define the foreign policy legacy of the outgoing Biden administration, despite a deal reached with Palestinian militant group Hamas on Wednesday on a ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages.

“Criminal! Why aren’t you in The Hague,” shouted Sam Husseini, an independent journalist and longtime critic of Washington’s approach to the world. The Hague is where the International Criminal Court is located.
The unusually confrontational scene in the State Department briefing room only ended when security personnel forcibly picked up Husseini and carried him out of the room as he continued to heckle Blinken.
Blinken has faced criticism for providing Israel with weapons and diplomatic support since the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while also drawing accusations of genocide in a World Court case brought by South Africa and of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the allegations. The assault has displaced nearly Gaza’s entire 2.3 million population and drawn the concern of the world’s main hunger monitor.
“Why did you keep the bombs flowing when we had a deal in May?” Max Blumenthal, editor of the Grayzone, an outlet that strongly criticizes many aspects of US foreign policy, called out to Blinken, before he was escorted out.
Blinken, who leaves office on Monday when the administration of President-elect Donald Trump takes over, calmly asked for quiet while he delivered his remarks, and later took questions from reporters.
He has been frequently heckled at appearances in Washington since the Gaza conflict began. Demonstrators camped outside his Virginia home for months and repeatedly threw red paint — resembling blood — on cars carrying Blinken and his family.
Asked during the press conference if he would change anything about his dealings with Israel, Blinken said the Israeli government had carried out policies that “were basically supported by an overwhelming majority of Israelis after the trauma of October 7” and said that had to be factored in to the US response.
The Biden administration had been unable to reach final determinations on individual incidents that could constitute violations of international law because Hamas embedded itself within the civilian population, he said.
“I’d also point out that in Israel itself, there are hundreds of cases that are being investigated,” Blinken said. “They have a process, they have procedures, they have rule of law... That’s the hallmark of any democracy.”


Contest organizers fear for safety of Miss France over Charlie Hebdo controversy

Contest organizers fear for safety of Miss France over Charlie Hebdo controversy
Updated 16 January 2025
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Contest organizers fear for safety of Miss France over Charlie Hebdo controversy

Contest organizers fear for safety of Miss France over Charlie Hebdo controversy

DUBAI: Miss France 2025, Angelique Angarni-Filopon, has come under fire for her apparent lack of solidarity with the French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

On Jan. 7, 2015, two gunmen claiming allegiance to Al-Qaeda stormed the offices of the satirical weekly, killing 12 people.

The attack, which was in retaliation to the magazine’s caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, sparked worldwide debate about the limits of free speech. It resulted in the “Je Suis Charlie” (“I Am Charlie”) slogan being used by supporters of the magazine around the world as a call for the right to freedom of expression.

In a recent radio interview, Angarni-Filopon was asked if she was “Charlie” but she declined to comment.

Her lack of a response sparked a furor online. Charlie Hebdo published a cartoon of three Islamic leaders holding up a sign that read “Je Suis Miss France” (“I Am Miss France”) and the caption “Miss France n’est pas Charlie” (“Miss France is not Charlie”).

Frederic Gilbert, chairman of Societe Miss France, said the controversy was of “unprecedented violence” and that he was “worried for the safety of Miss France.”

Winners were required to withhold any political or religious opinions during the year they held the title and Angarni-Filopon was merely following the pageant’s rules, he said.

Since winning the competition the beauty queen has faced online hate and harassment with social media users, particularly on TikTok, mocking her age and appearance.

In an interview with Marie Claire, Angarni-Filopon said: “Cyberbullying is punishable by law … so be careful what you put on the internet.

“Remember, we don’t do to people what we wouldn’t like done to us.”


Media watchdog welcomes Gaza ceasefire, calls for media access and war crimes investigations

Media watchdog welcomes Gaza ceasefire, calls for media access and war crimes investigations
Updated 16 January 2025
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Media watchdog welcomes Gaza ceasefire, calls for media access and war crimes investigations

Media watchdog welcomes Gaza ceasefire, calls for media access and war crimes investigations
  • International journalists have been barred from entering the Strip, forcing global news outlets to rely on local reporters working under extreme duress and facing targeted attacks
  • Committee to Protect Journalists said ‘prolonged war has decimated a generation of Palestinian reporters and newsrooms’

LONDON: The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday night welcomed the ceasefire agreement reached in Gaza and called on authorities to grant full access to journalists and independent human rights experts to investigate crimes against the media during the 15-month conflict.

“Journalists have been paying the highest price — with their lives — to provide the world some insight into the horrors that have been taking place in Gaza during this prolonged war, which has decimated a generation of Palestinian reporters and newsrooms,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg in New York.

“We call on Egyptian, Palestinian and Israeli authorities to immediately allow foreign journalists into Gaza, and on the international community to independently investigate the deliberate targeting of journalists that has been widely documented since October 2023.”

The ceasefire was announced on Wednesday by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, who mediated the deal. The agreement includes a halt to hostilities and the release of hostages held in Gaza.

Sheikh Al-Thani expressed hope that the deal would pave the way for a permanent resolution to the conflict, which has killed nearly 47,000 people — most of them Palestinians — and displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday warned of a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas, delaying Israel’s approval of the agreement.

