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This book argues that public relations is not merely an organizational tool, but a powerful influence on social and political life. From carefully considered communication by multinational corporations, to government campaigns that manage public opinion, to the self-promotion of celebrities via social media, public relations is central to our individual and collective lives.


Understanding Public Relations introduces a socio-cultural approach to public relations as a way of analysing the growing importance of public relations in its social, cultural and political contexts. Encouraging a deeper and more critical understanding of its influence on society, Lee Edwards:




Explores public relations in relation to contemporary debates around promotional culture, discourse, globalisation, democracy and power
Considers how public relations frames vital discussions of race, gender, class and ethics
Brings theory to life with a range of case studies, including YouTube vlogging, the global fair trade movement and the 2016 EU referendum in the UK


Both accessible and provocative, this is an invaluable resource for students and researchers exploring public relations theory, critical public relations, strategic communication and promotional culture. Understanding Public Relations pushes the genre of the public relations text into new territory. Lee Edwards looks beyond organisational boundaries to vividly illustrate and explore the public relations occupation as a social and cultural practice. -- yvind Ihlen A must-read for any serious PR student or scholar, Edwards' socio-cultural approach presents an important and timely challenge to the dominance of functionalism in the field of public relations. -- Dennis Mumby Edwards thinks deeply about the world we live in, delivering thoughtful, accessible prose on PR's role in society. Ideal for PR students, scholars and practitioners. -- Clea Bourne Lee Edwards' important book offers a crucial and unique perspective on public relations by emphasizing society and culture as a sense-making context for PR. With chapters exploring the dynamics of public relations within cultural contexts of race, class, feminism, political economy and ethics, Edwards rightly insists we think about the power relations that authorize contemporary forms of promotion. -- Sarah Banet-Weiser One of the most comprehensive and coherent explorations of the role of public relations in society to date. A must-read for anyone who is serious about understanding its power and its possibilities. -- Anne Gregory

Understanding Public Relations: Theory, Culture and Society

Chapter 1: Starting points: Defining socio-cultural research in public relations

Chapter 2: Public relations as promotion: The production and circulation of meaning

Chapter 3: Public relations, discourse and power

Chapter 4: A political economy of public relations

Chapter 5: Deliberative democracy and public relations

Chapter 6: Public relations and the public sphere

Chapter 7: Public Relations and globalisation

Chapter 8: Public relations as an occupational field: The professional project

Chapter 9: Race and Class in / and PR

Chapter 10: Feminist public relations: Performativity, Black feminism, postfeminism

Chapter 11: Ethics, Public Relations and Society

Chapter 12: Conclusion: Public relations beyond the organisation