Political Public Relations

While political communication and public relations have always been closely intertwined, public relations strategies and tactics are probably more ubiquitous in political communication today than ever. Still, there is neither much theorizing nor empirical research on political public relations. Most public relations theory and research centers on public relations strategies and tactics in relation to the corporate sector, while most political communication research neglects or only briefl y mentions public relations theory and research. The same is true of most political science research. Furthermore, political communication scholars are seldom well versed in public relations theory, whereas public relations scholars seldom display a deep understanding of what makes political communication and politics diff erent from other areas of inquiry.