Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2: The Practical, the Conceptual and the Empirical 3031327500, 9783031327506

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Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2 The Practical, the Conceptual and the Empirical Edited by Albert A. Anani-Bossman Takalani E. Mudzanani Cornelius B. Pratt Isaac A. Blankson

Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2

Albert A. Anani-Bossman Takalani E. Mudzanani Cornelius B. Pratt  •  Isaac A. Blankson Editors

Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2 The Practical, the Conceptual and the Empirical

Editors Albert A. Anani-Bossman Department of Public Relations University of Media, Arts and Communication, UniMAC-GIJ Accra, Ghana Cornelius B. Pratt Communication Psychology and Application Research Center Northwest University of Politics and Law Xi’an, China

Takalani E. Mudzanani Department of Communication Science University of South Africa Pretoria, South Africa Isaac A. Blankson African University College of Communications Accra, Ghana

Department of Advertising and Public Relations Lew Klein College of Media and Communication Temple University Philadelphia, PA, USA

ISBN 978-3-031-32750-6    ISBN 978-3-031-32751-3 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Preface

The body of knowledge in public relations management in organizations has grown exponentially during the last three decades, thanks to globalization and to the evolution of digital technologies. Much of that knowledge has focused on the strategic nature of public relations and its overall contribution to organizational effectiveness. Globalization has encouraged an increase in the global study of strategic public relations management and its related components with researchers, suggesting that for organizations to be effective, public relations must be part of the organizational policy decision-making process. This allows practitioners to serve as facilitators by assisting organizations in aligning organizational objectives with the needs of stakeholders in different environmental situations. From the mid- to the late 1980s, public relations research generated a corpus of studies that coalesced in part in the publication of a tome titled Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management, edited by James Grunig (1992). It presented the excellence theory, which posits that public relations practitioners can contribute to organizational effectiveness when they practice excellent public relations. A key tenet of the theory is that public relations must be both managerial and strategic, that is, be a part of the dominant coalition, report to the chief executive, and not be subsumed under other departments. The introduction of the excellence theory ushered an era of research on public relations practices in several environments. Research blossomed, leading to the publication of several edited volumes in several geographical contexts. Interestingly, many of the publications on public relations management focus on the Global North, with a smattering of publications during the v

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past two decades on Asia. Africa is yet to be fully engaged. Because of a paucity of relevant materials for public relations education and research in most African countries, they tend to use US-style curricula and materials, even though they are not necessarily robustly relevant to local conditions. This book, the second of two volumes, seeks to address that gap by bringing together African scholars to share perspectives on the practice on the continent and within its cultural, global, and technological milieux. This volume encourages scholars on or from the continent to examine their current pedagogical modules and research directions in public relations and communication management, as well as identify emerging issues driving the practice in Africa. Evidence demonstrates that the field—as both a practice and a research interest—is growing at a tremendous pace on the continent, and global trends are influencing the field’s professionalism and its national and continent-wide significance. Much of the practice on the continent is studied using only Western philosophies and books, which, as scholars have identified, mostly do not reflect on Africa’s socioeconomic, political, and cultural contexts. Through conceptual discussions and empirical analyses, contributors demonstrate how Africa is gradually coming out of the shadows of the Western world by building a body of knowledge that reflects the nature of public relations management on the continent. This volume consists of eleven chapters and discusses key issues such as the current landscape of public relations research and practice in Africa, health communication and public relations, social media and public relations practice, the prospects and challenges of public relations practice, public relations and identity management, relationship management and strategic communications in conflict management, and crisis communication. The following is a highlight of each chapter. Chapter 1, the introductory chapter, establishes the road map for the rest of the book. The chapter explores the current landscape of public relations in Africa. It examines the various variables defining the changing nature of the African environment and how they impact public relations on the continent. The chapter reviews the continent’s research contributions, including the roles, models, and drive toward professionalism. It concludes by addressing essential issues needed for public relations scholarship and practice on the continent to acquire the much-needed reputation and recognition. In Chap. 2, the authors investigate the public relations practice in the Namibian public service by benchmarking it against the principles of

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Grunig’s Excellence Theory. The excellence theory identifies key principles that enhance the strategic nature of public relations, including empowerment of the practitioner and reporting to top management. Through in-­ depth exploratory study and observation, the authors demonstrate that public relations, although viewed as a management function, is nevertheless practiced from a technician’s point of view. The authors conclude that public relations in Namibia’s public sector has a long way to go before it can be regarded as strategic. The historical development of public relations in Ethiopia and the challenges it faces are the subject of Chap. 3. The author notes that despite the rapid demand for public relations professionals in Ethiopia, the practice is still in its infancy. The chapter highlights how certain indigenous communication systems of some ethnic communities have impacted the development and practice of public relations in Ethiopia. It also discusses some of the key challenges the profession faces, as well as the prospects for growth. Chapter 4 discusses how strategic communications are used to address environmental turbulence, such as Islamic extremism and Islamophobia. Through the use of the indigenous Juddiya model, the authors explore the communication strategies used by Sudan, a North African country, for managing relationships and for engaging militants and insurgent groups. The chapter proposes using localized approaches to engage local stakeholders in counter-terrorism efforts to negotiate and establish sustainable peace in Sudan. Public relations (PR) plays a vital role in the field of healthcare. COVID-19 emerged as a global crisis, and this notes the importance of PR in the field of health communication. In Chap. 5, the author examines two South African (SA) health promotional COVID-19 vaccination campaigns as case studies. Publics need to be aware and informed of current medical information related to outbreaks of illnesses and this occurs via health promotional campaigns, in the case of this chapter. In a South African context, PR health promotional campaigns need to cater for cultural diversities to ensure the effective management of healthcare crises. Social and cultural barriers affect the implementation of effective healthcare. This chapter also discusses various issues, including vaccine hesitancy, crisis and risk communication, as well as social media representation of fake news and infodemics, that emerged from the media during the pandemic. The chapter explains theoretical perspectives from the fields of both health communication (behavior change) and PR.

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Chapter 6 explores the use of social media in public relations among local Tanzanian companies. Through in-depth exploratory data, the authors note that much as there is a positive attitude toward social media, not all practitioners are comfortable with it. The authors advocate the need for continuing education on the use of social media to fill this gap. Chapter 7 investigates the public relations practice in Africa’s higher education institutions (HEIs). Higher education has become very competitive globally primarily due to increasing competition, rising costs, evolving media, and skepticism. Given this, the authors examine how African universities have employed public relations to enhance their competitive edge. The authors develop an integrated public relations framework for excellent public relations practice in African HEI. Chapter 8 examines crisis communication management in higher learning in South Africa through a case study. The author discusses the varied crisis situations in the South African context, despite the several post-­ apartheid restructuring and mergers. The chapter employs content analysis to examine the role of public relations and timely communication during a crisis at a South African university. The author concludes by positing the need for public relations to be accorded its rightful place in managing stakeholder relations during a crisis. Chapter 9 examines how public relations and identity management worked under authoritarian leadership in a higher education institution in Uganda. The study reviews the impact of dictatorial political and legal environments on university public relations and identity management at Makerere University in the pre-2000s. The authors suggest that freedom of speech and expression is essential to constructing, promoting, and protecting organizational and technical identity values. Chapter 10 discusses one of the few but essential areas of communication, CEO activism. Although CEO activism is gaining traction as a legitimate scholarly inquiry, the literature on it is primarily Western biased. The authors, therefore, attempt to fill the gap by analyzing the framing of a public speech of one of Africa’s foremost business leaders in Ghana. The study presents a typology of four major activist CEO speech frames: the governance frame, the solution frame, the assault on democracy frame, and the silence frame. The study contributes to the African school of thought in public relations, Afrocentric sustainability philosophies, and concepts of inclusive capitalism such as Africapitalism. The final chapter (Chap. 11) lays out arguments for a rethinking of public relations practice as it currently pertains to the continent. The

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chapter, which is a concluding chapter, discusses the current status of public relations in Africa by raising two key questions: is there a future for public relations in Africa? and if there is, what should the future of public relations on the continent be? These questions form the basis of the discussions. The authors end with a call for the development of an African public relations model premised on African philosophies. The theoretical and practical nature of this book makes it appealing to diverse audiences, including public relations practitioners, students majoring in public relations, and public relations instructors who can use it in their undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The book is also relevant to public relations and communication researchers, not just in Africa but also in countries where there is an interest in public relations management in Africa. Accra, Ghana Pretoria, South Africa  Philadelphia, PA  Accra, Ghana 

