Communicating Statehood Public Relations Strategies in Promoting Palestine Routledge New Directions in PR & Communication Research Series

The book argues that the Palestinian response to the challenge of promoting their cause is to extend their repertoire of public relations communication tactics. It explores the discursive strategies employed by Palestinian communication strategists, across the range of political allegiances, via public relations techniques to advance the cause of statehood. It also explores how the growing number of professional communicators use strategic communication to position key ?national? issues.

These tactics have emerged not only as the result of planned strategy but also through improvisation and informal responses to outside pressures. Whether this increasing coherence and confidence arises from the growing availability of professional communication planning expertise, or the decreasing cost barriers associated with digital media, the outcome has been greater international political recognition for Palestine.

By illustrating this effectiveness and symbolic coherence in the face of both poor internal mass media structures and political constraints, the Palestinian example may offer insights for other aspiring national movements and for public diplomacy.

1. Strategic Action Through Discourse 1.1 Public diplomacy and the Middle Eastern perspective 1.2 Current practice in Middle East public relations 1.3 The challenge of multiple publics 2. InternationalStances in the Literature of Public Diplomacy and Public Relations 2.1 Getting to the 21st Century: Brief chronology of the current situation (19th -21st Centuries) 2.2 Representation: The eastern voice in public relations 2.3 Official channels 2.4 Enter the digital age 2.5 Implications of multiple audiences 3. The Media War 3.1 The politics of representation 3.2 The power of voice 3.3 Strategies and impacts 4. The Voices 4.1 The faces of Palestine 4.2 Articulating different positions 4.3 Political shifts in the landscape of discourse 5. The Imperative of Advocacy 5.1 An eastern approach to public diplomacy 5.2 Palestinian public relations and capacity building 5.3 Leveraging technology for reach and authenticity 6. Ethical Issues and the Public Voice 6.1 Handling hate 6.2 Confronting hasbara 6.3 Media bias 6.4 Demonisation and the issue of incitement 7. The Future in a Marketplace of Ideas 7.1 The value of the Palestinian experience 7.2 Eastern expertise and its contribution to the academy 7.3 Challenges emerging from the mediatisation of politics Appendix: Framework for a model of public diplomacy for aspiring nations