Public Affairs and Political Communications by Dr Robbie Smyth

Political communication is a specialised application of core public relations (PR) strategies and professional practice underpinned with an understanding of the appropriate use of communications, marketing and advertising theories on behalf of a client, who may be an individual or a political group. As is the case with business-orientated PR, the objective of a political communications professional is to effectively plan and purposely communicate in a deliberate way. In the public affairs arena, PR professionals must represent clients and manage their relationships with key audiences and stakeholders. The level of intensity and engagement involved in political PR is what makes it a specialised field. In public affairs, the engagement is at a higher paced and often more hostile environment than encountered in other PR environments. In this chapter, we introduce the key political communication areas including designing and election campaign strategy, political advertising, outsider and NGO PR, lobbying and public affairs and negotiating the political media environment, while also outlining the basic theories of propaganda and persuasion.