Albert A. Anani-Bossman Takalani E. Mudzanani Cornelius B. Pratt Isaac A. Blankson

Preface

Writing a foreword oftentimes engenders in the writer a mix of elation and self-reflexivity—elation in alerting readers of, say, this volume to a refreshing heterodox approach that emphasizes getting past the sometimes excruciating challenges of organizational communications on the ground, rather than getting bogged down in their challenges per se; and self-­ reflexivity in offering readers multiple perspectives (absent normative directives) from which they can reflect on their role—both current and future—as strategic communication managers. In the 1970s, following graduation from the University of Lagos, I served as a management trainee in the public relations unit of Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC, then presumably the world’s largest single flour mill. Some 27 years later, I served for six years in the National Office of Communication at the United States Department of Agriculture, Sidney R.  Yates Federal Building, in Washington, D.C.  I then returned to the academy—this time in Philadelphia, the fourth-largest media market in the United States. To write this foreword, I persuaded myself that perhaps my perch as a college professor and a former practitioner would instantly provide me with the required distance for a much-needed objectivity and the gimlet eye to fulfill this responsibility effectively. Now, let’s shift gears and move to the essence of this essential guide to excellence in communication management. The chapters in this two-volume Public Relations Management in Africa were written primarily for a trinary readership: (a) mid- and senior-­ level communicators and marketing communication managers poignantly curious about developments in communication management, particularly xi

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about how their peers contribute to ethics-guided organizational communications and to the common good; (b) graduate and undergraduate students interested in fostering their creative engagement with communication practices, enabled by theoretical frameworks and focused on Africa; and (c) public relations and multidisciplinary faculty considering or seeking directions for future research at the intersection of marketing communication, public relations qua public relations, and rhetorical inquiries. This book offers all three groups approaches to and perspectives on addressing public relations issues. A hallmark of educational and training institutions worldwide is the granting or awarding of certifications to enrollees following the completion of specified courses, seminars, or workshops. To do so, such institutions are required to meet standards agreed upon by their preceptors and teaching and research faculty, as well as those stipulated by professional associations or government agencies whose responsibility is monitoring or overseeing the offerings of such institutions. This points to an essential outcome: the institutional codification of rigorous accreditation criteria as indicators of the avowed standards and expectations of a profession or practice and the trajectories for self-assessing and strengthening them. All of those considerations inspired Public Relations Management in Africa, which was written to provide readers with a granular understanding of public relations in the management of organizational communication. The two-volume format of the book—Volume 1 examines the organizational impact of the practice, whereas Volume II focuses on its practical, conceptual, and empirical aspects—offers an eclectic, yet comprehensive, read. Public relations, broadly conceptualized as organizational communications, increasingly attracts institutional interest from two major constituencies: organizations that have communication specialists on their staff and those whose responsibility it is to prepare them for their evolving organizational roles. The two volumes of this book address the communication interests of both camps by presenting cases, scenarios, illustrations, and analyses, each from a perspective that enables communication specialists, on the one hand, to reflect on their organizational roles while examining pointers that can be applied to subsequent undertakings, thereby facilitating more effective communication outcomes. Those outcomes offer communication students, on the other hand, an opportunity to participate in a public relations experiential process and role-play. Such

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students occupy front-row seats in an unfolding public relations activity that proffers a bird’s-eye view of the function. What can these volumes contribute to Africa’s public relations practice? Despite Africa’s notoriety as a socioeconomically unstable continent, its economies, pre-COVID-19 pandemic, had healthy growth rates. Ghana’s, for example, was 8.4% in 2017—the world’s third fastest. Rwanda’s gross domestic product averaged 7.2% from 2010 to 2019, but plummeted to 3.4% in 2020 (https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/rwanda/overview), hobbled by COVID-19 lockdowns. Egypt’s informal economy, parallel to the formal economy, has been booming during the past 50 years, accounting for 68% of new jobs and for up to 50% of the country’s GDP, and making it the largest recipient of remittances in Africa (Soliman, 2020). South Africa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP), announced in 2020, and the country’s commitment to growth and fiscal sustainability contributed to the finding of the International Monetary Fund, during its visit from May 26 to June 6, 2022, that some sectors of the country’s economy—tourism, hospitality, and construction—were improving significantly in the aftermath of the decline in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, its economy, benefiting from favorable commodity prices, grew by 4.9%. According to World Population Review (https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-­rankings/richest-­african-­countries), “The African economy is expected to reach a GDP of $29 trillion by 2050, powered by its agriculture, trade, and natural resources sectors. The region has an eager and expanding workforce, with 20 million new job seekers a year in sub-Saharan Africa alone. Africans are starting to catch up with the rest of the world technologically as well” (para. 2, n.d.). The overarching message here is clear: there is a growing continent-wide need for skilled communicators who will increasingly guide their organizations toward meeting their strategic communication goals as they establish and maintain two-­ way symmetrical relationships with their disparate stakeholders. The outlook for the contributions of such a management function looks promising primarily because African governments’ economic policies—for example, South Africa’s ERRP—are focused on creating and expanding businesses, on reducing poverty, and on improving the business environment through, among other things, massive investments in infrastructure. Beyond the business environment across the continent, there has been a significant growth in college-level communications education, particularly since the 1960s, when a number of African countries severed their

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political subservience to colonial institutions and created their own communication curricula that attempted to resonate with local sensibilities. But that growth had been much more pronounced in numerical terms— that is, in the number of universities and colleges that have communication programs—than in the resources needed to make such growth (in numerical terms) sustainable. These volumes aim to address that lacuna. Each volume takes readers from specific, case-focused analyses (e.g., “Redefining Media Relations in Higher Education Institutions in Ghana: A Qualitative Case Study Approach of Public and Private Universities,” Chapter 10, in Volume I) to broader considerations in public relations in organizations (e.g., “Public Relations Research and Practice in Africa” Chapter 1, Volume II). The mix of research methodologies in both volumes spans the landscape of the practice—from launching a three-pronged, functionalistic research process (exploring, designing [qualitative and quantitative], executing), absent experimental designs, to delivering, say, a campaign or a research report. Such an approach will be particularly helpful to students enrolled in public relations courses as they seek to avoid some of the common mistakes detailed in “The Seven Deadly Sins of Communication Research” (Neuman et al., 2008). Also from a broader perspective is the final chapter of Volume II, titled “Future of Public Relations in Africa: A Case for Rethinking Inquiry and Practice,” in which the authors bemoan the adoption of Western-style frameworks/theories, concepts, and practices in African public relations and argue for the development of frameworks based on variables that proclaim African agency and draw upon African philosophical approaches that underpin African business practices as the corpus of our current knowledge, pedagogy, and research in public relations management. Given the relevance and application of public relations to socioeconomic development, the authors advocate that African scholars move from the debate of developing African-oriented concepts and practices in communication and public relations to build them if Africa is to catch up with other parts of the world. Those arguments are inarguably spot-on. These analyses by the contributors, collectively continent-wide, will encourage self-reflexivity among readers, enabling them to draw their own well-informed, inspiring conclusions based on their own specific job experiences, their own professional inclinations, and their own expectations of public relations as an evolving management function in organizations. On that note, this book has the potential to occupy an indelible spot in the

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annals of Africa’s public relations management, as it seeks to expand and enrich our discourses in the classroom, in the newsroom, in the boardroom. Philadelphia, PA 2022

Cornelius B. Pratt

References Neuman, W. R., Davidson, R., Joo, S.-H., Park, Y. J., & Williams, A. E. (2008). The seven deadly sins of communication research. Journal of Communication, 58(2), 220–237. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-­2466.2008.00382.x Soliman, M. (2020). Egypt’s informal economy: An ongoing cause of unrest. Journal of International Affairs, 73(2), 185–193.

