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Hopkins, A. E. (2015). "Government Public Relations: Public Diplomacy or Propaganda?" Inquiries

Journal/Student Pulse, 7(03). Retrieved from http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=1012

Government Public Relations: Public Diplomacy or

Propaganda?
By Alexander E. Hopkins
2015, Vol. 7 No. 03

When politicians attempt to communicate their views in the public forum, the practice can be seen as a
perquisite of the democratic process. This can prove to be an ideal environment for public relations, as the
industry can identify and clarify arguments made among parties competing for information (White, L'Etang,
& Moss, 2009, pp. 397-398). However, the practice can also prove troublesome for public servants. Public
servants, who work in the government's public relations departments, could be labeled as enablers of partisan
political communication (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p. 59).
This dilemma proves to be more complicated to identify in our modern era. In addition to the
telecommunications revolution, the worldwide spread of democracy, market economies, and digital
communications has led to a more globalized world, thus allowing multiple, competing media channels to
take root (Kovacs, 2006, p. 430; Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, p. 435). This digital environment, which
suggests terms such as collective good and public interest, has ambiguous meanings, especially when
determining whether a government or an outside organization is conveying the message (Gregory, 2005, pp.
6-7; Kovacs, 2006, p. 431).
Public relations is one of many strategies that government can utilize to increase policy dialogue with
citizens... But an effort must be made to maintain and promote the ethical practice of public relations to
prevent public relations from becoming propaganda.
This essay first defines public relations, public diplomacy and government public relations. Public relations is
a very broad term because it does not suggest whether there is a two-way communicative process, nor does it
imply problem solving for a specific purpose. However, the term public diplomacy implies that there is not
only at least a two-way communicative process between organizations and governments, but also a problem
solving process extending beyond a country's borders. However, public diplomacy may not even involve
social transparency, as it can involve closed-door meetings or even military force.
The second section of this essay explains how government public relations and public diplomacy are similar.
Academics have confused the two terms because, not only does each term contain some functional
similarities, but their academic bases have experienced tremendous growth in unison. At the end of this
section, there is a brief focus on how each term is different, specifically focusing on the type of client each
practice maintains primary allegiance to.
The third section addresses propaganda. Particular attention is paid to relationships among target audiences
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and whether they are one-way or multi-way communicative processes. In the latter half of this section, I
differentiate between government public relations and propaganda. Finally, the fourth section is a value
assessment of government public relations, focusing on the detriments of government public relations, as well
as how the practice can be beneficial for society.

