What prompted you to write this book?

Two personal perspectives. With over twenty years of experience in the industry as a public relations practitioner, Margalit identified a significant gap in the way public relations was practiced and perceived in Israel compared to the developed countries she visited as a member of the international PR community. While studying and working in the US she became intrigued by those differences. Israel for example, had no academic program in public relations till 2011 while in the US it was a recognised discipline within many universities. She decided to respond to scholars such as Sriramesh and Vercic who in the late 1990s called for the discipline of public relations to research the profession within the context of specific cultural and political environments rather than follow the assumption that all public relations experiences follow the US model.
As a Scottish republican, David has been questioning national identity almost since birth and has been researching PR since 1997. Only recently, however, did he appreciate the formative role of public relations in personal and national narratives and the impact of national identities on the evolution of PR as a profession. Our joint trips to Israel helped us both to identify the interplay of nation building and PR as a distinctive way to understand both the uniqueness of the Israeli system and its possible relevance to other unique national experiences.

What makes Israel stand out from other countries, in terms of the use of PR to inform/build national identity?

Israel, at 65, is relatively a new state that was established by immigrants from around the world with about 70 different cultural identities and languages. The Zionist movement that established the state made a phenomenal effort to unite them into one society and to create a new Israeli identity. The first public relations practitioners were employed by Zionist institutions. They used PR to enlist the new immigrants to the challenging tasks involved in building a nation and a state. They also provided the enlisting narratives, symbols, and emotional messages that inspired the sacrifice of personal individual goals, and sometimes, lives, for the sake of building a state.

Does the definition of PR change when used in the context of nation building?

Current definitions of public relations emphasise the role of the practitioners as facilitators of dialogue between organisations and their constituents, and as builders of networks of relationships. We argue that in situations of nation building, the pressure to use propaganda-style communication is intense. The whole society, including the media, tends to cooperate and support the agendas set by the national leadership. Typically, there is no tolerance for dissident voices as happens during wars. Enlisted societies rarely offer the democratic environment that allows PR to flourish in line with contemporary definitions.
 

Do other techniques form national identities in Israel?

There is a special term in Hebrew called Hasbara which, literally, means “explanation.” It is used to describe the effort of government, or other organisations, to influence public opinion within Israel and abroad. A paternalistic approach to persuasive communication, Hasbara is based on the assumption that the receivers of the message are ignorant or lack the background knowledge to understand correctly without guidance. Hasbara, or the lack of it, is often blamed for the poor image of Israel abroad and the international criticism on its behaviour, especially in the context of its conflict with Palestinians. Hasbara is often used to describe public relations campaigns though it is closer to propaganda and does not recognise the need for interactive dialogue.

What is the difference between political propaganda and public relations, or is it that political propaganda is a tool of public relations?

Any type of propaganda, not just political propaganda, is one sided and involves half-truth or lies while ignoring or shutting down the voices of opponents. Public relations aims to be more dialogical and to present activists and other critical voices to the decision makers of their organisations. The profession aspires to ethical communication and to the building of relations of trust with stakeholders, the public, and the media. In reality, however, it can operate akin to many features of propaganda and only pay lip service to the attitudes and demands of internal and external publics.

Why do you think PR has not been examined before in terms of nation building and national identity?

There have been a few scholars who did examine this interaction and, more recently, there’s been increased research in the area. Nonetheless, most of the literature on public relations has been produced since the 1920s in the US. That literature assumed American leadership of the profession and the academic research. With the rise of globalisation, and less US-centric approaches, scholars have studied different professional experiences in different parts of the world. Jacquie L’Etang’s (2004) pioneering book on the history of public relations in Britain was a first of its kind. In a sense our book follows her steps by providing a different story from another political, economic, and socio-cultural environment.

What is the overall message of the book?

That unity should not ride roughshod over democracy and that dissenting voices need to be heard. We see an urgent need to make the future activities of public relations contribute positively and transparently to the growth of “fully functioning societies.” In a climate of nation building and nationalism, PR can be too easily pressed into the service of government propaganda. It needs to build a history of resistances to these pressures. By remembering that it functions best in a democratic environment, it can help to speak truth to power to preserve that environment. Israel’s success in providing narratives that enlist society to unite and to sacrifice for the state offers lessons that unity sometimes comes at the cost of democracy.

