sometimes predicated on a process of allowing visitors to direct their gaze towards sites and heritage that neither the state nor domestic population would wish to emphasise14 should not result in underestimation of the evident contribution to showcasing.
6.0 Postage Stamps Though small and ubiquitous, postage stamps are widely recognised and analysed as purveyors of messages beyond those which are contained within the envelopes and packages to which they adhere (i.e. Brunn, 2000; Child, 2005; Deans, 2005; Dobson, 2005; Frewer, 2002; Raento & Brunn, 2005; Raento, 2006). The core function of a stamp is as proof of payment for a postal service. This is a straightforward transaction, which can easily be undertaken without the addition of pictures, designs or moments of decorative interest. Thus, as Frewer (2002:2) observes ‘when [any] such symbols, pictures and/or additional words are present in the design, it is because the issuing authority […] has some motivation other than simply to issue a receipt.’ Child augments the notion that the semiotic potential of stamps is of recognised significance, noting the approximately 600 ‘stamp-emitting ‘entities’ or ‘authorities’’ that exist worldwide and the approximately 250,000 stamps of different designs that they have collectively produced over a 150-year period that has elapsed since the introduction of the penny black. Furthermore, ‘the pace of new designs appears to be increasing’ (Child, 2005:110). Although stamps are perhaps most likely to be viewed regularly by a domestic audience ‘when outsiders observe a county’s stamps, they can learn something about how the state wishes to be seen and remembered (or imagined) by others (Brunn, 2000:317). In this way, stamps might even be considered ‘more efficient than straightforward propaganda’ (Raento & Brunn, 2005:160). On the other hand it is interesting to note that while overt political intervention in arts and arts diplomacy is often viewed as a ‘violation of the ‘arm’s-length’ policy’ which reduces the likelihood of cultural diplomacy ‘produc[ing] positive nation branding’ (Zaugg & Nishimura, 2015:138), the postage stamp arguably presents government with an opportunity to send cultural and other messages and, yet to avoid some of the accusations of unwelcome manipulation of the discourse they represent. As Frewer (2002:6) observes stamps – unlike other items – in the realm of visual communication ‘are unusual in being a government monopoly’. However, in selecting stamps ‘citizens themselves […] send messages about ‘us’, ‘our values and preferences’ and ‘our nation’ to their neighbours and contacts abroad’ (Raento & Brunn, 2005:160), an action which serves to blur the distinction between the cultural diplomacy/cultural relations function of stamps.
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Thus undermining the some of the reciprocal elements of cultural relations.
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