With corporate brands more powerful than country brands, there’s a lot of work out there for agencies keen to rethink a nation’s identity. Over the next 40-plus pages *Monocle* looks at the construct of countries.

No one – not even its only ally, Russia – recognises Abkhazia as a legitimate state. But 13 years after declaring independence from former Soviet Georgia, the region’s de facto government is determined to put it on the map.

At any time in history there are countries on the way in or out – breakaway states eager for independence or now clamouring to be reassimilated into their former motherlands. This is the current crop of nations in waiting – coming soon to a checkpoint near you.

A failed Italy and a Grimaldi household in shambles presents the perfect opportunity for a marriage of convenience between Liguria and Monaco in 2014. If it sounds like a storyline from our manga series, it might well be, but it also gave us a starting point to do a bit of nation branding of our own. Welcome to Costazzurra – the hub of the Mediterranean.

Sudan’s government is accused of aiding a genocide in Darfur and so the West refuses to do business with the regime. So how does this failed state cope? Well, for Khartoum the answer is with ease. With the help of Arab cash and expertise, the city plans to become the Dubai of Africa. This is how you build a nation without friends in the West.

The national identity of countries can shift radically and at a speed that leaves their inhabitants gasping: think of the former Soviet Union. Here leading thinkers consider what might, or should, change in the way nations present themselves. First Paula Scher, one of the world’s leading graphic designers and a principal at Pentagram in New York, looks at how to rebrand the US. Then Simon Anholt, a pioneer of nation branding, reveals why brand Africa is a disaster. And, finally, Mabel van Oranje of the Open Society Institute and Mark Leonard of the European Council on Foreign Relations, argue that, united, Europe’s smallest countries can challenge the world order.

On a map in the mind’s eye, Spain would be a kaleidoscope of vibrant colours while Poland would be various shades of grey. Brand pioneer Wally Olins gives an insight into how nation branding works and why every country should have a creative director.

Nicolas Sarkozy's French style; the Nordic Davos; and Ukraine's Britart-loving oligarch.

Peruvian extradition and a China-Taiwan tug of allies.

Building bridges in China and why you should be nice to your mum.

Kenya's watchful rich and Lebanon's army fights back.

An Antipodean Martin Luther King and New Zealand on a go-slow.

Tokyo may be peaceful and calm but its governor is certainly not. Here he explains why his city has bad traffic (the Communists), what he thinks of modern Tokyo (vomit) and why kamikaze pilots were not suicide bombers.

Åland, an archipelago in Scandinavia, is hailed as a model for how to create a harmonious “nation” – without giving it full independence – academics and politicians even studied it as a model for Kosovo. The prosperous islanders speak Swedish but are part of Finland and, until the EU turned up, were very happy with their arrangement.

Bolzano, capital of South Tyrol, is experiencing a business boom quite beyond traditional tourism. Local initiatives have seen hi-tech start-ups soar in what is now the richest province in Italy. Is this Europe’s Boulder *(see issue 5)*?

Brazilian wine; ¥100 stores hit the Gulf, Kaliningrad's revamp; Q&A Carlo Molteni.

Christianity is big business in the US where retailers are using pop culture to shift godly goods: Jesus skateboarder sneakers anybody? *Monocle* visited the key show for owners of religious shops.

‘Forefoot striking’ is the style of most professional runners – so why do the big brands all emphasise the heel? A tiny trainer company in Colorado is proving that the big boys need to stay on their toes when it comes to new sport technology.

Sudanese-born Mo Ibrahim oversaw the launch of the UK’s first mobile phone network in the 1980s before taking his telecom expertise back to his home continent. Celtel, the company he founded, was sold for €2.48bn in 2005. He is now facing a bigger challenge: promoting good governance in Africa.

In our series looking at the companies behind everyday scenes, we visit one of the world’s biggest flower auctions. Blooms were first auctioned at a café in Aalsmeer back in 1911. Today the Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer auctions 20 million cut flowers every day, from a site the size of 200 football pitches. In 2006 turnover was €1.75bn.

Canada’s far north used to be too cold and inhospitable for anyone to survive there except the Inuit people. But global warming is clearing the snows and luring in a generation of ambitious speculators after oil, diamonds and uranium. It also presents the Ottawa government with a strategic nightmare over how to enforce its sovereignty.

The world’s leading banks (you know who they are) are behind an estimated 20 per cent of all art purchases – for themselves. What’s the motivation for amassing a 50,000-piece strong collection? *Monocle* finds out on a tour of Zürich, Milan and Frankfurt.

This month we start a new series looking at the lives and empires of media barons. First is Michael Ringier who, in 1991, became the fifth generation of his Swiss family to head their eponymous empire. Since then Ringier AG has expanded into eastern Europe and the Far East. Last year it launched its first free evening paper in Switzerland.

Rough Trade, London.

Fact & Fiction, New Delhi.

Offbeat literary recommendations; Monocle music for September; rocking' in Iran and T-shirt devotees get their own glossy title.

In 2000 Hector Mijangos founded a clothing range for DJs that led to his branded parties and then the foundation of Noiselab Records. Signing local and international bands, his label has changed Mexico’s music scene.

Whether it is solid German engineering at Hochschule Pforzheim, new technologies at the RCA in London or size limitations at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, what rolls off students’ drawing boards today could be at the Frankfurt Motor Show tomorrow. And with a school dedicated purely to automotive design opening in India, the future of car design is picking up speed.

Muscular Icelandic gyms, Spain's eat in the White House and an explosive Beirut house.

Prada turns brogue and how to stay snug this autumn.

The brains behind Clemens en August decided the best way to kick-start the brand, in the absence of a big budget, was whistle-stop tours across Europe. Now the company – whose name is a nod to its C&A pedigree – is eyeing up the US market.

Menswear sales are still recovering from a dip in 2005, but this season’s Pitti Uomo was attended by 21,000 buyers with significant growth in eastern European and Indian markets. And its fashions were similarly forward looking.

As millions of students around the world head back to university digs, the residents of Casa dell’Accademia have it much better than most. Here’s a lesson in inspired design on a strict budget.

Wooden toys for the boys, skin treats and feel the Sap rising with some Scandinavian fizz.

Each issue, we take an everyday pursuit or situation and give it the *Monocle* overhaul. This month, we stock up on some late-summer essentials to fill the shelves of our perfect pantry.

Tucked away near the village of Tiverton in the backwaters of Rhode Island, John Meikle and his team handcraft small wood and fibreglass daysailers that conjure up visions of more idyllic times. We join them in their halcyon daze.

The Romans, Byzantines and the Ottomans all recognised the importance of Istanbul as a strategic gateway between the West and the East. Oddly occidental and strikingly Asian, the city is surprising its visitors with a new open-mindedness and an attractive neighbourhood at the heart of its revival.

Anna Zegna’s grandfather founded the fashion company that bears her name in Trivero, Piedmont in 1910. Still run by the family, the firm recently opened a cultural centre at the Zegna house. Anna invites us in for her foodie finale.

The Unravelled Kingdom: As this issue opens on the theme of nation building and branding it makes sense to close on the topic and turn our attention to a brand bit closer to Monocle HQ – the UK.

Music festivals have become big business in Japan, whether you want kodo drummers at The Earth Celebration or J-pop at A-Nation. But the one that started the boom is still the biggest and the best: Fuji Rock. We headed to the Japanese countryside to meet the world’s best-behaved music freaks.