Public Relations, Public Diplomacy, and Government Public Relations in Summary

Public Relations
Professor of public relations and applied communications Jacquie L'Etang (2009) defines public relations as
"the occupation held responsible for the 'management' or improvement of organizational relationships and
reputation" (p. 609). Public relations as a standalone term evokes media relations practices that are common
in the business world (L'Etang, 2009, p. 608; Signitzer & Wamswer, pp. 435-436). In an increasinglyglobalized world, public relations has proven to be a valuable practice to understand, respect and engage in
business relationships with other countries. Just a few of the issues that public relations can address include
stakeholder relations, risk communication and corporate social responsibility. When forming relationships
with clients both domestically and internationally, power disparities can exist at the political, economic,
cultural and religious levels. For instance, prior to social engagement with a foreign country, public relations
practitioners can gain knowledge about a country's culture just by looking at its views on the role of media
freedom. When PR practitioners influence these levels, they can wield the power to influence the target public
themselves (L'Etang, 2009, p. 609).
Although public relations literature often has a corporate bias that does not discuss political ramifications in
detail, one aspect that overlaps among them are the two types of public that they can attract. Active publics,
as their name suggests are highly-participatory and often engage in informed dialogue with their leaders
(Richards, 2004, pp. 169-170). Of course, for an active public to be present, media freedom should not only
be allowed, but encouraged. Conversely, passive publics are spectators that are vulnerable to charisma and
manipulation. As such, emotion takes precedence over logic in arguments (Richards, 2004, pp. 171-174).
Further, there are two types of public relations types: power-based and value-based. While neither is mutually
exclusive, each has distinct characteristics of their own. Power-based PR emphasizes showing the brute force
of one party in the wake of an attack (Richards, 2004, p. 173). This view of PR stands in stark contrast to how
most people would associate PR with an ethical profession. An example of power-based PR would include
the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. From the point of view of Osama bin Laden and his terrorist
network, the attacks proved to strike paralyzing fear in the minds of the American consciousness. These
attacks were reactionary, as opposed to discriminatory in nature, because al-Qaeda used violence to achieve
their goals instead of going through more ethical channels, such as diplomacy (Richards, 2004, p. 173).
Value-based PR is different than power-based PR because it's main goal is about "demonstrating the client's
adherence or association with certain values or standards" (Richards, 2004, p. 173). Unlike power-based
PR, value based PR's ethics is what most people would associate with mainstream PR. Using the September
11, 2001 terrorist attacks as an example, it can be argued that the U.S. practiced value-based PR after the
attacks. Rather than launching an unwarranted, illegal counterattack against al-Qaeda, the U.S. media and PR
practitioners used the weeks following the attacks as a way to show America's power, albeit in a way
antithetical to power-based PR (Richards, 2004, p. 173). The world saw America's strength amid tragedy,
using images such as of firefighters clearing the rubble, the military fighting against al-Qaeda and the
completion of One World Trade Center.
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Richards (2004) has argued that the developments of digital technologies has fused together entertainment
and marketing in the mass media, thereby stupefying targeted audiences with awe at technological
sophistication and commercial power (p. 174). While this may be the case with passive publics, active
publics can actually benefit from the technology and commercialization of digital media. Compared to
previous decades, television and radio were less participatory for active and passive publics alike. Now,
digital media has actually allowed nearly every public with free-flowing media to become more participatory
than ever, thanks to forums, blogs, message boards, and the like. With target audience feedback, public
relations practitioners actually have more data to work with to make their message the most effective it can
be.
Public Diplomacy
Public diplomacy concerns the negotiation of issues between governments (Art, 2009, p. 4; Signitzer &
Wamser, 2005, pp. 437-438). As a standalone term, public diplomacy has non-controversial connotations
thanks to discourse theory, as it evokes a sense of understanding between two or more competing parties
(Gregory, 2005, pp. 7-10). Upon the passage of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, Senator J. William Fulbright
succinctly defined public diplomacy's non-controversial nature when he remarked:
I utterly reject any suggestion that our educational and cultural exchange programs are weapons or
instruments with which to do combat . . . there is no room and there must not be any room, for an
interpretation of these programs as propaganda, even recognizing that the term covers some very worthwhile
and respectable activities (Rugh, 2006, p. 50).
However, as a counter-argument, history may play a role in antagonizing conflicts (Gregory, 2005, pp. 1112). For instance, the use of public diplomacy has seen mixed results in the Israel-Palestine conflict because
of the longstanding disagreement on which country lays claims to which parts of the Middle East. Since
public diplomacy is carried out for interest and value reasons, disagreements may still linger among parties
that have not resolved their conflicts.
Much like public relations, public diplomacy entails a range of promotional and persuasive strategies
working in collaboration with media relations (L'Etang, 2009, p. 610). Robert Art (2009) believed that people
were motivated to come to the bargaining table because, if an agreement was not reached, it would play into
their fears of failure (p. 4). The ultimate goal for public diplomacy is to foster dialogue towards solving a
variety of governmental goals (Gregory, 2005, pp. 14-15). In addition to formal meeting talks between
government officials, several different types of examples exist, including press interviews and staff exchange
programs (Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, p. 438).
Among academics, public diplomacy has been relabeled and redefined several times during the past few
decades (Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, p. 438). Tuch (1990) believed that public diplomacy is a governments
process of communicating with foreign publics in an attempt to bring about understanding for its nations
ideas and ideals, its institutions and cultures, as well as its national goals and current policies" (p. 3). This
definition suggests that there are a broad array of strategies for a home country to increase positive dialogue.
In contrast, Malone's (1988) ideal of public diplomacy is that of influencing the behavior of a foreign
government by influencing the attitudes of its citizens (p. 3). Malone's definition is more specific than Tuch's
because it implies that public diplomacy works by influencing behavior of citizens, as opposed to that
country's elected officials. George (2009) takes this a step further and includes the term coercive diplomacy to
"back one's demand on an adversary with a threat of punishment for noncompliance that he will consider
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credible and potent enough to persuade him to comply with the demand" (pp. 72-74). By introducing a
credible threat, George believes that public diplomacy can force other countries to comply with demands.
