Date of Publication

8-15-2025

Document Type

Bachelor's Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in International Studies Major in European Studies

Subject Categories

International Relations

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

International Studies

Honor/Award

Best Thesis Award for AY 2024-2025 of the Department of International Studies

Thesis Advisor

Alexia Anne M. Suñaz

Defense Panel Chair

Allan Benedict C. Solacito

Abstract/Summary

Nation branding serves as a crucial lifeline for both Germany and the United Kingdom, shaping their global influence and strategic positioning. Germany benefits from its EU ties but faces scrutiny over its historical legacy, turning to education and economic growth as stabilizing forces. Post-Brexit, the UK seeks to redefine itself through sovereignty, quality governance, and distinctive branding in education to sustain influence outside the EU. Both countries have long used flagship scholarship programs—Germany’s DAAD and the UK’s Chevening—as instruments of educational diplomacy to reinforce their nation brands and strengthen bilateral relations, especially with the Philippines.

Moving beyond Joseph Nye’s traditional, sender-centric definition of soft power, this study reimagines soft power as a negotiated, co-creative process. In this framework, scholarship recipients actively shape, reinforce, or contest the intended national image. Drawing on Walter Fisher’s narrative paradigm, the research applies narrative criticism to interviews with diplomats, program administrators, and Filipino alumni, as well as official program materials. Findings reveal that while DAAD emphasizes epistemic partnership and moral rehabilitation, Chevening highlights multicultural leadership and institutional prestige. Filipino scholars, however, reinterpret these narratives through values such as utang na loob (debt of gratitude) and deep sense of para sa kapwa (for others). In doing so, they sometimes challenge aspects of the programs that do not align with their local realities. The study concludes that soft power operates as a co-created, iterative process rather than a one-way transmission. It offers a reimagined definition of soft power and practical recommendations for scholarship design, while inviting future research to test this framework in other geopolitical and educational contexts.

keywords: education diplomacy, scholarships, nation-branding, soft power, rhetorical criticism, Chevening, DAAD

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Keywords

Scholarships--Great Britain; Scholarships--Germany; Soft power (Political science); Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst

Upload Full Text

wf_yes

Embargo Period

9-16-2026

Download

Available for download on Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Share

COinS