Globalization and Public Relations in Postcolonial Nations: Chal ...

In the volume’s final chapter, we provide an overview of how effective public relations practices are changing and growing in the face of globalization challenges, connecting communication techniques with ideologies—Appadurai’s (1996) mediascapes and ideoscapes. We outline ways in which organizations can use public relations to contribute to a social justice agenda that addresses the inequities of globalization and helps realize its promise. We return to the theoretical issues briefly mentioned earlier in this chapter to link our exploration of issues with current theory and to inform theory building from a ground-up perspective. Our goal is to inform discussion, spark debate, and raise the ethical consciousness of practitioners operating in the global arena. In doing so, we adopt the perspective of Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz (2003, p. 222): “We cannot go back on globalization; it is here to stay. The issue is how we can make it work.” Likewise, our perspective is that one cannot separate public relations practice from the social justice issues raised by globalization nor consider it the sole domain of a privileged few. As a fundamental communicative practice that serves to create meanings and influence discourses, public relations is inextricably woven throughout Appadurai’s (1996) social imaginary realm and the disjunctures and differences that competing “scapes” reveal in the global cultural economy.