Public opinion is an important factor affecting the political decision-making process. In almost every community, the ones in power—no matter what type of political system is established—want to be aware of the ideas and opinions of the rules regarding policies that they have implemented. The factors that take part in the determination of public opinion must be explored further. Political Propaganda, Advertising, and Public Relations: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that discusses public opinion on policies as well as political communication activities. Featuring research on topics such as campaign management, branding, and political marketing, this book is ideally designed for campaign managers, social media mangers, government officials, advertisers, media consultants, public relations specialists, researchers, politicians, academicians, and students seeking coverage on current technological trends and political communication.

How Propaganda Became Public Relations pulls back the curtain on propaganda: how it was born, how it works, and how it has masked the bulk of its operations by rebranding itself as public relations. Cory Wimberly uses archival materials and wide variety of sources — Foucault’s work on governmentality, political economy, liberalism, mass psychology, and history — to mount a genealogical challenge to two commonplaces about propaganda. First, modern propaganda did not originate in the state and was never primarily located in the state; instead, it began and flourished as a for-profit service for businesses. Further, propaganda is not focused on public beliefs and does not operate mainly through lies and deceit; propaganda is an apparatus of government that aims to create the publics that will freely undertake the conduct its clients’ desire. Businesses have used propaganda since the early twentieth century to construct the laboring, consuming, and voting publics that they needed to secure and grow their operations. Over that time, corporations have become the most numerous and well-funded apparatuses of government in the West, operating privately and without democratic accountability. Wimberly explains why liberal strategies of resistance have failed and a new focus on creating mass subjectivity through democratic means is essential to countering propaganda. This book offers a sophisticated analysis that will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in social and political philosophy, Continental philosophy, political communication, the history of capitalism, and the history of public relations.

Political Public Relations maps and defines this emerging field, bringing together scholars from various disciplines—political communication, public relations and political science—to explore the area in detail. The volume connects differing schools of thought, bringing together theoretical and empirical investigations, and defines a field that is becoming increasingly important and prominent. It offers an international orientation, as the field of political public relations must be studied in the context of various political and communication systems to be fully understood. As a singular contribution to scholarship in public relations and political communication, this work fills a significant gap in the existing literature, and is certain to influence future theory and research.

This timely Research Handbook draws on a wide range of international case studies to assess the transformative impact of modern communication landscapes on political propaganda. From Brexit to Donald Trump, from presidential elections in Mexico to political rallies in India, from 'fake news' to Cambridge Analytica, contributors demonstrate the ways in which growing digital platforms have amplified the reach and influence of political propaganda. International contributors dissect current political contexts, with a key focus on the growth of populism, nationalism and alt-right politics, to understand how propaganda contributes to the formation and organization of political cultures. Chapters pay close attention to recent election campaigns across Europe, Asia and the Americas and analyse political and cultural information wars that have been fuelled by misinformation and the so-called 'fake news' in digital media. Bringing together pioneering empirical research into contemporary communication, campaigning, journalism and new media in a new political age, this Research Handbook provides a critical understanding of how propaganda contributes to the modern exercise of power globally. Offering interdisciplinary perspectives on an issue at the forefront of contemporary politics, this Research Handbook is a crucial resource for both scholars and students of international politics and relations, security, communications and media studies. Its practical insights into political campaigning and new media will also benefit policymakers, governments and citizens in handling key challenges posed to the healthy functioning of political systems by propaganda.

All PR, whether for charities or arms manufacturers, is weak propaganda. Though it has its undeniable benefits (it grabs attention and helps circulate more information), it also has costs (such as selective messaging). This extensively revised edition of a classic text fully investigates PR, updating and expanding earlier arguments and building upon the successful first edition with new thoughts, data and evidence. Thought-provoking and stimulating, Rethinking Public Relations 2nd Edition challenges conventional PR wisdom. It develops the accepted thinking on the most important question facing PR - its relationship with democracy - and finds a balance of advantages and disadvantages which leave a residue of concern. It tackles topical issues such as: PR as a form of propaganda which flourishes in a democracy the connections between PR and journalism the media, promotions culture and persuasion. Designed to appeal to final year undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers studying public relations, media and communications studies, this book explores the most important relationship PR has – the connection with democracy – and asks what benefits or costs it brings to politics, markets and the media.

The SAGE Handbook of Political Advertising provides a comprehensive view of the role political advertising plays in democracies around the world. Editors Lynda Lee Kaid and Christina Holtz-Bacha, along with an international group of contributors, examine the differences as well as the similarities of political advertising in established and evolving democratic governments. Key Features: Offers an international perspective: This Handbook examines the political television advertising process that has evolved in democracies around the world, including countries in Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, Latin America, and North America. In addition, a comparative overview addresses the effects of political advertising on the voters and the systems of which it is a part. Provides comprehensive coverage: For each country presented, an analysis is given of its political advertising history, its cultural implications, the political and regulatory systems related to political advertising, the effects of media system structures, and the effects of new technologies. Includes examples from recent elections: The role specific candidate- or party-controlled television plays in a specific region′s electoral process is examined. Original research on recent elections confirms the expanding significance of this form of political communication. This is an excellent resource for media professionals and practicing journalists, as well as a welcome addition to any academic library. It can also be used as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on Political Advertising in the fields of Political Science, Communication, Broadcasting, Journalism, and International Relations.

Accounting information, on the one hand, allows government officials to obtain better information to support greater decision making, transparency, and accountability. On the other hand, this financial information also allows local citizens more access to knowledge of how public resources are being managed and used by the local government entities. Measuring the pros and cons of this information may determine how certain officials remain in office while others do not. Financial Determinants in Local Re-Election Rates: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a collection of innovative research that assesses whether accounting information and other factors have an impact on electoral results, which in turn impact re-election in local government. While highlighting topics including political financing, voting behavior, and capital spending, this book is ideally designed for political analysts, politicians, government officials, researchers, policymakers, public policy managers, financial analysts, academicians, and students seeking current research on financial information and other factors having an impact on electoral results.