Acknowledgments

This book has been made possible through the efforts and cooperation of many people and we would like to show our gratitude to them. First, we want to thank the authors who responded to our call to contribute to this volume. We very much appreciate the time and effort they put into their chapters. This book would not have been published without their contributions. Second, we thank the publisher Palgrave Macmillan, particularly Arunaa Devi and Lauriane Piette, for the unalloyed support, professionalism, and constant guidance offered throughout the development of this book. Finally, we thank our families for their unwavering support during the preparation of this volume. The Editors

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Contents

1 Introduction:  Public Relations Research and Practice in Africa  1 Takalani E. Mudzanani and Albert A. Anani-Bossman 2 Benchmarking  Public Relations Practice in the Namibian Public Service with the Principles of the Excellence Theory 31 Ndafilwonghenda T. Nambundunga and Eno Akpabio 3 Ethiopian  Public Relations in Practice: Historical Development and Its Constraints 53 Geremew Chala 4 Radicalization,  Divides, or Interfaith Harmony? Relationship Management and Strategic Communication in Sudan 79 Nadeem Akhtar , Muhammad Khalil Khan , and Cornelius B. Pratt 5 COVID-19  Health Campaigns and Public Relations Management: A South African Perspective103 Sabihah Moola

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6 Social  Media and Public Relations Practice in Tanzania125 Rehema Muniko and Eno Akpabio 7 A  Framework for Excellent Public Relations Practice in Higher Education Institutions in Africa: A Study of Selected African Countries143 Albert A. Anani-Bossman and Takalani E. Mudzanani 8 Toward  Ensuring Effective Crisis Communication Management in Institutions of Higher Learning: A Case of a South African University169 Oluyinka O. Osunkunle 9 Public  Relations and Identity Management Under Authoritarian Leadership: Experiences of Makerere University Managers (1971–1979)191 Barbra Natifu and Lazarus Nabaho 10 Mixing  Business with Politics: A Framing Analysis of Sir Sam Jonah’s “Down the Up Escalator” Activist CEO Speech of April 22, 2021219 Eric Kwame Adae and Godwin Etse Sikanku 11 Future  of Public Relations in Africa: A Case for Rethinking Inquiry and Practice245 Isaac A. Blankson and Albert A. Anani-Bossman Index259

Notes on Contributors

Eric  Kwame Adae  is Assistant Professor of Public Relations at Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication, USA. He holds a Ph.D. in Media and Communication from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, as well as a B.A. in Sociology with English and M.Phil. in Communication Studies, all from the University of Ghana. He is an accredited public relations practitioner and was a communications consultant for more than 15 years in Ghana. His research interests include Afrocentricity, responsible management, CEO activism, social justice, corporate social advocacy, and corporate social responsibility/ sustainability. Nadeem  Akhtar  holds a Ph.D. from the Wuhan University, People’s Republic of China, and is an associate professor in the School of Urban Culture at the South China Normal University, Nanhai Campus, Foshan, China. He is also a visiting associate professor in the Department of One Belt at the One Road Institute, Chu Hai College of Higher Education, Hong Kong. He also served in the India-­Pakistan Research Center, focusing on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and in the School of International Education at the South China University of Technology, China (2018–2019). He was an assistant professor in, and chair of, the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at the Kohat University of Science and Technology, Pakistan (2012–2018). His research has been published in top-tier SSCI journals (e.g., Journalism Studies, Frontiers in Public Health, Frontiers in Psychology, Sage Open, The Social Science Journal) and has book chapters in Routledge series. Apart from xxi

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these, he has also presented several research papers at national and international academic conferences. Akhtar’s research interests include journalism, new media and social interactions, interreligious and intercultural conflicts, intercultural and interpersonal communication, international communication, and China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Eno Akpabio  holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Calabar, an M.Sc., and a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos and the University of Uyo, respectively. He was a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He served as a senior lecturer, an associate professor, and the head of the Department of Media Studies at the University of Botswana, as well as a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Dar es Salaam, before taking up his present post as Professor of Information and Communications Studies at the University of Namibia. Akpabio has authored three books (the latest being African Communications Systems and the Digital Age), chapters in books, as well as numerous articles in scholarly journals. He is a member of the International Communication Association (ICA), Association of Communication Scholars & Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), African Council for Communication Education (ACCE), and International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), where he serves on the International Council. Albert A. Anani-Bossman  is a lecturer and head of the Department of Public Relations in the Faculty of Public Relations, Advertising, and Marketing at the University of Media, Arts and Communication, UniMAC-GIJ Campus, Ghana. He is also a communication specialist with nearly 20 years of experience. Anani-Bossman’s scholarship has been published in journals such as Communicare, Corporate Communication: An International Journal, Corporate Reputation Review, Journal of Marketing Communications, and Public Relations Inquiry. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication Science from the University of South Africa (UNISA), an M.Phil. & Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies, and a B.A. in English and Linguistics, all from the University of Ghana. He is also a coeditor of Marketing Communications in Emerging Economies: Foundational and Contemporary Issues Vol. 1 (2021), published by Palgrave Macmillan. He has served as a reviewer for several prominent journals. As a communication professional, Anani-Bossman has consulted for several institutions, including public, private, local, and international

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organizations. His research interests include public relations practices, measurement and evaluation, organizational communication, crisis communication, and reputation management. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR, UK) and the International Communication Association (ICA). Isaac A. Blankson  Professor of Communication and Public Relations, is the president of the African University College of Communications (AUCC), Ghana. Prior to assuming that responsibility, he served as the vice president and interim pro-vice-chancellor of the Ghana Communication Technology University; and the chair and director of technology in the Department of Applied Communication at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA, among others. He is a resource person and consultant to several local and international organizations on communication, media, public relations, and environmental issues. Blankson holds a Ph.D. in Communications from the Ohio University; two Master’s Degrees in International Affairs/Public Relations from the Ohio University and Human Geography from the University of Oslo; a Bachelor’s Degree in Geography from the University of Ghana; and a certificate in Environmental Geography from the University of Oslo. His research focuses on communication technologies and media in new and emerging democracies, public relations practices in developing societies, and media criticism. He has authored several publications and is the coeditor of Negotiating Democracy: Media Transformations in Emerging Democracies. Geremew  Chala  Teresa  is an assistant professor in the Department of Afaan Oromoo, Literature, and Communication at Haramaya University, Ethiopia. He holds an M.A. Degree in Journalism and Communication from Addis Ababa University and a B.Ed. in Afan Oromo and Literature from Jimma University. He is currently a PhD student in the Department of Communication Science at the University of South Africa. His research interests are media studies, public relations, political communication, and decoloniality. Geremew has authored several articles in outlets such as the East African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Humanities, African Research Review: An International Multi-Disciplinary Journal, and Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies. Muhammad Khalil Khan  is an associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Communication at the School of Media and Law, NingboTech University, Ningbo, China. He holds a Ph.D. in Journalism

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and Communication from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, where he was awarded the honorary credential of “Outstanding International Graduate” of Zhejiang University in 2017. His research has been published in journals such as Journalism and Communication Quarterly, Social Science Journal, Media, War & Conflict. He has presented his work in conferences in the United States, Czech Republic, Australia, Spain, Turkey, Hong Kong, and China. His research interest mainly focuses on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, China’s image construction, social media and public engagement, strategic communication, and global communication. Sabihah  Moola is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Science at the University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa. She is a health communication specialist. She holds a Ph.D. in Health Communication from the University of South Africa. Her areas of specialization include health communication, provider-patient relationships, public healthcare, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS, among other illnesses, ethics, healthcare teamwork, decolonization of health care, social and cultural aspects related to healthcare, patient-centered care, health promotion, and edutainment. She holds a National Research Foundation (NRF)-Thuthuka grant, which was awarded for her Ph.D. degree. She has written in the field of media studies, including health communication and health promotion. She has coordinated and worked on different modules on both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at UNISA. She has been the module leader of intercultural, development, and health communication for many years now at UNISA. She is the project leader of a community engagement project with non-profit/non-­government organizations (NPOs/NGOs). Takalani E. Mudzanani  is Professor of Communication Science at the University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa, where he teaches public relations. Before joining UNISA in 2011, he worked with the South African government as an assistant director (2004–2006), and later as deputy director (2007–2011) in the National Department of Arts and Culture. He holds a Ph.D. in Tourism Management from North-West University, an M.B.A. from UNISA School of Business Leadership, a Master’s Degree in Organisational Communication Research and Practice from UNISA, a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing Management from UNISA, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management from University of Kwazulu-Natal, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education from University of Venda. He supervises master’s and Ph.D. students. His published research is on tourism, marketing, and public relations. He served

