INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS Negotiating Culture, Identity, and Power Patricia A. Curtin University of Oregon T. Kenn Gaither Elon University ( )SAGE Publications ^55 Thousand Oaks London New Delhi
Contents Preface Acknowledgments xi xii 1. The Challenges of International Public Relations 1 In Search of an Identity: Defining Public Relations 3 Myriad Forms of Public Relations 6 Emerging Democracies, Developing Public Relations 8 Nation Building 9 Best Foot Forward Public Relations 10 Business-Driven Public Relations 11 Cultural Relationship Constructs 12 International Public Relations Today 13 Chapter Summary 16 2. Opening Global Gateways 17 Multinational Corporations: Global Opportunities and Problems 21 National Image Cultivation 24 Dynamic South Korea 25 Swaziland's Approach to Public Relations 26 Travel and Tourism 28 Sports and International Goodwill 29 Nonprofits and International NGOs 30 Trade Associations 31 Keys to Opening Global Gateways 32 Chapter Summary 33 3. Global Public Relations and the Circuit of Culture 35 Language, Meaning, and Culture 36 The Circuit of Culture Model 37
The Five Moments 38 Balancing Determinism and Relativism 42 Applying the Circuit of Culture to Practice 43 Production 43 Representation 44 Consumption 45 Identity 46 Regulation 47 Completing the Circuit 48 Chapter Summary 50 4. The Regulatory Environments of Global Public Relations Practice 51 Notions of Regulation 51 Shifting Politics, Evolving Public Relations 53 The Agents of Blurring Boundaries 56 Politics 56 Technology 57 Economy 59 Cultural Norms: The Hidden Regulators 60 Regulating Global Public Relations Practice 65 Chapter Summary 65 Case Study: Smallpox Eradication Campaign 66 International Power and Politics 66 Cold War Politics 67 Negotiating Boundaries 69 Applying Moral Suasion 70 Bucking the Bureaucracy 71 Adapting to Local Norms and Cultures 73 Implications for International Practice 75 5. The Face and Shape of Global Public Relations Campaign Materials 11 Representing Representation 78 New Discourses Through Technology and Trade Shows 81 Meanings Encoded in Trade Shows 82 Identifying a Discourse of Russian Technology in Trade Shows 83 The Representation of a Fast Food Superpower in Asia 84 KFC Negotiates Asian Culture 86 Creating New Understandings of Asia and KFC 87 Paradise Found in the Galapagos Islands 88
The Politics of Ecotourism 88 Trouble in Paradise 90 Cultural Encoding of the Galapagos Islands 91 Of Representation and New Understandings 93 Chapter Summary 94 Case Study: Smallpox Eradication Campaign 95 Government Relations 95 Framing the Funding Case to Developed Nations 95 Smallpox as a Numbers Game in Developing Nations 97 Employee Relations: Creating a Global Army 100 Mobilizing Public Support for Eradication 101 Media Relations 104 Implications for International Practice 106 6. Practicing Public Relations in a Global Environment 109 Global Dimensions of Public Relations 110 Gender, Race, Class, and Power 112 Worlds Apart: Differing Approaches to an International Agency 113 Burson-Marsteller's Asian Expansion 114 The Globalization of Public Relations and the Circuit of Culture 116 Glocalizing Public Relations 117 Immaculate Perception in Chile and the Philippines 118 The Internal-External Paradox Meets the Global-Local Nexus 120 Audiences as Communities 121 Glocalizing the Web 122 Negotiating Asymmetry 123 Chapter Summary 124 Case Study: Smallpox Eradication Campaign 125 Technology and Production 125 Campaign Strategies 127 Surveillance and Containment 128 Developing a Proactive Communication Strategy 129 Targeting Opinion Leaders With Health Education 131 Managing a Global Workforce 132 Recruitment and Supervision 132 Life in the Field 134 Implications for International Practice 135
7. Consumption: Rethinking Publics and Practice 137 The Moment of Consumption 138 Public Relations Practice and Consumption 140 Recasting Research and Issues Management 141 Privileging Ethnographic Methods 142 The Role of Relative Power 143 The Challenges and Ambiguities of New Technology and Globalization 145 The Role of New Technology 146 Consuming the Globe 148 Globalized Consumption in the Developing World 151 Chapter Summary 154 Case Study: Smallpox Eradication Campaign 155 Smallpox Deified 155 Shitala Mata in India 156 Sapona in Western Africa 157 Omolu in Brazil 158 Christian Sects in Southern Africa 159 Cultural Factors Leading to Preferred or Negotiated Readings 160 Cultural Factors Leading to Oppositional Readings 163 Implications for International Practice 164 8. Contested Identities, Shifting Publics in a Globalized World 167 Constructing Identities 168 Subjectivity and Individual Identities 169 Active Publics, Fluid Identities 170 Organizational Identities 172 Fractured Identities, Activist Publics 172 Forging New Organizational Identities 173 Defining National Identities 175 Cultural Identity and Authenticity 177 Nation Building and Branding 179 National and Cultural Identities in a Hybrid World 181 Chapter Summary 183 Case Study: Smallpox Eradication Campaign 184 Negotiating National Versus International Identities 185 First World Versus Third World Values 187 Holy Warriors Versus the Enemy 188 Creating Campaign Icons 191 Implications for International Practice 193
9. Capturing the Synergy of the Circuit: The Cultural-Economic Model 197 Lessons From the Smallpox Eradication Campaign 198 The Competing Discourses of Smallpox Eradication 199 Bringing the Circuit Full Circle 203 Needed: A New Model of International Public Relations Practice 204 The Cultural-Economic Model of International Public Relations Practice 206 The Centrality of Culture 206 The Question of Identity in a Globalized World 207 The Micropolitics of Power 209 Practitioners as Cultural Intermediaries 210 Chapter Summary 211 10. Circuiting the Globe: A Practice Matrix 213 Assumptions of International Public Relations 214 Existing Discourses and the Production of Meaning 214 Race, Gender, Class, Age, and Language as Discursive Productions 222 Summarizing International Public Relations Assumptions 223 A Practice Matrix for International Public Relations 224 Relationship of the Matrix to the Model 224 The Starting Point: Regulation 225 Applying the Matrix 227 Ipas and Chile 227 Abercrombie & Fitch Consider Great Britain 229 Contributions of the Matrix 232 Chapter Summary 233 11. Ethical Considerations in Global Practice 235 The Problem of Cultural Relativism 236 Negotiating Cultural Relativism 237 Laws, Norms, and Bribery 239 Globalization and the Shift of Power 241 Common Approaches to Public Relations Ethics 245 Codes of Ethics 245 Stakeholder Ethics 247 Discourse Ethics 247 New Ethical Approaches and Practitioners' Roles 249
Postcolonial Feminist Ethics 249 Identity Ethics 250 Practitioners as Traitorous Identities 251 Chapter Summary 252 12. The Future of International Public Relations Practice 253 Implications for Practitioners Embracing the Cultural-Economic Model 254 Reframing Public Relations Practice Across Borders and Cultures 254 Defining Global Public Relations 256 Challenging Assumptions 257 Where Do We Go From Here? 259 Global Processes of Meaning Making and Public Relations 259 Global Politics and Economy 260 The Cultural Engine 261 Chapter Summary 262 Bibliography 265 Index 283 About the Authors 303