To make matters even more complicated, some academics have classified public diplomacy under the muchbroader term of strategic communication. This is not entirely surprising, as they serve very similar purposes.
Gregory (2005) sums up the similarities between the two terms as: "used in response to threats and
opportunities that achieve analytical and strategic relevance as they relate to particular interests and values"
(p. 39). However, where the two terms differ are their theoretical and applied histories. While public
diplomacy can describe the activities of a few civilian agencies (e.g. the Voice of America, USIA), strategic
communication has a rich academic literature derived from social science scholarship. This scholarship,
includes for instance, the analysis of political candidate campaigns and activist non-state organizations
(Gregory, 2005, p. 39).
Many different types of organizations conduct public diplomacy, including nations (stateless and otherwise),
global organizations (corporations such as Adidas, as well as non-governmental organizations like the
Catholic Church) and international political organizations (such as Greenpeace) (L'Etang, 2009, p. 610).
Governments, for example, will conduct public diplomacy within their own borders using nonpolitical
activities, such as a sport (L'Etang, 2009, p. 612). Global corporations use public diplomacy to compete for
the loyalty of customers, shareholders and publics. NGOs use public diplomacy to gain cultural expertise,
including changing identities, alliances and the heightened role of religion (L'Etang, 2009, p. 612).
The formal definition of public diplomacy was influenced heavily by Habermas' theory of communicative
action, which is defined as normatively-based, non-manipulative communication (Gregory, 2005, p. 13).
Edward Said (1978) argued that aesthetic and scholarly texts already had a "distribution of geopolitical
awareness" (p. 12). Michel Foucault's research on citizen power differences likewise proved influential.
Foucault (2001) as he argued the need for public diplomacy when he laid out the two extremes of power
differences among people and their government:
A relationship of violence acts upon a body or upon things; it forces, it bends, it breaks, it destroys, or it
closes off all possibilities. Its opposite pole can only be passivity, and if it comes up against any resistance it
has no other option but to try to break it down. A power relationship, on the other hand, can only be
articulated on the basis of two elements that are indispensible if it is really to be a power relationship: that
'the other' (the one over whom power is exercised) is recognized and maintained to the very end as a subject
who acts; and that, faced with a relationship of power, a whole field of responses, reactions, results, and
possible inventions may open up (p. 340)
Public diplomacy takes into account the raw essence of power and combines it with a passive sensibility to
listen to opposing views and come to a consensus. Not only does public diplomacy help to consider the views
of others, it also justifies to the people why a particular course of political action aligns with the home
country's long-term strategic goals (Signitzer & Wamswer, 2005, p. 438).
While public diplomacy may appears straightforward, states and nations are not always attuned to the
questions that public diplomacy poses. These questions include: What is the concept of truth? What does it
mean to listen? Most importantly, however, what does it mean to remain open to opposing ideas while
simultaneously protecting national security? (Gregory, 2005, p. 3). One of the most dramatic and recent U.S.
public diplomacy failures occurred right after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Political leaders paid
scant attention to public diplomacy in the wake of the attacks. The House of Representatives passed the
Freedom Promotion Act of 2002, which called for:
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The Department of State, in coordination with the United States International Broadcasting Agency, shall
develop a comprehensive strategy for the use of public diplomacy resources and assume a prominent role in
coordinating the efforts of all Federal agencies involved in public diplomacy (United States 107th Congress.
(2002).
No counterpart measures were passed in the senate. That same year, the Strategic Communication Policy
Coordinating Committee formed, with the goal of the committee as the "development of strategic
communications capabilities throughout the government (United States Department of Defense, 2007).
Although the White House Office of Global Communications mandated an executive order in 2003 to
"facilitate the development of a strategy," a strategy never materialized and the office was closed in 2005
(Gregory, 2005, pp. 3-4).
To increase the effectiveness of public diplomacy, institutional shields, known as firewalls, are employed to
protect "discourse principles and imported norms in the activities of its competent elements" (Gregory, 2005,
p. 15). Firewalls are often justified on three grounds: (1) through imported journalistic, educational and
cultural norms; (2) the need to separate public diplomacy from covert and coercive instruments of statecraft
and (3) they apply to America's long and unsuccessful to prohibit by law the sharing of public diplomacy
materials with the United States (Gregory, 2005, p. 15). This raises more questions than it answers, including:
are military press briefings classified under public affairs, public diplomacy, or a military information
operation? Could public diplomacy and strategic communication relate to non-state actors or could it also
relate to governments? Finally, as opposed to public diplomacy being a subset of strategic communication,
could the opposite be true? (Gregory, 2005, p. 6).
Despite America's wealth and power, the U.S. does not have a monopoly over public diplomacy because
every country practices it. With charismatic leaders (or accidental personalities) dominating the limelight in
public diplomacy proceedings, it may appear that public diplomacy can only be accomplished by a few
(Gregory, 2005, pp. 23-24). Although these accidental personalities have the influence to pass on cultural
norms to future generations, public diplomacy often cannot be accomplished by a single person. Rather, a
collective of different cultural informants are needed to make public diplomacy work. Although globalization
is an ideal to spread competing values amongst other state and non-state actors, America's views of right and
wrong may be completely different in another country (Gregory, 2005, pp. 21-22).
Government Public Relations
Government public relations could be considered the idealized version of public diplomacy, at least in the
domestic context, because the government is identifying and clarifying arguments with constituents so they
can make their own judgments. Ideally, government public relations is used with honesty and sincerity
because, as an "ideology factory," several competing ideas must be addressed by the government and
constituents alike (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p. 60). Thus, government public relations has to be treated with the
utmost care, as it can be used and misused. Government public relations is even more distinctive than public
relations or public diplomacy because it specifically identifies the entity that is performing public relations. In
particular, government public relations is more specific than public diplomacy for two reasons: (1) it is
concentrated in a specific, targeted area where the government has jurisdiction and (2) it implies that the
government may not be engaging in a two-way communicative, problem solving process with another area or
country. In this sense, government public relations suggests that the government is focused on solving a
problem.

