PR technologies and American foreign policy: points of contact

  • Post category:Issue XXIV

Tetiana Klynina
PhD in History, Associate Professor, History and Documentation Department of the National Aviation University

DOI: 10.37837/2707-7683-2023-39

Abstract. The article focuses on the use of PR technologies by the government of the United States of America in the field of foreign policy. It highlights the prominent role of these PR technologies in promoting American values, expanding international cooperation, and strengthening partnerships. Moreover, these technologies are actively used in use governing. The purpose of the article is to analyse the use of PR technologies as part of specific foreign policy actions.
The author observes that the majority of scientists who study the effects of PR technologies emphasise their particularly positive impact in the field of international relations as that is where the function of strategic management, which is important specifically in foreign policy issues, acquires a new meaning.
PR technologies are an important tool for influencing public opinion and an element of forming and managing the state’s image. The author examines the use of PR technologies in America’s foreign policy from a historicist perspective, using examples of various foreign policy developments that involved or continue to involve the USA to pinpoint the application of specific PR technologies and their effect. One interesting finding is that instead of the ‘traditional’ PR tools, the American Government uses rather unconventional ones, mainly practised in foreign policy, including diplomatic efforts, diplomatic pressure, lobbying, complex media campaigns, engagement of ‘influencers’, psychological operations, etc. The study also highlights the functions performed by PR technologies in America’s foreign policy, such as governing, communication, protection, popularisation, etc.
The author emphasises that the use of PR technologies is not a new phenomenon in American foreign policy but rather a major long-standing component of foreign policy. Several historical events, such as the Vietnam War, are cited to exemplify the importance of these tools. The article also draws attention to the specific developers of certain PR technologies used in American foreign policy
Keywords: USA, PR, foreign policy, PR tools, Department of State.

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