Rethinking political PR: A theoretical framework towards supporting social integration in the UK

IF 2.7 Q1 COMMUNICATION

Public Relations Inquiry Pub Date : 2022-01-19 DOI:10.1177/2046147X211053885

Sarah A Okour

{"title":"Rethinking political PR: A theoretical framework towards supporting social integration in the UK","authors":"Sarah A Okour","doi":"10.1177/2046147X211053885","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Political, social and demographic change has resulted in a search for new techniques for building public trust and reconciling relationships between the Muslim community and others in society. In this study, extremism and social cohesion have been chosen as potential new aims for the PR industry. This study assesses whether political PR can be diverted from its role in spin doctoring towards new cultural and social functions. My argument is that political PR can be used as a tool for social integration with particular reference to the Muslim community in the UK. This research distinguishes between two issues. The first connects with political PR within a political communication background, which relates to politicians, election campaigns, news management and their relationship with the media. The second issue is that political PR can be reconsidered from a corporate perspective, one that endorses the use of PR in challenging political environments. My study places emphasis on the second issue. A sample of seven UK PR academics, therefore, evaluated the current communication policies for their effectiveness, explained how political PR could help and gave their recommendations. Seven NGOs in Britain also described their work, the problems they encountered and their concerns. A lack of social integration and the rise of extremism were explained in terms of stereotyping, marginalisation and counterproductive techniques. The results suggest that a change in political PR is possible and should be encouraged to intervene in countering radicalization and enhancing social cohesion. They also show a lack of PR support for NGOs. The findings broadly move the field of inclusivity forward by working on a bottom-up approach instead of a top-down model of communication. The best answer for sustaining long-term community relationships was improved communication and engagement, inclusive messages and campaigns, and the Muslim community remaining open to others in society.","PeriodicalId":44609,"journal":{"name":"Public Relations Inquiry","volume":"11 1","pages":"461 - 492"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2022-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Public Relations Inquiry","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2046147X211053885","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"COMMUNICATION","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 1

Abstract

Political, social and demographic change has resulted in a search for new techniques for building public trust and reconciling relationships between the Muslim community and others in society. In this study, extremism and social cohesion have been chosen as potential new aims for the PR industry. This study assesses whether political PR can be diverted from its role in spin doctoring towards new cultural and social functions. My argument is that political PR can be used as a tool for social integration with particular reference to the Muslim community in the UK. This research distinguishes between two issues. The first connects with political PR within a political communication background, which relates to politicians, election campaigns, news management and their relationship with the media. The second issue is that political PR can be reconsidered from a corporate perspective, one that endorses the use of PR in challenging political environments. My study places emphasis on the second issue. A sample of seven UK PR academics, therefore, evaluated the current communication policies for their effectiveness, explained how political PR could help and gave their recommendations. Seven NGOs in Britain also described their work, the problems they encountered and their concerns. A lack of social integration and the rise of extremism were explained in terms of stereotyping, marginalisation and counterproductive techniques. The results suggest that a change in political PR is possible and should be encouraged to intervene in countering radicalization and enhancing social cohesion. They also show a lack of PR support for NGOs. The findings broadly move the field of inclusivity forward by working on a bottom-up approach instead of a top-down model of communication. The best answer for sustaining long-term community relationships was improved communication and engagement, inclusive messages and campaigns, and the Muslim community remaining open to others in society.

查看原文本刊更多论文

反思政治公关:支持英国社会融合的理论框架

政治、社会和人口结构的变化促使人们寻求建立公众信任和协调穆斯林社区与社会其他人之间关系的新技术。在这项研究中，极端主义和社会凝聚力被选为公关行业的潜在新目标。这项研究评估了政治公关是否可以从其在政治炒作中的作用转向新的文化和社会功能。我的论点是，政治公关可以被用作社会融合的工具，特别是针对英国的穆斯林社区。这项研究区分了两个问题。第一种是政治传播背景下的政治公关，涉及政治家、竞选活动、新闻管理以及他们与媒体的关系。第二个问题是，可以从企业的角度重新考虑政治公关，即支持在具有挑战性的政治环境中使用公关。我的研究强调了第二个问题。因此，七位英国公关学者的样本评估了当前的传播政策的有效性，解释了政治公关如何提供帮助，并提出了他们的建议。英国的七个非政府组织也介绍了他们的工作、遇到的问题和关切。社会融合的缺乏和极端主义的兴起是从刻板印象、边缘化和适得其反的技术来解释的。研究结果表明，改变政治公关是可能的，应该鼓励他们干预反激进化和增强社会凝聚力。它们也显示出对非政府组织缺乏公关支持。研究结果通过自下而上的方法而不是自上而下的沟通模式，广泛推动了包容性领域的发展。维持长期社区关系的最佳答案是改善沟通和参与、包容性信息和运动，以及穆斯林社区对社会其他人保持开放。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Public Relations Inquiry COMMUNICATION-

CiteScore

4.10

自引率

11.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： Public Relations Inquiry is an international, peer-reviewed journal for conceptual, reflexive and critical discussion on public relations, supporting debates on new ways of thinking about public relations in social, cultural and political contexts, in order to improve understanding of its work and effects beyond the purely organisational realm. We interpret public relations in a broad sense, recognising the influence of public relations practices on the many forms of contemporary strategic, promotional communication initiated by organisations, institutions and individuals. The practice of public relations arises at points of societal and organisational change and transformation, affecting many aspects of political, economic, social and cultural life. Reflecting this, we aim to mobilize research that speaks to a scholars in diverse fields and welcome submissions from any area that speak to the purpose of the journal, including (but not only) public relations, organizational communication, media and journalism studies, cultural studies, anthropology, political communication, sociology, organizational studies, development communication, migration studies, visual communication, management and marketing, digital media and data studies. We actively seek contributions that can extend the range of perspectives used to understand public relations, its role in societal change and continuity, and its impact on cultural and political life. We particularly welcome multi-disciplinary debate about the communication practices that shape major human concerns, including: globalisation, politics, and public relations in international communication migration, refugees, displaced populations terrorism, public diplomacy public and corporate governance diversity and cultural impacts of PR the natural and built environments Communication, space and place The development and practices of major industries such as health, food, sport, tourism, technology.