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Government public relations likewise differs from public diplomacy because, at least in western democracies,
government public relations is viewed as a socially-responsible practice (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, pp. 59-60).
Of course, it is important to examine how a particular government views certain political variables, such as
the roles of civil servants or democracy (if any) (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p. 60). Doing so will give hints to
how a country's government views government public relations. For example, if a particular country's
government is more authoritarian in nature, government public relations may or may not exist. If it does exist,
government public relations may "indoctrinate" constituents towards taking the government's side on a policy
issue. As such, the citizenry may develop a distrust of all government public relations (or communication in
general), even in other countries (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p. 60). If government public relations does not exist
in a given area, it may be absent for financial reasons or because a public relations effort has not been
assigned to that particular area by the government.
Recall how public diplomacy stresses cultural relativity, meaning that each country should not impose their
standards of right and wrong on another country. In a sense, before any judgments are made by any country,
each country tries to understand the motivation behind particular courses of action. Since government public
relations occurs in a domestic context, it can be viewed as a socially-responsible practice because it embraces
the cultural norms of a given country. If anything, government public relations is supposed to promote
cultural values (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p. 60). An example of this is when a country hosts the Olympics or
other high-profile event for the world to see.
Government public relations is dependent upon citizen dialogue in order to survive (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p.
60). This makes sense, since the government cannot take a stand on a particular issue if there is no awareness
or interest among its citizenry. This subsequently creates an ideal environment for the government to start the
communicative process on an issue affecting the public. Some believe that, in addition to informing the
public, government public relations should also influence public opinion (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p. 59). For
example, while a particular government could inform the public on the dangers of smoking tobacco, this
government could go a step further and advocate smoking cessation programs to save on healthcare costs.

