Page 203 - An Introduction to Political Communication Fifth Edition

Intro to Politics Communication (5th edn)-p.qxp 9/2/11 10:55 Page 182

COMMUNICATING POLITICS
In 2001, at the height of Robert Mugabe’s campaign of ‘land reform’, the
US public relations company Cohen and Wood International were employed
by the Zimbabwean government in an effort to improve its reputation
abroad, a task that understandably proved difficult amidst the violent
intimidation, corruption and incompetence which by the time of Zimbabwe’s
2002 election had become associated with Mugabe’s ZANU PF party. With
the exception of a number of his fellow African leaders such as Sam Nujoma
of Namibia, Mugabe’s efforts to promote a positive image of himself and his
government overseas were a resounding failure.
The South African government also employed professional public rela-
tions in its efforts at international political communication, after negative
publicity surrounding President Mbeki’s unorthodox views on AIDS and
other issues. In 2001 it was reported that South Africa was ‘embracing spin
doctors in an attempt to improve its flagging overseas image’. PR companies
‘have been told to offer leading British political and media celebrities free
holidays, free flights to South Africa, and free hotels if they will return to the
3
UK and write favourably about the new South Africa’. Even after the
retirement of Nelson Mandela, South Africa retained vast reserves of
international goodwill, and the task of PR companies contracted to ‘sell’ the
country abroad was nowhere near as challenging as with Zimbabwe. The
governments of both countries clearly understood, however, that professional
communication techniques could be of value to their international reputa-
tions. The 2010 FIFA World Cup, hosted by South Africa, was seen as, on
the one hand, a sign of the country’s emergence onto the global stage, and
on the other as a vehicle for further communication of a positive political
message about the country’s present and future stability.
As already noted, Mikhail Gorbachev was a pioneer in the use of public
relations and other communication tools in the Soviet era. More recently
Vladimir Putin sought to strengthen both his domestic and international
image by such techniques as profiles in the colour supplements of Western
newspapers such as The Sunday Times. Here and elsewhere Putin’s reputa-
tion as an ex-KGB ‘hard man’ with authoritarian tendencies was softened by
pictures of him sitting comfortably at home, smiling and relaxed. In the run
up to the 2006 G8 summit in St Petersburg the government of the Russian
Federation hired American PR company Ketchum to counter negative pub-
licity generated by the jailing of oligarchs and other allegedly anti-democratic
moves. The Portland company was hired to manage the Kremlin’s publicity
throughout its year-long presidency of the G8.

INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT AND POLITICAL
COMMUNICATION

The Cold War was so termed because, thankfully, it did not involve direct
military confrontation between the Western powers and the Soviet Union.

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