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as a project leader for the development of a fully online Diploma in Public Relations at UNISA. Rehema James Muniko  is a tutor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC), University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations and Advertising and a Master’s in Mass Communication, both from the University of Dar es Salaam. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of Tanzania and the East African Communication Association (EACA). Her research interests are in the areas of social media, public relations, advertising, development communication, marketing, and gender. She has also co-authored a book chapter in African Language Digital Media and Communication (first edition), London. She has attended a number of events, including the East Africa Communication Association conference in Rwanda and the World Journalism Congress in Mechelen, Belgium. Lazarus  Nabaho is a senior lecturer at the Uganda Management Institute, Uganda. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Management from Makerere University, Uganda. Nabaho is the chief editor of the Ugandan Journal of Management and Public Policy Studies (UJMPS), a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance (CWJLG), Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC), and a reviewer for several academic journals. His research focuses on quality assurance in higher education; higher education governance, teaching, and learning; the third mission of universities; performance management; and human resource systems in local governments. Ndafilwonghenda T. Nambundunga  is a Cabinet Liaison Officer in the Ministry of Works and Transport (MWT). She holds Master’s and B.A. Degrees in Media Studies from the University of Namibia, Namibia. Her duties as Cabinet Liaison Officer are to draft and write Cabinet Submissions for Cabinet’s consideration, approval, and/or further directives. Nambundunga worked for the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for a period of nine years and gained experience in writing by compiling annual reports, newsletters, pamphlets, brochures, and other information materials. She dealt with media houses on numerous occasions during her tenure as Liaison Officer in the MOJ and MWT. Barbra  Natifu is an independent researcher and Communication Specialist with a keen interest in public relations and health communication fields. She has served as a reviewer for several academic journals and

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book chapter reviews. Her research work has been published in the Journal of Organizational Ethnography, Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, and several book chapters. Her research focuses on public relations in higher education, identity, image, and reputation management. She is also interested in behavior change communication with a focus on global health security. Oluyinka O. Osunkunle  is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa. His research interests include community media and development, new media efficacies, public and stakeholders relations, and cultural studies. He is a member of the South African Communication Association (SACOMM), the International Association of Media and Communication Researchers (IAMCR), and the International Association for Communication and Sports (IACS). He is also a South African National Research Foundation (NRF) C2 Rated Researcher. Cornelius B. Pratt  is professor emeritus of global communication and leadership in the Lew Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University, Philadelphia, United States. From 2019 to 2021, he served as a professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, China. From 2018 to 2020, he was a research fellow in the India-Pakistan Research Center in the School of International Education at the South China University of Technology. He is also a visiting professor (2016–2023) at Northwest University of Politics and Law in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China, where he serves as honorary director of its Communication Psychology and Application Research Center. His recent journal articles include Media, War & Conflict (2021); Frontiers in Public Health (2021, 2022); The Social Science Journal (2020, 2022); and the International Journal of Communication (2019). Pratt holds a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, United States. Godwin  Etse  Sikanku  is a senior lecturer at the University of Media, Arts and Communication, UniMAC-GIJ Campus, Ghana, with research interests in speech analysis, political communication, crisis communication, international communication, media representation, and framing analysis.

List of Figures

Fig. 4.1 Fig. 7.1

Prinsloo and Simons (2018) model An integrated framework for public relations practice at HEIs in Africa Fig. 9.1 Illustration of the conceptual model Fig. 10.1 Major Activist CEO Speech Frames. Source: Authors. (The motif is based on the ancient Ghanaian Adinkra symbol, Bese Saka, which is emblematic of affluence, power, abundance, unity, and togetherness. It is used here to underscore the ability of corporate leaders to leverage their wealth, power, and influence to drive unity, progress, and prosperity for the greater good, particularly through social resistance campaigns)

81 161 201

237

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List of Tables

Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 4.3 Table 7.1

The ethnic groups in Sudan Sudan’s Tribal border conflicts and reasons Summary of the analysis of Muslim and Christian peacebuilding actors in Sudan Location of participants

89 90 93 150

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CHAPTER 1

Introduction: Public Relations Research and Practice in Africa Takalani E. Mudzanani and  Albert A. Anani-Bossman

The field of public relations (PR), at both the professional and industry level, is growing at a remarkable rate worldwide, both in respect and in numbers. PR is reportedly growing at a rate of 10% a year in the developed world and up to 20% yearly in emerging economies (ICCO, 2013). The Global Public Relations Market Report (2022) estimates the industry to grow from $92.55  billion in 2021 to $102.80  billion in 2022 at a We have no known conflict of interest to disclose. T. E. Mudzanani Department of Communication Science, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa e-mail: [email protected] A. A. Anani-Bossman (*) Department of Public Relations, University of Media, Arts and Communication, UniMAC-GIJ, Accra, Ghana e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3_1

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compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1%. Ultimately, the growth rate is expected to reach $149.44 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 9.8%. The phenomenal growth rate is mainly driven by the increasing need to gain a competitive advantage, as well as the growing influence of digital trends and the world of social media (ICCO, 2020). Similarly, the body of knowledge on PR has increased tremendously in the last two decades. The onset of globalization has facilitated further discussions on the nature and practice of PR among scholars and practitioners alike. PR is now a key part of businesses around the globe. Although the body of knowledge in the field is growing, it has been largely confined to the United States, Europe, and now Asia. Consequently, there is minuscule empirical evidence on the nature and practice of public relations in Africa. However, as noted by some academics (e.g., Akpabio, 2009; Skinner, 2013; Van Heerden & Rensburg, 2005), PR has been actively practiced on the continent for decades. The challenge, though, as Akpabio (2009) noted, is that PR scholarship and practice in Africa has not been evident to the rest of the world in terms of its documentation and dissemination. Consequently, Africa’s contribution becomes unacknowledged and “makes practitioners and academics in the continent appear unaware of current theory, research and practice in the field” (p. 351). Utilizing data from a thorough review of relevant academic literature from peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Anani-Bossman, 2021, 2022; Amodu et al., 2019; Mersham et al., 2011; Ngondo, 2019; Akpabio, 2009), book chapters (e.g., Blankson, 2009; Kiambi, 2014; Natifu, 2014; Rensburg, 2009; Rodriguez-Salcedo & Watson, 2021; Tilson, 2014), online articles and reports (e.g., Business Research Company, 2022; International Communications Consultancy Organization, 2020; Maule, n.d.; World Bank, 2020; IMF, 2021), and books (e.g., Alaimo, 2017; Skinner et al., 2004), the chapter explores the current public relations landscape in Africa. The chapter starts with a discussion of Africa, including the variables that define the changing nature of the African environment (sociocultural, political, economic, media), as well as the systematic awareness of these interdependencies and connections and their impact on PR on the continent. The circumstances facing Africa, its people, and the issues that businesses encounter have all changed, but the essence has always been to respond to social needs, focus on the community, and boost confidence. The chapter then discusses the development of PR in the African context.

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The chapter concludes by briefly discussing the future of public relations scholarship and practice on the continent.

The African Context Africa has a population of over 1 billion people, making it the world’s second-largest and most populous continent after Asia. It consists of 54 countries, most of which have low to lower-middle-income economies with a few upper-middle and high-income economies (World Bank, 2020). With a GDP growth rate of 1.9%, Africa is considered the poorest continent despite having abundant mineral resources. The continent is blessed with several resources, including gold, cobalt, platinum, uranium, diamonds, and oil. Africa has fertile soil, and there is hardly any crop that cannot be grown on the continent. Africa is reported to have the world’s largest arable land for food security. However, corruption and poor governance have been major problems across the continent. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, economic growth is predicted to resume at 3.4%, which is lower than the global average of 6%. (International Monetary fund, April 2021). Despite its rich resources, Africa suffers from severe poverty, diseases, low adult literacy, poor health, and a short life expectancy. Political Context The political climate of a society has a significant impact on the ability of any business or profession to prosper. As a result, a country’s political climate has an effect on PR. Political stability allows for more opportunities for dialogic discussion, which helps to inform present practice (Blankson, 2009). The importance of the political environment as an influencing factor in PR development was noted by Sriramesh and Verčič (2009). They claim that because PR depends on public opinion, it can only function effectively in a society that is very democratic. Africa has largely enjoyed political stability in recent years, despite its history of military coups/dictatorships and conflicts. Except for a few countries, Africa’s political landscape is no longer dominated by single-­ party regimes and military dictatorships. Most African countries have formal democratic institutions that are becoming more tolerant of dissent and public opinion. The emergence of pressure groups and public participation in nation-building has also helped to improve Africa’s democratic process. Globalization has further solidified democracy in Africa, with

