uscpublicdiplomacy.org
uncaptioned image from entry
We often view political leaders as ambassadors on the world stage. Even when they are not conducting official diplomatic business, there is recognition that their actions and words represent the values, customs and ethos of our country. But to what extent do the images of political leaders spill over into the image of an entire country? In USC Annenberg's International Journal of Communication, CPD Research Fellow Diana Ingenhoff and Susanne Klein, both of Fribourg University in Switzerland, examine specifically how perceptions of leaders' competence, charisma, integrity and gender influence national image.By using an experimental design that considered multiple reputation dimensions, the authors found that the image of a political leader does, in fact, impact that of their home country. Notably, Ingenhoff and Klein conclude that integrity was the most influential factor on national image, where positive perceptions of a lea..