ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the proliferation of data and the digital empowerment of stakeholders is changing the way both investors and economic development organisations approach foreign direct investment (FDI). One country which effectively uses public diplomacy to support its international investment agenda and other political goals is South Africa. South Africa's recent concerted efforts in traditional and public diplomacy are paying dividends when it comes to the country's investment prospects. The World Cup was a prime example of an event and brand catalyst that doesn't just put its host country in the spotlight it puts it under the microscope, too. Where politics and traditional diplomacy find their limitations when it comes to driving trade and investment, public diplomacy is quite a different matter. In other words, while politics, diplomacy and international relations should not be the driver of FDI, an absence of political goodwill between given states can make FDI projects between them harder to bring to fruition.