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practically almost all African countries being politically stable and holding democratic elections every four years. However, it must be noted that some of these “democratic” elections are not necessarily “democratic,” but mostly rituals that rubber stamps the sitting president’s interests under the façade of “democratic elections.” This is the norm, especially in countries such as Uganda, Burundi, Cameroon, Togo, and Equatorial Guinea, where incumbent presidents contest for re-election, change term limits, frustrate efforts of opposition politicians, and so on. Democracy appears to be declining in Sub-Saharan Africa as several African leaders have taken steps to undermine term limits or rig elections to stay in power. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic further provided opportunities for some African countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania to postpone elections, muzzle opposition, and impose restrictions on the media (Campbell & Quinn, 2021). Freedom House’s 2021 assessment classified just eight Sub-Saharan African nations as free. Half of these eight countries—Cape Verde, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, and Seychelles— are small island states. In sum, democracy is being under siege in Africa, which has implications for public relations practice. Economic Context The economic development of a country is linked to its political system since “political conditions affect economic decision making and vice-versa in every country” (Sriramesh & Verčič, 2009, p. 5). Despite constant mismanagement, Africa’s economy continues to grow sturdily. In 2017, the African Development Bank (ADB) ranked Africa as the world’s second-­ fastest growing continent. According to the ADB’s African Economic Outlook 2020 study, Africa’s economy grew by 3.4% in 2019. Although the economy contracted by 2% due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is still hope for the continent’s recovery, with expected growth of 2.1% in 2021 and 3.0% in 2022. (The World Bank, June 2021). In 2018, 54 of the 55 African Union (AU) member countries launched the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is expected to connect 1.5 billion people across the continent and lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty while also increasing the incomes of 68 million others who live on less than $5.50 per day (World Bank, 2020). The AfCFTA agreement, if executed correctly, has the potential to alter African markets and economies while also increasing output in the natural resources, manufacturing, and services sectors.

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Sociocultural Context Much has been published regarding the impact of social and cultural factors on PR practice (e.g., Sriramesh & Verčič, 2009). Regarding sociocultural impacts on business, Africa as a region is no different. Understanding PR in Africa relies heavily on a thorough understanding of the continent’s official and informal cultural frameworks. A strong spirit of communalism, solidarity, group loyalty, and mutual self-help pervade African communication. Interdependence and social responsibility are well-regarded concepts that serve as a guide for both business and individual operations. The cultural dimension of Hofstede (2001) is quite significant in comprehending the region. Hofstede notes that cultural variations are founded on power distance (the level to which people believe that inequality is a fact of life that can’t be changed), uncertainty avoidance (people’s tolerance for or preference for structured conditions over ambiguous situations), individualism vs. collectivism (the degree of dependency that a society’s members have), and masculinity vs. femininity (preference for domination, aggression, and competition vs. caring, modesty, cooperation, and overall quality of life). According to research, African societies demonstrate high power distance (as authority is assigned based on age and experience), high uncertainty avoidance (as a result of a preference for structure, routine, stability, and specific managerial direction), and collectivism (due to the fact that most African societies have a strong family social fabric) (Darley & Blankson, 2008). This means that African practitioners are more likely to embrace their roles as part of lower management, accept uncertainty and ambiguity as part of their profession, prioritize societal requirements over individual demands, and operate in ways that are compatible with cultural and societal norms (Alaimo, 2017). Media Landscape The strong relationship that exists between PR and the media, as represented in the phrase media relations, emphasizes the importance of developing and maintaining these relationships. However, the availability of media channels is a prerequisite for forming a successful partnership. The media landscape in Africa has changed dramatically over the past two decades. For a long time, African news outlets relied on overseas sources for articles about the continent. That is not the case anymore. African news organizations are now collaborating with international news

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organizations to cover worldwide stories both on and off the continent. Also, the majority of African countries today have a more liberalized media and greater press freedom. The African media can generate and market local content around the world as a result of globalization. The rise of digital media has significantly improved the media landscape in Africa. Almost all African news organizations currently use live tweeting, Facebook live streaming, blogging, and citizen journalism. The usage of fiberoptics has also revolutionized the continent’s telecom business. The internet is now accessible in some distant places in Africa, and it is comparably cheaper and faster in many more communities than before. African media companies are adjusting to a new media environment that is more interactive and time-sensitive (Maule, n.d.). The opening up of Africa and the increasing democratic dispensation, as well as a burgeoning media landscape and the continuously evolving technological environment, have aided PR growth on the continent.

Conceptualizing Public Relations What is PR? There are multiple responses to this question, and it remains a subject of scholarly debate, with no agreement among scholars on its meaning. The complexity of the concept means that finding a single globally accepted definition is complex, and one is not likely to emerge soon. The conceptualization of PR remains a contested terrain, with scholars and practitioners failing to agree on a single definition (Butterick, 2011; Hutton, 2007; Rodriguez-Salcedo & Watson, 2021). While the European view of PR is based on what they call the reflective paradigm, the American concept of PR focuses on the relational approach or paradigm and the two-way symmetrical approach. The reflective approach focuses on the socially responsible nature of organizations to ensure social legitimacy. Organizations, therefore, continuously modify their decisions to reflect societal norms and values (Van Ruler & Verčič, 2002, p.14). The relational paradigm is based on relationship management and views an organization’s success as dependent on the quality of the relationship between itself and the stakeholders (Coombs & Heath, 2006). The focus is thus on reciprocity, trust, mutual satisfaction, and understanding (Szabo, 2014). The two-way symmetrical communication, the earliest and most dominant approach in PR scholarship, argues that communication must be based on dialogue, ethics, and transparency to develop an effective relationship (Grunig et al., 2002). The relational and two-way symmetrical approaches

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have formed the basis of several PR definitions, including the following: “the management through communication of perceptions and strategic relationships between an organisation and its internal and external stakeholders”—a definition by the Institute of Public Relations and Communication of South Africa (PRISA) (Skinner et  al., 2004, p.  4); attempts to shape the attitudes and opinions held by an organization’s stakeholders (Fill, 2002, p.  619); planned communication and/or relationship-­building activity with strategic or deliberate intent (Lamme & Russell, 2016); communication management between an organization and its stakeholders (Broom & Sha, 2013). These definitions point to the centrality and importance of communication as the instrument for creating and fostering stakeholder relationships. Significantly, these so-called worldviews do not take cognizance of other environments such as Africa. African scholars have therefore conceptualized PR based on the “African worldview,” which is reflected in the philosophy of ubuntu, as discussed below. Conceptualizing Public Relations: An Ubuntu Perspective “In Africa, there is a concept known as ubuntu—the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others, that if we are to accomplish anything in this world it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievement of others” Nelson Mandela

According to Van-Heerden (2004), Africa is a subsystem of the world system, which, in turn, is a system consisting of different systems or parts that are interdependent. Since time immemorial, the world system has moved from one crisis to another. The outbreak of Covid-19 is a testament to the fact that the world system is, and always will be, in crisis mode. The dysfunctionality of the world system that is occasioned by unexpected events, such as Covid-19, has a negative impact on its subsystems. Accordingly, the world system and its constituent subsystems should constantly be on alert for sudden, unforeseen occurrences or crises. One of these subsystems is the economy, which comprises subsystems that are, in turn, made up of further subsystems. An organization is a subsystem of the nation-state system that carries out various functions, for example, public relations. Any disruption to the world system has a negative impact on all its subsystems, including organizations. The instrument that binds all the functions of the organizational system together is communication,