Comparing the Different Forms of Communication

Similarities Between Public Relations and Public Diplomacy
Government public relations and public diplomacy can be classified under the branch of political
communication (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p. 61). Political communication can be defined as persuasive
communication that seeks to implicitly or explicitly advance political goals. Government public relations falls
under political communication because it advances the government's goals. Whether the government's
political goal is to inform or persuade, the government will not shy away from communicating with the
people. What is more difficult to discern, however, is what implicit political goals (if any) the government is
attempting to advance. Public diplomacy can be classified as political communication because it is an
ongoing dialogue among political representatives to decide on an amicable solution.
Government public relations and public diplomacy each have a long, rich history in classical literature. While
Platos Gorgias and Aristotles The Art of Rhetoric were influential for public relations, Machiavellis The
Prince and Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War influenced diplomacy (Signitzer & Wamser, 2005,
p. 445). Despite each practice's long history, their formal theoretical academic bases are still fairly new.
Considering that both fields are very applied and are practiced by organizations or nation-states, each one is
growing together in practice, due in part to globalization and ease of digital communication (L'Etang, 2009,
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pp. 610-615; Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, pp. 441-445; Wadsworth, 2006, pp. 3-4). According to L'Etang
(1996), both diplomats and government public relations practitioners fulfill the functions of intelligence
gathering (research, environmental scanning), being representational (rhetoric, advocacy, oratory), dialogic
(negotiation, peacemaking) and advisory (counseling) (p. 15). Each can be practiced by an organization or
nation-state that are, by their nature, very public bodies. This suggests that there could be a two-way social
relationship between the people and the organization (Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, pp. 442).
Government public relations and public diplomacy are both responsible for institutional communications with
organizations, as well as relations with wider groups and have to be responsive to public opinion and media
coverage (L'Etang, 2009, p. 608). Each recognizes that communication is fundamental across social
boundaries because each country and government has a unique history shaped by social relationships
(L'Etang, 2009, pp. 611-612; Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, p. 435). Academics in each field, however, have
been careful to delineate each term from propaganda, as each is susceptible to this vice (L'Etang, 2009, p.
608). Not surprisingly, each field can be found clustered around areas of great social change, as the greatest
need for both is found in those areas (L'Etang, 2009, p. 614). Both must be attuned to social change,
specifically recognizing that social relationships are always in flux (L'Etang, 2009, p. 617). In these areas of
social change, there will be people that do not always agree with these changes (Signitzer & Wamser, 2005,
p. 447). Therefore, both government public relations and public diplomacy can identify, explain and negotiate
varying opinions on an issue to bring together dissenting factions (Kovacs, 2001, p. 423). Within these social
areas, both fields must focus microscopically on their target audience, whether it is a business, NGO or
constituent group (L'Etang, 2009, p. 611).
In sum, government public relations and public diplomacy have practice aims that are similar. Each attempts
to control information coming from various sources in order to setup their media agendas (L'Etang, 2009, p.
611). With the media agenda in place, each can decide how to frame public issues to best meet the end goal of
shaping public discourse. When publics are relaying information that is congruent with the strategic
communication goals of either public diplomacy or government public relations, the organization gains a
significant organizational political advantage (L'Etang, 2009, p. 611).
Differences Between Public Diplomacy and Government Public Relations
Public diplomacy, in contrast to government public relations, is more concerned with governments, as
opposed to individual actors (Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, p. 436). As such, public diplomacy can be said to be
more congruent with the national interest (Kovacs, 2001, p. 424). For instance, public diplomacy could be
characterized as a long-term "hearts and minds" campaign that is aimed at developing emotional bonds with
international publics to gain
their identification and sympathy (L'Etang, 2009, p. 610). Such is the case with overseas arts tours and
exhibitions, as well as the Olympics. These campaigns could possibly span multiple generations, even turning
into a social responsibility for the country to capture the diverse emotional and personal experiences of its
citizens (L'Etang, 2009, p. 610). Unlike government public relations, public diplomacy can be more highstakes, as it can be backed up by military force (L'Etang, 2009, p. 610; Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, p. 443).

