Sustainability as a tool of cultural diplomacy: Danish soft power in the case of Copenhagen Fashion Week

Abstract

This thesis examines Copenhagen Fashion Week (CPHFW) as an instrument of Danish cultural diplomacy and soft power projection. Drawing on constructivist theory and Joseph Nye’s soft power framework, grounded within small state theory, the study advances the argument that structured cultural platforms can function as institutionalised sites of identity performance, contributing to the international construction and diffusion of desired state identities. Through a qualitative single case study design, the research analyses CPHFW’s mandatory sustainability requirements alongside a corpus of international media coverage from 2020 to 2026. The findings assess whether CPHFW’s sustainability agenda, embedded as a binding structural condition of participation, achieves the intersubjective recognition in international discourse to generate reputational benefits for Denmark. The study contributes to the undertheorised intersection of cultural diplomacy, creative industry, and soft power, while offering an empirically grounded analysis of how small states mobilise cultural platforms to exercise normative influence beyond their limited material capabilities.