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through which PR practitioners create and foster stakeholder relations, thereby keeping the different parts of the organizational system together. PR may, therefore, be regarded as a connector that links an organization with its stakeholder community to ensure an effective system. Public Relations in Africa is conceptualized on what is described as the African worldview. The concept of an African worldview is not new, as it has been applied to the way Africans relate to each other and how such relations affect the business environment (Tilson, 2014; Van-Heerden, 2004). Van Heerden states that one can only understand the nature of the African business environment by first understanding the African worldview and its cultural foundations. Africans generally see themselves as social beings; this consciousness greatly influences how they behave, express themselves, and engage in spiritual self-fulfillment. There is strong interconnectedness and fellow feeling as opposed to individualism. This is extremely important as the continent is steeped in poverty, and being one another’s keeper is the only way survival is ensured (Van-Heerden, 2004). Mersham et al. (2011) describe the African worldview as one of the most powerful influences shaping how Africans behave. The worldview is based on the concept of collectivism and recognition of the value of all individuals and is underpinned by the concept of ubuntu. The ubuntu philosophy emanates from the isiZulu expression, umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, which translates to “a person is a person because of others” (Worthington, 2011, p. 611). The ubuntu philosophy embodies collectivism which is a function of communication. Regardless of how the notion is interpreted in different African countries, the concept remains the same; “one is defined in relation to one’s community” (Mersham et al., 2011, p. 196). Despite being a simple word, the concept has multiple meanings. When viewed through the lens of African moral and ethical standards, the notion appears to be concerned with acts of human kindness on both a group and individual level. In other words, society members express ubuntu in a “pervasive spirit” by demonstrating “caring and community, harmony and hospitality, respect and responsiveness” (Mangaliso, 2001, p.  24). Scholars (e.g., Kayuni & Tambulasi, 2012; Mangaliso, 2001; Van Deventer, 2015) assert that the concept of ubuntu is founded on universal principles like empathy, humanity, dignity, and compassion. Ubuntu, in effect, emphasizes humanity’s universality and the fact that people “share universal compassion for one another” (Kayuni & Tambalusi, 2012, p.  67). It is “people-centered” and emphasizes

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“interdependence, sympathy for the unfortunate,” continuous dialogue, and storytelling (Steenkamp & Rensburg, 2018, p. 6). Within the African context, the ubuntu construct is strongly reflected in communication management. From an African perspective, PR goes beyond the normative definitions espoused earlier. From a PR perspective, ubuntu goes beyond individual and individual rights to emphasize communalism. The African is perceived as a collaborative entity who relies on others for progress. In Africa, the interdependence of an organization and its stakeholders (wadau in Swahili) hinges on PR. As the ubuntu philosophy suggests, the organization exists because of the support of others (individuals and organizations); hence, its existence is dependent on the support of others (stakeholders). Without others, an organization is doomed to fail to realize its mission and vision. It is through PR that an organization can mobilize its stakeholders in an ubuntu (collective) effort to realize the purpose of its existence. PR enables members of an organization and others to align their plans and activities to the organization’s strategic direction, bringing about the unity of purpose and action for organizational success. To connect to the “others,” an organization uses PR. Therefore, PR may be defined as a communication process whereby an organization creates and fosters its relations with its stakeholders (others) in an ubuntu effort to create shared value. Contextually speaking, the notion of shared value denotes that PR is a creator and nurturer of mutually beneficial relations between an organization and others (stakeholders). Some studies on the continent have identified the ubuntu concept. For example, Natifu and Zikusooka (2014, p. 235) aver that PR in Uganda is premised on the “legacy of ubuntu cultural standards of relating well with people and seeing the connections that the one has with the many.” Conversely, Anani-Bossman (2021) posits that in Ghana, PR is based on interpersonal communication, which relates to the ubuntu ideology. Others such as Steenkamp and Rensburg (2018) advocated for the infusion of culturally specific communication management strategies such as ubuntu-centered communication into communication models to establish participative online communities marked by mutual trust, dialogue, and reciprocity. Essentially, within the ubuntu philosophy, PR practitioners act as change agents who actively promote causes and fulfill the “social purpose and social accountability dimensions of public relations” (Skinner & Mersham, 2008, p. 249).

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The ubuntu philosophy can be linked to modern-day worldviews of public relations, which is premised on trust, reciprocity, social legitimacy/ responsibility, mutual legitimacy, etc. (Szabo, 2014; Valentini, 2016; Van Ruler & Vercic, 2005; Le Roux, 2012). Ubuntu is all about recognizing the relational social nature of a person, his/her humanity, and the interdependence of individuals with the societies in which they exist. Each needs the other, so good relationship management becomes everyone’s duty. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the value of this philosophy; individual responsibility alone was not enough to successfully fight the pandemic; instead, both individual and collective responsibility was critical in the pandemic response and its prevention.

Development of Public Relations in Africa The history of modern PR can be traced to ancient civilizations, including the use of farm bulletins that were produced in Iraq; the use of persuasive and lobbying skills by Chinese Politicians; and descriptions of the kings’ spies in India whose duties included keeping the king in touch with public opinion, publicly defending the king, and disseminating pro-government rumors (Broom & Sha, 2013). According to Lattimore et  al. (2013, p. 26), the antecedent to modern PR can be found among public speakers (or rhetoricians), press agents, and other promoters whose responsibilities included working as client spokespersons, preparing speeches, educating customers in persuasive communication skills, and answering difficult questions. Other scholars (e.g., Heath, 2013; Wilcox et  al., 2015; Rodriguez-Salcedo & Watson, 2021) have traced the development of PR to ancient civilizations such as Greece, Persia, Rome, Japan, Korea, and Egypt. Notwithstanding these agreements, the history of modern PR has been murky and mostly disputed. Although leading PR textbooks attempt to paint the history of PR from an American perspective (Raaz & Wehmeier, 2011), there is enough evidence to suggest otherwise (L’Etang, 2008). Butterick (2011) is thus critical of the notion that the United States is the sole cradle of PR owing to the lack of a single history of PR development worldwide, suggesting a conglomeration of different and unrelated PR histories. Butterick further claims that the view that the United States is the cradle of PR may be biased because most of the research studies on its development were carried out there. Raaz and Wehmeier (2011) also opine that it would be erroneous for anyone to place PR under one unified

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history. For instance, whereas PR in the United States was linked with the early years of the American settlement by the various colonies and the American revolution (Broom & Sha, 2013; Lattimore et  al., 2013), Nessman (1995) contends that PR in Europe started at the same time as that of the United States although there was no connection between the two. He, however, acknowledged that many of the ideas on the field’s professionalism and practice were borrowed from America. Regarding Africa, literature (see Rensburg, 2009; Tench & Waddington, 2021) shows that PR was already being practiced on the continent long before its colonization. Though not well documented, PR in Africa is understood to have its origins in ancient civilization. The dawn of African civilization brought with it certain PR techniques. For example, the pharaohs of ancient Egypt used word pictures on remarkable monuments to announce their successes (Rensburg, 2009). Nartey (1988) claims that African chiefs appointed spokespersons as PR practitioners. Nartey’s assertion suggests that PR was used to cultivate relations between the chiefs and their communities, and the spokespeople served as bridges between various communities. In other words, they played an important role in fostering inter-community relations. PR played a pivotal role in running African chiefdoms, with spokespeople as a link between chiefs (dikgosi in Tswana) and their stakeholders. The talking drums and wooden drums (dzingoma in Tshivenda) were also used as a form of mass communication to reach huge numbers of people (Akpabio, 2009). PR practice also predated the African independence movement, with Nigeria establishing its first newspaper, Iwe Irohin, in 1859. The purpose of the newspaper was to inform members of the church about its programs and activities (Salawu, 2004). Okereke (2002) opines that the formalization of PR practice in Africa began in the 1940s with the first PR department being established in 1947. This signified a turning point in the development and practice of PR on the continent and meant that organizations began to appreciate the value of PR in organizational life. The initial stages of PR practice in Africa were based on the press agentry model. PR practitioners sought to create media coverage for their organizations using a one-way communication approach, with practitioners communicating to a largely passive audience. During this era, the absence of reciprocity in the communication process was a norm in PR practice (Ophukah, 1992). The British colonial administration introduced modern PR during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They used PR to communicate