Propaganda
As a term, propaganda undermines professionalism in public relations. Unlike public relations, propaganda
has been very quick in adapting to modern communication, which allows it to increase in influence and
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sophistication (Wadsworth, 2006, p. 8). This is not surprising, as public relations and other forms of strategic
communication devise rules of ethical conduct prior to engaging the world with new forms of media. Without
ethical rules of conduct, propaganda undercuts decision-making (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p. 60). When
examining the differences between power-based and value-based PR, propaganda would be considered the
former because it undermines ethics to implicitly or explicitly exercise its power towards a specific audience.
Much like how PR has power-based and value-based subdivisions, propaganda has three major subdivisions:
black propaganda, white propaganda and grey propaganda. Black propaganda "typically has a false source
and contains lies and deceptions" (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, pp. 59-60). White propaganda is just the opposite
because it correctly identifies its source and contains accurate information " (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p. 60).
An example of white propaganda would include Great Britain's peacetime propaganda by the Empire
Marketing Board and the British Council after both World Wars. Some of the posters put up by both
organizations advocated greater physical activity and the purchase of locally-grown tea (White, L'Etang &
Moss, 2009, p. 384). Given the positive connotations with white propaganda, some academics believe that
propaganda is necessary for a state to function (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, pp. 59-60). Many PR practitioners
have distanced themselves from the term, instead labeling propaganda persuasion because much of the public
may be unfamiliar with the different types of propaganda, much less the positive types (L'Etang, 2002, pp.
47-48; L'Etang, 2009, p. 609). Grey propaganda is between black and white propaganda because, not only is
the source incorrectly identified, but the veracity of the information cannot be determined (Gelders & Ihlen,
2010, p. 60). Grey propaganda would likely be used in covert operations, as the information may purposely
be missing to prevent the divulgement of sensitive information.
An example of propaganda would include terrorism. Terrorism falls under propaganda because it seeks to
undermine the political system, crosses party issues, and has objectives that are echoed through the mass
media to influence the public (Richards, 2004, pp. 169-170). Terrorism could be considered black, white or
grey propaganda. While the word "terrorism" clearly has negative connotations with violence, not all
terrorism would be considered black propaganda. On the contrary, some aspects of terrorism could be
considered white terrorism because, in order to advance political goals, a terrorist organization must identify
themselves correctly as the source, as well as state factual observations in the political systems. Of course,
these terrorist organizations can bend the truth by omitting certain facts from a situation, thereby framing the
situation in an inaccurate light.
Differentiating Government Public Relations from Propaganda
Differentiating between government public relations and propaganda is no easy because not all propaganda is
considered negative. In general, academics have preferred to use the term persuasion, as opposed to
propaganda (L'Etang, 2002, pp. 47-48). To complicate matters even more, people will confuse the terms
because they unwittingly combine public relations, advertising, marketing and even public information
(L'Etang, 2009, p. 611). For starters, there are general questions that should be considered, including the
goals of the organizations, which method of communication it prefers to use, as well as the types of targeted
audiences (Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, pp. 449-457). L'Etang (2002) provides a succinct definition of a
profession:
A specialized skill and service, an intellectual and practical training, a high degree of professional autonomy,
a fiduciary relationship with the client, a sense of collective responsibility to the profession as a whole, an
embargo on some methods of attracting business and an occupational organization testing competence,
regulating standards and discipline (p. 50).
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From this definition, it is possible to discern that, public relations as a whole should have ethics. Propaganda,
in general, will discount ethics in favor of spinning their "truth" as one-sided. Furthermore, propaganda may
not even use training, as it could simply rely on the most-convenient message and thus completely discount
ethics during message transmission. An example of this would be the difference between quick and slow
media. While quick media (such as the internet) will use media that can be disseminated to a large audience
quickly, slow media (such as academic periodicals) is often scrutinized to ensure the accuracy of the
information presented (Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, pp. 457-458).
It is also possible to discern public relations from propaganda by looking at each from the lens of the realist,
rationalist and revolutionist approaches. A realist approach accomplishes tasks based on the belief that the
world is pressured by power and greed (L'Etang, 2009, pp. 616-617; Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, p. 455; Walt,
1998, p. 31). Realism, in this case, implies that ethics is discounted in favor of pressuring actors to get their
message out as quickly as possible. The rationalist approach believes that building relationships in an
international society is best attained through mutual truthfulness and promise-keeping (L'Etang, 2009, pp.
616-617; Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, pp. 455-456). The rationalist approach implies a focus on ethics, as the
cornerstone of ethics consists of respect, truth and promises.
The revolutionist approach, according to L'Etang (2009) consists of an "international society, made up of
individual sovereign states, formed a moral and cultural whole but whose moral authority derived from the
will of individual peoples" (pp. 616-617). The revolutionist approach is a tricky definition because, on the
one hand, it shows that neither PR nor propaganda may be necessary because the people are already taking
care of their own affairs. On the other hand, Signitzer & Wamser (2005) believe that such an approach would
see the government as an obstacle (p. 456). This alone could imply that the government could use either
public relations or propaganda to pursue their communication needs with the public. Of course, the ultimate
end goal of what a government is trying to accomplish will prove to be the defining variable that shows
whether the body engages in public relations or public diplomacy.
The tough-minded and tender-minded approaches may likewise discern between public relations and
propaganda. As these names suggest, the tough-minded approach often employs fast media to aggressively
persuade publics to attain short-term policy ends, while the tender- minded approach uses slow media to
create "a climate of mutual understanding" (Signitzer & Wamser, 2005, p. 433). From these definitions,
tough-minded would be associated more with propaganda because propaganda uses quick, desperate
measures to accomplish an immediate policy goal. Since tender-minded uses slow media, it is not surprising
that a culture of understanding would take root, as slow media takes the time to ensure fact-checking
measures are implemented before any media is disseminated. When this slow media is released, it identifies
and clarifies arguments in order for people to make their own judgments.

