What role does "branding" play at the nexus of distribution and production, and to what extent do state actors co-opt the global resonance of regional cultural products for specific economic or security policy objectives?

The first project phase showed that production under conditions of digital networks, platforms, and portals often occurs across multiple locations, involving transcreation processes—meaning-generating translation practices—that challenge essentialist concepts of regional culture. Simultaneously, branding processes—particularly through region-specific stylistic characteristics—remain central to distribution practices. Genres like Afrobeats or K-Pop, for instance, become unmistakably linked with their regions or artists' countries of origin.

How do such branding processes unfold, and what potential do they hold for state political actions? How are they utilized and supported by state actors? At what points and times do state actors (alongside non-state actors) take on specific roles within distribution chains? Moreover, what branding effects sometimes occur independently or even contrary to state priorities?