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with the citizenry, using chiefs as messengers. The establishment of newspapers in British colonies in East and Southern Africa was a significant milestone in the development of PR on the continent (Kiambi, 2014; Natifu, 2014), as it was in Nigeria (Ibraheem, 2014) and Ghana (Thompson, 2018) in West Africa. Kiambi found that the British colonial information dissemination strategy was sophisticated (i.e., it was more than the mere dissemination of information). This strategy was applied in other colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean in the early to mid-­ twentieth century (2014). In South Africa, PR was aligned with that of the United States and the United Kingdom (Holtzhausen, 2005). In North Africa, Egypt is the most prominent country with regard to PR development. Ayyad & Arouk (2014) trace the history of modern PR in Egypt to economic, political, cultural, and media circumstances. The greatest impact on the development of PR in Africa is the rise of democracy. Political pluralism and neoliberal policies were introduced during this time. As a condition for receiving additional donor loans from the World Bank and other international funders, African countries were required to implement democratic and economic reforms. During this time, trade unions, businesses, students, and academics put pressure on their governments to undertake democratic reforms, as well as media pluralism and freedom of speech. Pressure from both inside and outside the countries eventually forced governments, the majority of which were military dictatorships, to hold multiparty elections, engage the public in civic debates, open the media landscape to allow for private ownership, and, finally, open up the national economy to other markets (Blankson, 2009). In several African countries, the reforms resulted in the formation of multiparty democracy, reasonably stable political systems, and moderate economic growth. The media landscape was also transformed as several independent and privately owned media were established, thus breaking the state-owned media’s monopoly. Citizens started participating in civic dialogue, while businesses found new ways to engage their customers. These events had a significant impact on PR practice. For instance, the evolution of the media landscape provided practitioners with opportunities to communicate with their audiences through various channels. The rise of digital communication, the internet, and globalization have further accelerated the growth of PR on the continent as practitioners now have access to more knowledge. Globalization, in particular, has opened the borders of the continent to a stream of multinational organizations. Countries with stable political environments and steady economic

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growth benefit from foreign direct investment (FDI). This has opened up new possibilities for the development of PR in Africa (Blankson, 2009). Despite the gap between Africa, on the one hand, and Europe, America, and Asia, on the other, evidence (Sriramesh & Vercic, 2007) suggests the profession is growing in stature. Skinner (2013) acknowledges this by stating that PR in Africa is making steady, albeit slow, progress. Regardless of the inequities on the continent, Skinner believes that the future is bright for African PR because practitioners are innovative and can leverage global influence. Public Relations Scholarship and Practice in Africa Public relations is happening in Africa despite the lack of visibility (Akpabio, 2009; Skinner, 2013) and the lack of well-structured and established systems (Van Heerden & Rensburg, 2005). Led by South Africa, which has a relatively mature PR market, African scholars have made several attempts to put things right. In the past two decades, several studies have been conducted across individual countries detailing how the practice has evolved in practice and theory development. In Ghana, Anani-Bossman (2021) posited that PR practice could not be described as being fully strategic despite its progress. Anani-Bossman and Tella (2017) also found that Ghanaian PR practitioners use research to inform PR activities, although the emphasis was on media monitoring and content analysis. In South Africa, Holtzhausen (2005) noted that, since 1995, PR has matured into a management function and the public impression of the profession has transformed from a social event to a respected professional career. Ngondo (2019) found that PR practice in Zimbabwe was influenced heavily by social and digital media. Also, Oksiutycz and Enombo (2011) suggest that PR practice in Gabon is similar to other countries while acknowledging unique historical, societal, and cultural contexts. Amodu et  al. (2019) demonstrated that PR agencies in Nigeria were more likely to adopt the Internet of Things (IoT) in the practice of PR than in-house departments. These publications, along with others, illustrate the evolving nature of the practice on the continent despite its gaps and challenges. Overall, research on the continent shows that PR is strongly influenced by the sociocultural, political and economic environment, as well as Western-backed theories. Two areas that embody the practice on the continent are the models (purpose) and roles (activities) of public relations. These are discussed below.

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 odels of Public Relations Practice in Africa M The models of public relations have been studied extensively across the globe ever since Grunig and Hunt (1984) introduced them in their book Managing Public Relations. The four models have been debated, modified, and sometimes rejected for varied reasons (L’Etang, 2008). The models have been discussed in African scholarship, although not as extensively as in other jurisdictions. PR in Africa consists of Grunig & Hunt’s models as well as others. Kiambi and Nadler (2012) Identified the cultural interpreter and personal influence models as dominating PR practice in Kenya despite the presence of the four models of Grunig. Similarly, Wu and Baah-Boakye (2009) identify the cultural interpreter as the most dominant model in Ghana, followed by the personal influence model. Holtzhausen et  al. (2003) found that South African practitioners had developed their own models, depending on the social, economic, and political realities they found themselves in and did not necessarily follow the symmetric or asymmetric models. Van-Heerden (2004) identified public relations in Africa to consist of the Grunigen models, in addition to the reflective paradigm of Europe. In other words, South African PR practitioners customized their models to match the country’s social, economic, and political landscape. In Gabon, PR practice consists of both two-way and one-way symmetrical, with a strong leaning toward one-way symmetrical (Oksiutycz & Enombo, 2011). Anani-Bossman and Mudzanani (2020) also found the presence of the two-way asymmetric/symmetric models as well as the personal influence model in Ghana. Ukonu et  al. (2018) are of the view that PR in Nigeria is premised on the British paternalistic model, or government influence model, which is linked to British rule. The authors further noted that PR in Nigeria was also influenced by Grunigen theories. The few studies conducted show that PR practice in Africa tends to rely on models premised on “Eurocentric philosophies” that are mostly not applicable to the African environment (Mersham et al., 2011, p. 196). Based on this, some scholars (e.g., Dlamini, 2016; Mersham et al., 2011; Nkomo, 2011) have advocated an African model that captures the African worldview of ubuntu while taking cognizance of global development. Regardless, literature on PR in Africa is more two-way than one-way. The shift from a one-way model to a two-way symmetrical model in public institutions and the corporate sector is a reflection of the increasing democratization of the practice in public and private practice. This is aptly captured by Akpabio (2009, p. 353) when he asserts that “just as PR

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has moved beyond the one-way publicity model in the West, the same is true in most parts of the continent.”  ublic Relations Roles in Africa P Despite the numerous studies on PR roles by scholars worldwide, Africa is lagging in terms of research in this area. Unlike Europe and the United States, Africa does not have a role identity in PR due to the lack of knowledge of the uniqueness of PR roles on the continent. Of concern is the fact that the few research found on the continent have been mostly carried out in South Africa. Evidence suggests that much of the research work has focused on PR roles using the manager and technician perspectives from the United States. As yet, there is no effort to codify PR roles that are unique to the African practitioner, especially when one realizes the complex nature of relationships and how they affect the African business environment. South Africa has developed a role known as the strategist role to define the activities of PR practitioners in the country. Apart from this, the few studies available suggest a mixture of the technician, manager, and, to some extent, strategist role in the rest of Africa. In Uganda, Nabukeera (2006, pp. 100–101) found that PR practice was based on the strategist, technician, and manager roles. The manager role was, however, the dominant one practiced, indicating that PR in Uganda was practiced at the advanced level. The strategist role, however, was found to be at a low level of practice. However, Natifu’s (2016) study on public relations and identity management issues showed that PR in Uganda’s leading public university was predominantly implemented from a technician role, with the exclusion of PR in senior management decision-making leading to challenges with proactive issues and institutional reputation management. Natifu’s finding is similar to that of Onsongo et al. (2017) in Rwanda and Aikins and Adu-Oppong (2015) in Ghana. This creates the impression that PR practices in Institutions of Higher Education in Africa is premised on one-way communication. In Zimbabwe Ngondo and Klyeva (2020) found that PR practice was based on the technician, manager, and strategist roles, with the technician/manager role overlapping. In their research, Van Heerden and Rensburg (2005, pp. 86–87) illustrate that African PR practitioners perform strategist and technician roles. The authors posit that the roles of practitioners in Africa are intrinsically linked with a concern for gaining social legitimacy; hence, efforts are placed in ensuring activities are geared toward socially responsible behavior. In short, PR practice in Africa is based on societal perspectives. Van Heerden and

