Strategic Political Communication in Africa

Abstract

Politics in Africa is often believed to be a foreign import because of the popular association with colonial influences and western democracies. Contemporary African communication encapsulates traditional methods, the modern mass media, and the new social media, all of which have important roles in the purposive uses of communication in politics. Using communication to achieve political objectives requires astute strategies that are best realized through purposive planning, careful implementation, and systematic evaluation which are the hallmarks of strategic communication. This chapter explains strategic communication against a backdrop of African communication to offer five fundamental concepts that constitute the essence of strategic political communication. These five key concepts which are election campaigns, governance and government policies, internal cohesion, public opinion, and crisis management are explained to show their relevance in contemporary Africa. The conclusion shows that although strategic communication has not become a distinct profession yet in Africa, the prospects are good for its wider adoption in both business and politics. More professionalization of strategic communication in Africa will lead to better uses of traditional and new forms of communication to achieve desirable preplanned outcomes that will contribute significantly to Africa’s political and economic development.