Public Relations and Diplomacy in a Globalized World: An Issue of Public Communication

Abstract

This article builds on earlier conceptual analyses that have contrasted public relations with diplomacy and public diplomacy at conceptual and applied levels, to consider further the theoretical and global issues of public relations’ diplomatic work for states and organizations in the context of globalization. A key feature of such work is its intercultural nature, at the organizational, ethnic, and state levels. The discussion draws inspiration from a range of disciplines including public relations, international relations, strategic studies, media studies, peace studies, management studies, cultural studies, and anthropology. Linking public diplomacy to public relations usefully reconnects public relations to power, which has largely been ignored by dominant organizational-management approaches to the subject.