Despite this, all parties remain cautiously optimistic that the ceasefire will take effect as planned on Sunday.

Over the course of the war, Israel has faced heavy criticism, including from its closest ally, the US, over the devastating civilian toll in Gaza and restrictions on aid deliveries of water, medicine and other essentials.

Israel also imposed a near-total ban on international journalists entering Gaza, forcing global news outlets to rely on local reporters working under extreme duress and facing targeted attacks.

Tel Aviv has frequently dismissed these reports as biased, accusing journalists of being affiliated with militant groups, often without providing sufficient evidence.

Since October 2023, CPJ has documented at least 165 journalists and media workers killed, 49 injured, two missing, and 75 arrested, alongside numerous other press freedom violations in Gaza and neighboring regions.

The watchdog has classified the deliberate targeting of at least 11 journalists and two media workers by Israeli forces as murder, which constitutes a war crime under international law.

CPJ is also investigating an additional 20 cases where evidence suggests deliberate targeting of journalists, their homes, and media outlets in Gaza.


Pakistan orders inquiry after PIA Paris flight advert revives 9/11 fears

Pakistan orders inquiry after PIA Paris flight advert revives 9/11 fears
Updated 16 January 2025
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Pakistan orders inquiry after PIA Paris flight advert revives 9/11 fears

Pakistan orders inquiry after PIA Paris flight advert revives 9/11 fears
  • On Jan. 10, PIA shared a promotional image featuring a plane that appeared to fly toward Eiffel Tower along with a tagline: ‘Paris, we’re coming today’
  • The design drew comparisons to a 1979 ad by PIA showing its Boeing 747 casting a shadow over Twin Towers in New York, reviving horrors of 9/11 attacks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has ordered an inquiry into a celebratory advertisement by the state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) that sparked a controversy last week, with many saying the advert revived fears of 9/11 attacks against the United States.
The Pakistani state carrier resumed its Europe operations with a flight to Paris on Jan. 10, marking the end of a four-year ban imposed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) over flight safety concerns. EASA, United Kingdom and United States authorities suspended permission for PIA to operate in the region in 2020 after Pakistan began investigating the validity of pilots’ licenses, following a deadly plane crash that killed 97 people.
On Jan. 10, PIA shared a promotional image on X featuring a plane that appeared to fly toward the Eiffel Tower along with a tagline, “Paris, we’re coming today.” The design drew instant comparisons online to a 1979 ad by PIA showing its Boeing 747 casting a shadow over the Twin Towers in New York. Many netizens said the chilling image revived horrors of the 9/11 attacks against the US by Al-Qaeda.

In a session of Pakistan’s upper house of parliament on Tuesday, Senator Sherry Rehman drew the House’s attention to the controversial advertisement and said it “cost the national airline its reputation,” with several Western analysts and security experts criticizing the advertisement.
“The cabinet, and the prime minister too, have ordered an inquiry into who conceived this ad,” Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said in televised comments, in response to Rehman’s statement. “This was stupidity, to show the Eiffel Tower.”
Dar even suggested alternative ways to portray the resumption of PIA flights to Paris.
“They could have showed the aircraft above it [Eiffel Tower], and said that ‘We are coming’,” he said. “You could have flipped the front of the plane.”


The loss-making Pakistani airline now operates two weekly flights to Paris, on Fridays and Sundays, however, it remains barred from flying to the UK and the US.
PIA flies to multiple cities inside Pakistan, including the mountainous north, as well as to the Gulf and Southeast Asia. The airline, which employs 7,000 people, has long been accused of being bloated and poorly run — hobbled by unpaid bills, a poor safety record and regulatory issues.
Pakistan’s government has said it is committed to privatizing the debt-ridden airline and has been scrambling to find a buyer. Late last year, a deal fell through after a potential buyer reportedly offered a fraction of the asking price.
Officials hope the opening of European routes, which they expect will be followed by a similar announcement by the UK later this year, will boost PIA’s selling potential.


PHD MENA appoints Christian Fedorczuk as new CEO

PHD MENA appoints Christian Fedorczuk as new CEO
Updated 15 January 2025
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PHD MENA appoints Christian Fedorczuk as new CEO

PHD MENA appoints Christian Fedorczuk as new CEO
  • Appointment marks Fedorczuk’s return to Omnicom Media Group after nearly 15 years

DUBAI: Media network Omnicom Media Group Middle East & North Africa has named Christian Fedorczuk CEO of its media agency PHD.

Fedorczuk has over two decades of global experience in the media and creative industries across agency networks such as IPG, dentsu and Omnicom Media Group in London, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Dubai. 

The appointment marks his return to Omnicom Media Group and the MENA region having served as the network’s group director for strategy and development from 2007 to 2010.

Fedorczuk’s latest stint was as co-founder of creative studio Acumen in Tokyo, which services clients such as adidas, Red Bull, LVMH, Nike, Netflix and Apple.

Elda Choucair, CEO of Omnicom Media Group, said: “Christian is such a multi-faceted individual, structured and innovative in equal measures, well-travelled and a people person, he will fit perfectly at PHD, where effectiveness and creativity live in perfect harmony.

“I have been looking for the opportunity to bring him back and I am delighted to have now found it.”