If you were pressed to name one lesson to be taken away from this research, what would it be?

We hope our narrative will encourage public relations practitioners and scholars from all over the world to make their histories visible, to learn from both their positive and negative aspects and to share both as widely as possible. Our deeper aspiration is that PR practitioners, activists, and media workers can jointly contribute to more democratic societies.

Who did you write this book for?

We have ongoing discussion with Margalit’s family and friends in Israel and Israelis, Jews and non-Jews outside of the country. While writing the book we were trying to clarify our position to them and work out how our experiences in our nations had shaped us. Our colleagues and friends from all over the world who research and study the role of public relations in society were a significant audience in our mind. We also tried to create a book that would help Israelis understand PR and the Israeli PR industry to acknowledge its professional roots and be inspired by the socially responsible aspirations of contemporary public relations practitioners across the world.
 

The need for this Sourcebook stems from recent innovations in political communication involving the use of advanced statistical techniques, innovative conceptual frameworks, the rise of digital media as both a means by which to disseminate and study political communication, and methods recently adapted from other disciplines, particularly psychology, sociology, and neuroscience. Chapters will have a social-scientific orientation and will explain new methodologies and measures applicable to questions regarding media, politics, and civic life. The Sourcebook covers the major analytical techniques used in political communication research, including surveys (both original data collections and secondary analyses), experiments, content analysis, discourse analysis (focus groups and textual analysis), network and deliberation analysis, comparative study designs, statistical analysis, and measurement issues. Order a copy or view inside this book to find out more.
 

To receive a 20% discount on your copy of Dynamics of Change in the Persian Gulf, simply enter the code GDC71 when you check out.

1. You’re regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on the international relations of the Middle East. How did you become interested in teaching International Relations? (Anoush is Professor of International Relations at Durham University, UK and was the University’s Dean of Internationalisation, 2009-2011 as well as the founding Head of the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University (2004-9)

I must say my lecturers during my undergraduate degree provided the inspiration for my perpetual learning! They opened so many doors in my mind that frankly I did not know even existed. Nevertheless, the range of subjects I was studying provided the basic intellectual infrastructure for my future learning and research. Combining political ideology, philosophy and economics helped me in putting the planks in place for my interest in international relations and international political economy. My research since then has been rooted in these two extraordinary disciplines.

2. You’ve written many books already (Globalization and Geopolitics in the Middle East: Old Games, New Rules ; The International Politics of the Red Sea; Iran and the Rise of its Neoconservatives; Globalization, 9/11 and the Middle East; and The Foreign Policies of Middle East States- to name but a few). What factors led you to writing Dynamics of Change in the Persian Gulf?

What an interesting question, as the Dynamics of Change in the Persian Gulf is in some ways a culmination of a number of strands that my earlier writings have explored. Firstly, I wanted to develop a conceptual framework for the analysis of sub-regions such as the Gulf. The classic work of Buzan and Waever provided the tools for understanding ‘regional’ politics – so called regional security complexes. What I wanted to do (similar to Greg Gause) was to ‘drill down’ to the sub-regional level and apply the RSC model to the Persian Gulf. I wanted to understand its insecurities and think about how these may be overcome.

But this was just the beginning, for having established the conceptual framework for understanding sub-regional analysis, I wanted to try and make sense of the drivers of change in this sub-region and the underlying currents which have determined inter-state relations here and also the sub-region’s interactions with the rest of the international system. So, I look at the nature of the sub-region’s globalization, for example, but in this I was keen to show that as globalization has become an ‘unevenizing’ process in the sub-region – which I detail extensively – it can at the same time magnify differences in the Gulf and thus raise tensions even further. I also wanted to show the dynamism of the sub-region by exploring the Gulf’s ‘eastward’ shift. But, always I have been asking what do these currents mean for the Gulf itself? How do they change it?

Insecurity has been one of the sub-region’s main problems, leading to three major wars and dozens of other internal and cross-border security incidents. I wanted to go beyond just cataloguing the insecurities besetting the sub-region and try and show the longer term impact and consequences of conflict and violence on the well-being of the sub-region as a whole.

