About PPR Lab
Welcome to the Political Public Relations Lab–a site devoted to theory, research, and practice on political public relations and related fields. The purpose of this site is to encourage academic theory and research as well as thought leadership on political public relations. The goal of the lab is to function as the premiere resource center and clearinghouse for anyone interested in this field of research, education, and practice.
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The lab has evolved from the research of Jesper Strömbäck, professor in journalism and political communication at the University of Gothenburg, and Spiro Kiousis, professor in Public Relations at the University of Florida. In 2011 they published the first edition of the edited volume Political Public Relations. Principles and Applications (Routledge) and updated this with a second edition in 2020.
In the first edition of the edited volume Political Public Relations. Principles and Applications (Routledge) political public relations was defined as “the management process by which an organization or individual actor for political purposes, through purposeful communication and action, seeks to influence and to establish, build, and maintain beneficial relationships and reputations with its key publics to help support its mission and achieve its goals”.
Subsequently this definition has been updated in the 2020 edition to: “Political public relations is the management process by which an actor for political purposes, through communication and action, seeks to influence and to establish, build, and maintain beneficial relationships and reputations with key publics and stakeholders to help support its mission and achieve its goals”.
From this perspective, political public relations lies at the intersection of public relations, political communication, political science, political marketing, public affairs, political management, political campaigning and other related fields of research. It goes far beyond any superficial understandings of public relations as being about just media relations or news management, and builds upon contemporary definitions of public relations adapted to political contexts and processes. At this site, we will consequently focus on theory and research on political public relations as defined above, and in particular on research that attempts to apply public relations theory to political contexts and processes. We are continuously updating our list of new articles in the field (look for it under “articles” tab) and would like your input if you think we missed something.
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We are continuously updating our list of research and resources in the field and would like your input if you think we missed something. If you have comments suggestions, please email us.