The Good and Bad of Government Public Relations

Government PR efforts cost great deals of money to develop, implement and analyze. If the PR effort does
not go as planned, valuable taxpayer money and other resources could be wasted. Government PR has
likewise been criticized for disturbing the internal policy-making processes because the main decisionmaking body is not the first to be informed of a policy issue being considered. Rather, everyone is being
informed, which can lead the public to confuse policy intentions with policy decisions (Gelders & Ihlen,
2010, p. 61). This is an important distinction, because the decision-making body are trained to handle the
policy issues that come to their desks. The pressured deliberative process extends not only to politicians and
their publics, but also between politicians and civil servants. Civil servants, in compliance with their political
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bosses, may be forced to express a partisan position when the government PR message is released. This, as
such, could be a misuse of public money (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p. 61).
Government and public relations are similar, which makes it more likely for a seamless integration of public
relations into a government body. The similarities can be grouped together under three reasons. First, each is
bound by rules of self-regulation (White, L'Etang & Moss, 2009, pp. 397-398). Political laws to foster ethics
and understanding exist at the local, state, national and international levels. Public relations codes, such as the
constitutions of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the International Public Relations
Association (IPRA), exist to promote social transparency among both PR practitioners and their clients.
Second, each can represent their own issues (White, L'Etang & Moss, 2009, pp. 397-398). Politicians and
government organizations will advocate or condemn policy to advance their organizational goals. Public
relations makes the goals of a client clear, as it can identify and clarify arguments to promote public
discussion. Third, each must declare their interests and avoid any conflicts (White, L'Etang & Moss, 2009, p.
398). Federal judiciary bodies in the U.S., for example, often have laws that mandate that judges recuse
themselves from hearing cases that conflict with their personal interests. Public relations is similar because a
practitioner cannot hope to present and clarify objective arguments for their client if there is a conflict of
interest.
Government public relations can also be considered a part of the democratic process (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010,
p. 61). In the current era of digital media, it is very flexible and cost-efficient for a government to express
their strategic, organizational views to a wide variety of constituents. Policy-making is thus more interactive
for practitioners, it helps citizens to feel that they are more involved in the policy-making process as it
proceeds. Government PR practitioners can also evaluate the effectiveness of their policies based upon
highly-convenient feedback surveys that can be completed on constituents' own time. This analytic process
also helps government PR practitioners to devise messages that capitalize on the diversity of opinions
inherent in a policy issue. When messages reflect the diversity of opinions, this can subsequently increase
national unity (Mearsheimer, 2001, pp. 60-61; White, L'Etang & Moss, 2009, p. 396).
In a public that is heavily influenced by media of all different types, public relations works to identify, revise
and clarify governmental arguments in the face of media scrutiny (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p. 61; Signitzer &
Wamser, 2005, p. 457). In general, since public relations uses many of the same tactics as journalism (timesensitive written pieces, broadcast media and a digital presence, and others), public relations is effective at
spurring public debate on stories written by journalists. With a transparent media environment, this
subsequently enhances the democratic exchange of ideas, as well as accountability (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010, p.
61). When national unity is increased, the global stage is opened to show other countries a model government
PR effort. This subsequently can increase public and cultural diplomacy in the form of soft power (Mead,
2004, p. 48; Mearsheimer, 2001, pp. 60-61; Nye, 2004, pp. 256-257; White, L'Etang & Moss, 2009, p. 396).

Conclusion
To serve the needs of constituents, the government will always have an agenda. While there will always be
partisan debates on the amount of government intervention needed to accomplish policy goals, it is important
for the government to remain at the service of its constituents. Public relations is just one of many strategies
that the government can utilize to increase policy dialogue with citizens whose needs must be met. Of course,
the government must maintain and promote an ethical practice of public relations to avoid devolving into
propaganda. To encourage ethical practice, the government can look to the constitutions promulgated by
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organizations such as the PRSA and IPRA.

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