Then there is the discussion about the process of political change in the Gulf – what has been going on? Previous studies had tended to focus on one side or country or another, which has yielded a rich literature on the Gulf monarchies, Iran, or Iraq. I wanted to go a step further and survey the political process right across the Persian Gulf, in the republics and the monarchies.
This book, in its four parts, tries to explain the sources of the sub-region’s dynamism, drivers of change and the frictions that these generate. Only the reader can judge if this has been done adequately, or well enough!

3. Have you read any Routledge books? If so, which is your favourite Routledge book at the moment?

I have many Routledge books! Currently I am enjoying Murray and Brown’s edited volume entitled Multipolarity in the 21st Century. I am actually using their insights in a volume on Middle East-East Asian Nexus that I am currently co-editing with a colleague at St Andrews.

4. How do you feel about the future of the Persian Gulf?

I am worried about the future stability of the Persian Gulf, the security of its smaller states, and its future in a post-hydrocarbons world. The latter may be a long way off yet, but the Gulf’s inter-state problems, underpinned as they are by religious and ethnic tensions, are clear and present dangers. My main concern is that for all the sub-region’s importance, to the riparian states themselves as much as to the rest of the international system, we have failed to devise credible ways and means of addressing its security short-comings! There is, for example, no acceptable security structure for mediating between its states, and indeed moderating. All its members are busy building huge arsenals on the back of unprecedentedly-high oil prices and I worry that someday in not too distant a future one party or another will use its arsenal for tactical advantage. Such an act will be a strategic mistake, setting the whole region back for a generation or more, as was the case in the 1980s and 1990s.

But, I also am hopeful that the actors themselves, as well as the rest of the international community, will find an inclusive and constructive mechanism for building confidence. The key to this, I think, lies in the peaceful resolution of Iran’s nuclear dispute with the international community, which by definition will include the neighbours. I am also hopeful that the Gulf Cooperation Council will mature into a robust regional organization, and, learning from the EU, will increasingly lend itself to the promotion of dialogue and peaceful resolution of disputes in the Gulf itself but also beyond.

5. You’re the Series Editor for the Routledge Durham Modern Middle East and Islamic World Series. How did this come about? How would you describe the series?

The Series came about as a consequence of a number of conversations that I had had with academics from around the world and which I related to colleagues at Routledge, and the expression of my frustration that at that time little systematic focus was being given to the study of the Middle East in its wider context. We both agreed that there was a clear need for systematizing – an awkward word, I know! – scholarship on the region and with some 30 volumes under our belt (and counting), the rest, as they say, is history.

I am likely to be biased here, but I would say that this is one of the most innovative book series out there! Its aim is to encourage new and cutting edge research on a wide range of subjects, topics, and issues pertaining to the Middle East and the wider Muslim world. But the Series is also unique for its philosophy of encouraging and supporting the research of early career researchers and budding scholars while also publishing the works of some of the greatest and experienced minds of our time. The mix of volumes is also, I would like to think, interesting and thought-provoking – just look at what we commission and what we have published!

6. You’ve said that Dynamics of Change provides the most complete analysis of the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf since the Second World War. What makes this book different from others on the market and why do you think people should buy Dynamics of Change?

I would like the reader to appreciate the complexity, and in a sense the uniqueness of the Persian Gulf and the critical role that this sub-region plays in the international system. But I also want the reader to see the wider canvass; this is just one part, albeit an important one, of the complex international order and dynamics of change here should not be divorced from the global currents. The comprehensiveness of the study also sets it apart from many others.

To summarise in a (long!) sentence: This book compacts years of experience of watching the political and economic currents flowing in and out of the Persian Gulf, and as such provides a one-stop shop for better understating what drives change in this important sub-region and the forces which are shaping it today and will be into the future.
 

Why not take a look at our Routledge Research on Gender in Asia series?

Women’s Day originated as a Socialist political event in Eastern Europe and Russia (the Soviet bloc) but gradually the day became more global and as a result partially lost its political overtones. For some, the day has become simply an occasion for men to express their love for women whilst in other regions the original political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are remembered.

Have a look below at the diverse selection of titles we have exploring the role of women in Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Join in the discussions about International Women's Day on March 8th on our Asian Studies Twitter and also our Middle East Studies Twitter.

