Political Public Relations and Relationship Management

Abstract

For several decades, the relational perspective has served as an influential paradigm for the study and practice of public relations. Consequently, the potential benefits of applying a relational perspective in political public relations, as well, has been highlighted. Such an approach to political public relations should facilitate collaboration among political actors to achieve mutually beneficial political goals. Therefore, understanding the application of relationship management concepts and theory to the study and practice of political public relations is essential for both scholars and practitioners. To that end, this chapter reviews the key literature regarding relationship management and organization–public relationships; provides an overview of the extant research examining the relationships among politically situated actors, publics, and organizations; and charts the development of political organization–public relationship (POPR) models. The chapter also discusses the challenges that increased affective polarization, social sorting, and politicized media could present for the effective implementation of authentic relationship management strategies within political contexts. The chapter concludes with an appeal to continue the exploration and application of relationship management within political public relations so that the benefits of the relational approach can be fully realized.