Symbolic Communication and Soft Power Projection of Participating Nations at the 2026 World Cup
(1) Communication Science Study Program, State Islamic University of North Sumatra, Medan, Indonesia
(2) Mahesa Research Center, Medan, Indonesia
(3) Bachelor of Sport and Exercise, Southern Institute of Technology, Invercargill, New Zealand
Abstract
ABSTRACT: The 2026 FIFA World Cup provides a transnational communicative arena where participating nations produce and circulate symbolic representations to project national identity and contest soft power potential. While sports diplomacy scholarship has extensively examined host-nation nation branding and mega-event governance, the comparative symbolic practices enacted by non-host participating delegations remain under-researched. Grounded in Joseph S. Nye's soft power framework and Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional Critical Discourse Analysis model, this study investigates the forms, discursive construction, and political implications of symbolic communication deployed by participating states. Using qualitative discourse analysis across official state communications, team uniform designs, cultural performances, diplomatic protocol events, and global media coverage surrounding participating delegations, the empirical corpus was analyzed along textual, discursive, and social practice dimensions. The findings identify three primary modes of symbolic projection: civic-cultural heritage performance, socio-political advocacy and institutional compliance, and state institutional soft power displays. Across discursive practices, delegations negotiated FIFA's commercial regulations while converting domestic cultural symbols into international brand assets. At the level of social practice, symbolic practices functioned as instruments of public diplomacy aimed at accumulating reputational capital, cultivating bilateral goodwill, and projecting sovereign modernity. The study concludes that the expanded 48-team tournament operates as a decentralized diplomatic order of discourse where participating nations strategically deploy embodied and mediated cultural signifiers to shape global public perceptions beyond athletic outcomes.
ABSTRAK: Piala Dunia FIFA 2026 menyediakan ruang komunikasi transnasional tempat negara-negara peserta memproduksi dan menyebarluaskan representasi simbolik untuk memproyeksikan identitas nasional dan mengontestasikan potensi soft power di panggung global. Menggunakan teori soft power Joseph S. Nye dan Analisis Wacana Kritis model tiga dimensi Norman Fairclough, penelitian ini mengkaji bentuk, konstruksi diskursif, dan implikasi diplomasi publik dari komunikasi simbolik yang dipraktikkan delegasi negara peserta. Analisis kualitatif terhadap teks siaran pers resmi, estetika seragam tim nasional, aktivisme sosial, serta upacara diplomasi kebudayaan mengungkapkan tiga modus utama: performa warisan budaya-kewargaan, advokasi nilai sosial dan kepatuhan institusional, serta proyeksi martabat kenegaraan. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa turnamen mega-olahraga berskala 48 negara berfungsi sebagai tatanan wacana terdesentralisasi di mana negara-negara peserta secara aktif mengonversi simbol kultural dan performa olahraga menjadi modal reputasi internasional serta pengaruh diplomatik non-koersif.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.34007/jccs.v1i2.1141
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