Professor Philip Haynes argues in his book Public Policy Beyond the Financial Crisis for more innovative approaches to monetary and fiscal policy to revive the UK economy. He makes the case for a whole systems approach to macroeconomic policy rather than focusing on fixed indicators like inflation or growth targets. Philip Haynes recently submitted evidence to the Treasury Select Committee on Quantitative Easing.

Why not take a look? Click here or follow the link below to read his written evidence:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmtreasy/writev/qe/contents.htm

This weekend, 48 million Italians will go to the polls for a Parliamentary Election, including 3 million living abroad. In 2006, Italians living abroad swung the vote in favour of Romano Prodi, and the possibility of this happening again cannot be ruled out.

Find out more about the book below, and order your copy with 20% discount by entering the code GDC71 at the checkout.*

*Valid when ordered from Routledge.com, before 1st March 2013.

You can also browse the Cyber Security Awareness collection, featuring over 30 FREE ACCESS journal articles, until the end of February.

To purchase any of the following books, with 20% off the standard price, simply enter the code GDC71 at the checkout.

In a time of great political change and unrest, these highly topical texts offer succinct accounts of the contemporary political environment in the Middle East.
 

Written in a clear and accessible manner, this series fills a conspicuous gap in the existing academic literature on the MENA region. It will be of interest not only to students of international politics and Middle East studies, but also to anyone travelling in or wanting to learn more about the region. Here we have provided a selection of the most recent titles, but you can see below for links to the rest of the series. 

To receive 20% off any of the series titles for a limited time only*, enter the code GDC72 at checkout.

 Lebanon: The Politics of a Penetrated Society

Systematically exploring Lebanon’s history, society and politics, the author stresses the importance of the crucial role of external actors in the Lebanese system. The analysis encompasses:

• the formation of the state
• weaknesses and dynamics of the Lebanese state
• the civil war
• post-war government and change
• the Lebanese economy
• foreign policy

 Libya: Continuity and Change

Following a brief look at pre-independence Libya, the author explores the way in which the fragility of the post-independence state, unable to contain rising Arab nationalist struggles and growing economic expectations, opened the way for the Free Unionist Officers led by Muammar al-Qaddafi to seize power. He then traces the progressive development of the revolutionary state through four stages:

• the consolidation of power to 1973
• the projection of power to 1986
• withdrawal and retrenchment to 1999
• the redefinition of the state after 1999.

Jordan: A Hashemite Legacy, 2nd Edition

Under the rule of King Abdullah II, Jordan has remained an influential regional player in the Middle East Peace Process, its strategic position on the borders of Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iraq ensuring that it cannot be overlooked in the regional and international politics. The new edition includes coverage and discussion of:

• the reign of King Abdullah II
• the involvement of the US in the Iraq war and the effect on this on Jordan’s alignment with the West
• the country’s recent economic growth, with an emphasis on economic liberalisation, privatisation, promotion of tourism and encouragement of foreign investment
• the position of Jordan as a point of continuity in an increasingly unstable Middle East.

Turkey: Challenges of Continuity and Change

The authors put issues relevant to Turkey today – such as consolidating democracy, dealing with economic development issues, improving its human rights record and its foreign policy – in an historical context, allowing comparisons with other late developers in the world and reflecting the complexity of Turkish political and socio-economic developments. Turkey also argues that the modernization process that started in the nineteenth century, with all its elements including secularization and Westernization, has taken root.

* = Offer valid until 26th February 2013.
 

Three major objectives guide this research. One is defining Unholy Alliances. This complex dependent variable, focused on the interaction between crime and violence, is defined and explained by looking at actors. Three patterns of interaction show how militants may operate or cooperate with illegal enterprise. The first pattern is characterized by a mix of opportunistic and pragmatic objectives; in the second pattern militants are driven by ideological objectives; while networks of the third type are almost wholly predatory.

The book’s second objective is to identify the conditions prompting the establishment of Unholy Alliances. The authors argue that transborder identity networks provide the setting where militant organizations using violent strategies – insurgency and terrorism – operate. Ongoing armed conflict is a key factor forging alliances of convenience. Another factor is the availability of local criminal markets and networks, which expand in interaction with the global illegal economy. Still another factor is the availability of weak states, black spots, as well as corrupted and criminalized states bordering on states in conflict. Not least, supra-national institutions interact with crime and violence in a quest to counter it.

