Images of Nations and International Public Relations

346 Pages·1996·8.487 MB·English

by  Michael Kunczik

Images of Nations and
International Public Relations
The final camera copy for this work was prepared by the
author, and therefore the publisher takes no responsibility
for consistency or correctness of typographical style. How­
ever, this arrangement helps to make publication of this kind
of scholarship possible.
First published 1997 by
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Published 2016 by Routledge
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Copyright © 1997 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be repro­
duced in any form, by photostat, microfilm, retrieval
system, or any other means, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
Cover design by Semadar Megged
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kunczik, Michael, 1946-
Images of nations and international public relations /
Michael Kunczik.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
1. Government publicity. 2. Propaganda, International.
3. International relations. 4. Discourse analysis. I. Title
JF1525.P8K83 1996
659.2'935—dc20 96-19393
CIP
ISBN 13: 978-0-805-81713-3 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-805-81714-0 (pbk)
Contents
Foreword ix
1 Introduction to the Problems of
International Image Cultivation 1
Preliminary Remarks 1
Status of Research in the Field of
International Public Relations 12
2 Problems of International Image Cultivation 18
Domestic Public Opinion and World Public Opinion 18
The Structural Necessity of Public Relations for States 20
Actors in the Field of International Public Relations 27
Image and the International System 37
v
vi
CONTENTS
The World of Literary Images: Some Examples 52
Image and Reality: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 58
Some Examples of Image Polishing by States 61
The Country of Origin Effect 68
The Main Aim of International PR:
Establishment of Trust 74
Terrorism as International Public Relations 80
3 Mediation of Foreign Policy 85
Theoretical Considerations 85
The Media and Politics: Some Examples of Mediation 87
CNN, Mediation of Foreign Policy, and the Gulf War 96
4 Observations on Image Changes 102
Image Changes and Selective Perception 102
Research Findings and Tricks of the Trade 109
Examples of Enemy-Images 120
The Red Menace 120
The Jewish-Bolshevist Conspiracy 126
The Fabulous Orient 129
The New Scapegoat: Japan 134
Propaganda and Stability of Images 144
5 Short Historical Outline of Image Cultivation
by Governments 152
Early Examples of Image Manipulation 152
Developments in Germany and France 158
CONTENTS vii
The Birth of Professional Image Cultivation:
The Fight for America's Neutrality During World War I 169
British Activities 169
German Propaganda in the United States 180
The Creel Committee 186
Resume - The Birth of Professional Image Cultivation 188
6 Selected Cases of International Public Relations 191
Ivy Lee and PR for Nazi Germany 191
Nazi Propaganda to Foreign Nations 193
Edward L. Bernays: Gaining Goodwill for India 198
The Tactic of Withdrawal: PR in the United States for
Developing Countries 201
The Big Rip-Off: Image Cultivation by
General Chiang Kai-shek 205
Muldergate: Apartheid and Image Policy of South Africa 212
7 International Image Cultivation During
Cold War Times 227
Image Cultivation by the United States 227
Image Cultivation by the USIA 230
Image Cultivation by the CIA 240
United Fruit and the CIA: The Coup in Guatemala 246
Image Policy of the Soviet Union 252
A Short History of Soviet Propaganda 252
Disinformation Campaigns of the KGB 256
Gorbachev’s PR Offensive 263
viii
CONTENTS
8 Image Policy During Wartimes:
Theoretical Considerations and the Gulf War 270
Carl von Clausewitz and Paradoxical Communication:
The Necessity of Censorship 270
Public Opinion in Wartime 273
Public Relations in Wartime: The Gulf War II 277
9 Consequences for Image Polishing 283
References 286
Index 318
Foreword
This book addresses the importance of images of nations in
international relations. One fundamental assumption is that the
behavior of states is not the same as that of individuals. States are
social systems whose behavior as a rule directly corresponds neither
to the motives of their respective leaders nor to those of their
populations. Self-evidently, however, international activities always
depend, too, on personal relationships; for example it is indubitably
important whether the U.S. president and the leader of Russia get
on well with each other at a personal level.
The book also presents studies which relate to more or less
deliberate attempts to induce change in images. There is no need to
fear that this is a kind of Machiavellian manipulation manual to
enable dictatorships trampling on human rights suddenly to appear
in the purest shining light of innocence. Fears of the alleged
omnipotence of the image producers, which are still widely spread
in public, are also to be countered, which is not to be equated,
however, with making the might of the "captains of consciousness"
appear harmless. Obviously, one of the main objectives of
advertising and public relations agencies must be to convince clients
and prospective clients of the effectiveness of their work. And it
must already be said here that active and planned inducement of
image change is a long and demanding process. A positive image
cannot be forced nor bought, and once it has been built it needs
continuous cultivation. Image building can go on at many levels,
starting with sport. Artists and scientists may travel abroad or the
mass media might be used. Such activities will be briefly touched on
here, too, but because of the breadth of the theme the emphasis will
be clearly on image building or influencing by the mass media.
Given the interdisciplinary nature of the subject matter, findings
made in the public relations, advertising research, prejudice research
and other fields will also be taken into account. One difficulty is the
IX
X FOREWORD
drawing of boundaries concerning the actors influencing the images
of nations. Very often it is impossible to distinguish between the
image of the nation-state and the images of big enterprises like
Krupp, Ford or Coca Cola. For this reason the country of origin
effect is also discussed here.
Public relations is also the art of camouflaging and deceiving,
successful PR also means above all that the target group (those to
be influenced and those who have the money to pay for such
attempts) do not notice that they have become the "victims" of a PR
activity.
Publication of this book is made possible by the Friedrich Ebert
Foundation. My special thanks for suggestions and criticism in this
research project carried out for the Friedrich Ebert Foundation are
due to (in alphabetical order): Dr. Dieter Bauer, Reinhard Keune
and Gunther Lehrke of the foundation. My special thanks are due to
Claudia Peters who provided secretarial assistance and to Dr.
Alexander Heintzel who not only offered helpful criticism but also
provided administrative assistance.
CHAPTER 1
Introduction to the Problems of
International Image Cultivation
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
The first time one visits a new country, regardless of how thorough
his or her preparation, it is always different from the way he or she
imagined it would be. Not all Scots are tightfisted and frugal, and
they do not all run around in kilts and play bagpipes. Not all the
Swiss are bankers, nor do they spend their time yodeling from the
mountains. And the Viennese have other things to do besides
dancing waltzes. At the same time, one discovers that the
inhabitants of the host country often have the most peculiar, largely
inaccurate, perceptions of one's own country. The question is, what
kind of information has created such images, and can they be
changed?
Images of certain nations, however right or wrong they might be,
seem to form, fundamentally, through a very complex
communication process involving varied information sources. The
process starts with one's experiences in very early life; in school; in
children's books, fairytales and other leisure literature; the theater
and so on, and may include accounts by relatives, acquaintances,
and friends. But radio and TV transmissions of international
programs, newspapers and magazines, cultural exchange programs,
sports, books, news services, and so on are probably the strongest
image shapers. The various communication sources are responsible
for the image or images of another nation in all strata of a
1