The book’s third objective is to identify successful fund-raising models used by networks of transborder militants. These include sponsorship, donation, predation and enterpreneurship. Each of them has been analyzed in view of its profitability, risks, and regional strategies for controlling them.

The Unholy Alliances project examines six paired case studies, including the cross-border ethnonational movements of the Kosovar Albanians and the Turkish Kurds; the trans-border religious movements of the Islamists in Bosnia and Algeria; as well as the dysfunctional and vulnerable states of Bulgaria and Serbia, the first transitioning to a market economy; the second pursuing radical nationalist politics. The case study material is complemented by analysis of information from open-source coding by the Minorities at Risk Organizational Behavior (MAROB) project of criminal activities by ethnic organizations in the Middle East and post-Communist countries. The book’s major finding suggests that militants depend on money to survive and succeed; however availability of strong identity networks and in-group support is just as important as money for their survival.

There are three meta-strategies for containing Unholy Alliances. One is the pursuit of closely coordinated regional security policies, those that increase the costs and reduce the opportunities for terror, international criminal activity, and state corruption. Regional coordination and direction is key here. The second meta-strategy is to provide identity groups with open political channels for pursuing their interests, including sub-state autonomy. The third is diversion of illicit economic activity, and gains, into the legitimate economy.

The UK Independence Party has often been accused of homophobia, despite its leader's eagerness to portray the party as tolerant of gay people at home, due to its alliances with European parties whose members are openly hostile to homosexuals. View the article here.

Pankowski's book examines the rapid growth of organized radical nationalism on the political level in Poland, showing its origins, its internal dynamics and the historical, political, social and cultural context that has made it possible. Preview the book online, or read more by following the links below.

As Oprisko comments, 'the bottom of the barrel at Princeton is still the bottom of the barrel.'

This matter has been widely debated in the media recently, and Oprisko's argument is made clear in an article in The Georgetown Public Policy Review, Inside Higher Ed and The Chronice for Higher Education, whilst there has been further coverage of the matter in Foreign Policy and Washington Monthly. The issue has also been discussed on political science blogs such as The Duck of Minerva, The Monkey Cage and Outside the Beltway.

This extremely important and current issue cannot be ignored, and is covered in Robert L. Oprisko's book Honor: A Phenomenology, which is available to preview online here. Read more below, or recommend the book to your librarian.

Read more about these new series, and how to discuss an idea or submit a proposal by viewing the relevant announcements below:

Routledge Advances in Democratic Theory

Conceptualising Comparative Politics

Routledge Studies in Global and Transnational Politics

Role Theory and International Relations

For more information, please contact the relevant editors listed on each announcement, or click here to email us.

American Government 7th Edition + Perspectives on American Government bundle:

Adding Perspectives on American Government: Readings in Political Development and Change, edited by Cal Jillson and David Robertson, to your list of course texts will provide classic political science scholarship and the best contemporary analysis to your students. Students will be invited to probe the historical dynamics that brought the United States to where it is today and how those dynamics are likely to affect its future course.

American Government 7th Edition + The American Anomaly bundle:

Adding The American Anomaly, by Raymond A. Smith, to your list of course texts will add a comparative perspective that provides much needed insight of the American political system into global context. Introductory textbooks on American government, however, rarely emphasize in sufficient depth how the United States compares to other political systems. And introductions to comparative politics infrequently situate the United States in their analysis.

American Government 7th Edition + In Defense of Politicians bundle:

Adding In Defense of Politicians, by Stephen K. Medvic, to your list of course texts will give your students a provocative contrarian argument to supplement the framework of American politics described in American Government.

American Government 7th Edition + New Directions in American Politics bundle:

Adding New Directions in American Politics, edited by Raymond J. La Raja, to your list of course texts will add analytical perspectives to American Politics. New Directions in American Politics introduces students not just to how the American political system works but also to how political science works. La Raja brings together top scholars to write original essays across the American government curriculum, capturing emerging research in the discipline in a way that is accessible for undergraduates.

Routledge Major Works WINTER BACKLIST OFFER! (from 12/12/12 – 12/3/13)

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