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Rensburg’s research also failed to show a clear difference between the manager/technician roles, which creates the impression that the manager role, as conceptualized in theory, does not exist in Africa. Additionally, Steyn (1999) conducted a study focusing on the strategist role of PR from the perspective of CEOs. Steyn concludes that excellent PR can only be practiced when the practitioner plays the role of a PR strategist. This is supported by Meintjes’s (2011, p. 86) study which found top management in organizations expects the most senior PR practitioner to play the strategist role by scanning and monitoring the environment, anticipating issues and their consequences for the organization, and developing appropriate policies to ensure they live up to societal expectations. Steyn and Green (2001) suggest that PR roles as practiced in the public sector differ from those which are performed in the private sector. Steyn and Green (2001, pp. 10–11) found the predominant role of PR in the public sector to be mainly that of the historic technician (specifically as a media relations specialist), as well as general managerial activities such as managing staff, organizing budgets, representing the department at management meetings, and the like. The lack of a strategic role in government departments may not be surprising as they tend to have defined publics who have no choice but to work with them. Neither do they face competition as the corporate world/private sector does. However, this does not mean they do not need to play the strategist and manager roles, as activities under these roles shape reputation. The technician role is also predominant in Gabon, as the study of Oksiutycz and Enombo (2011) found. Le Roux (2012) found that actual roles performed by practitioners were those of technician, manager, and strategist, with the technician role being the most dominant. The technician role was followed by the manager and then the strategist role. The research found that although many practitioners had managerial titles, they were actually performing the technician role. Most of those who were strategists also held human resource-related titles. The reality, then, is that roles are not dependent on titles. Being a corporate communications manager does not necessarily mean one performs a managerial function or has to have a PR title to perform PR roles. In addition, Gqamane (2010, p.  95) found that in many organizations where the PR department was independent of another department, PR was not practiced as a management function and did not contribute to decision-making at the top level. Practitioners, however, participated in decision-making where PR was part of the marketing department. Participation in decision-making was, therefore, dependent on the

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organizational structure. Similar to these findings, Anani-Bossman (2022) found that PR roles in Ghana consisted of the managerial, technician, and, to some extent, strategist roles. Significantly, there was little to separate the managerial from the technician role. Most practitioners are not part of the decision-making body and hence are somewhat limited in their ability to influence decisions. This does not, however, mean that they did not have any influence at all. In sum, studies on PR roles in Africa show mixed results. The performance of a particular role is dependent on the country and the value of PR held by management. Whereas some may perform the manager or strategist role (Tindall & Holtzhausen, 2012), others perform a blend of the manager and technician roles (Van Heerden & Rensburg, 2005). Public Relations Professionalism in Africa The question of professionalism in public relations has been debated since the 1990s. The question has been whether PR can be classified as a profession like law, medicine, or accounting and what makes it a profession. Many scholars have proposed different characteristics and standards to distinguish it from an occupation. Ferguson (2013, p. 692) states that professionalism in any field revolves around “exclusive, technical skills, standards of training, trustworthy service and quality, and adherence to professional norms.” Yang and Taylor (2014) also describe professionalism as specialized knowledge in a particular area that identifies who is qualified to provide a service. Adhering to these standards ensures that professionals are held accountable to societal acceptance of what constitutes integrity, ethics, service, and quality (Leeper & Leeper, 2005). In relation to public relations, Reddi (in Wilcox et al., 2015) identified five prerequisites for public relations to be regarded as a profession: education, training, literature, research, and code of ethics. Lubbe (cited in Ferreira, 2003, p.  147) believes that the history of PR can be viewed from two perspectives—systems and structural. The systems perspective of PR history focuses on the socioeconomic development of society, while the structural perspective views the history of PR from the aspect of professionalism, including specialized educational training, professional associations and accreditation, a body of theory-based knowledge developed through research, recognition by the community of providing a unique and essential service, adherence to professional code of ethics and values, and professional training in technical and research skills, having autonomy

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in organizations to make communication-related decisions (Broom & Sha, 2013; Niemann-Struweg & Meintjes, 2008; Sriramesh & Hornaman, 2006; Wilcox et al., 2015). Differences in opinion about where PR stands on the topic are caused by the difficulties of defining the “profession” and, in fact, “PR” itself. According to Grunig (2000, p. 23), before PR’s social role is acknowledged as being helpful to society, it must gain professional status. Additionally, Pieczka (2000, p. 212) notes that the phrase “professionalism” is frequently used in PR to indicate the need to elevate the status of the sector, which has detrimental effects on the sector’s reputation. Scholars believe that professionalism is necessary because “that would give credibility and reputation to the industry, increase the accountability and credibility of practitioners, enhance the quality of work produced by practitioners, and give practitioners greater opportunities to contribute to organizational decision making” (Sriramesh & Hornaman, 2006, p. 156). What this means is that having a professional status benefits the organization. The last part of the statement is especially relevant since it discusses the desire to be taken seriously in the boardroom and views professionalism as a way to get a seat at the table. Regarding whether public relations is a craft, a skill, or a budding profession, there are still disagreements among practitioners. Based on the various arguments, Wilcox et al. (2015) argue that public relations certainly does not fit the definition of a profession in the same way that law and medicine do at this time. Public relations lacks established educational requirements, a required apprenticeship, or even state regulations that regulate entry into the field. This also implies that anyone can work in “public relations,” regardless of educational background or prior exposure to the fundamental norms of professional conduct (p. 108). The lack of a common definition of PR has also added to the confusion about professionalism. One of the major challenges to professionalism has been the mindset of several professionals themselves toward their work. Grunig and Hunt (1984), for instance, posit that practitioners tend to have “careerist” values rather than professional ones. Meaning that they value job stability, standing in the company, compensation, and recognition from superiors more than acting like professionals. Another challenge is the “technician mentality” in which practitioners describe professionalism in terms of having the capacity to carry out the mechanics of communication skillfully even when the information provided by management or a client is offensive, deceptive, or otherwise not accurate, as well as the readiness to advocate for causes or goods that conflict with one’s moral

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principles (Wilcox et al., 2015). In the opinion of Pieczka and L’Etang (2001), open access to practice and unenforced ethics present barriers to professional status. According to Fawkes (2021), the lack of clarity surrounding the sector’s scope is a significant barrier to public relations being a legitimate profession. Similarly, Hutton (2010) believes that public relations’ inability to pinpoint its central idea threatens the discipline’s very survival, especially given that its closest counterpart, marketing, is considerably more definite about what it is as a whole. Without a doubt, the professionalism debate will continue for some time to come. In Africa, not much literature exists regarding PR professionalism. The few available show the move toward professionalism is growing despite the challenges (Wu & Baah-Boakye, 2008; Skinner, 2013; Thompson, 2018; Van-Heerden, 2004). Several countries have established professional associations, including the Public Relations Institute of South Africa (PRISA), Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), and the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana (IPR), as well as others in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Uganda, etc. These professional associations usually have codes of ethics and professional standards that they expect members to abide by. The various national PR associations are also engaged in the continuous development of PR professionals through the training programs they organize. Most of them also organize annual conferences which are well attended. Unfortunately, these conferences mostly focus on practitioners, and experiences and ideas are discussed with little from academia (Van-­ Heerden, 2004). To foster collaboration between PR practitioners across the continent, the Federation of African Public Relations Associations— now the African Public Relations Association (APRA)—was established in 1975. This Association’s establishment has helped advance the profession on the continent. In terms of education, several public and private universities across the continent now offer PR courses at the diploma, undergraduate, and post-graduate levels. Some universities, especially those in South Africa, are also offering PhD in PR.  There are other accredited institutions that are also offering certificate courses in PR. Despite this, all that glitters appears not to be gold in other areas of professionalism. In Nigeria, Otubanjo and Amujo (2013) attribute the rise of professional public relations to the rapid economic growth, which prompted the need for PR counseling in business. This led to the rise in PR agencies, local and multinational, including Johnson & Associates, Lintas, Ogilvy, and Hill and Knowlton. These agencies assisted the development of public relations in Nigeria. However, Ubwa (2014) argued that

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PR in Nigeria could not be regarded as a profession due to problems with a good curriculum for teaching, the ineffectiveness of the professional Association, the fact that many of those in PR had journalism (or theatre) background, with a few having backgrounds in English, business marketing, among others, and the constant violation of the code of ethics of the NIPR. Ukonu et al. (2018), therefore, aver that PR in Nigeria still suffers from one-way communication, especially the press agentry and propaganda. In Ghana, the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) was established by Ghana’s first president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to train officers who were employed in the public sector. Although it started training journalists, it later introduced PR courses, including diplomas and degrees (Blankson, 2009). The Department of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana has been offering Master of Arts (MA) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in communication studies since its establishment in 1972 (Thompson, 2018). These were the only two institutions offering training in communication in Ghana until 2006 (Thompson, 2018). Since then, several universities and other institutions such as the University of Professional Studies, and the University of Cape Coast, have established communication departments to provide PR education. The African University College of Communication (AUCC) is the only private university in Ghana that focuses on communication. Several unaccredited institutions also offer PR courses (Thompson, 2018). But, like Nigeria, Ghana also has a challenge whereby anyone with any background can become a PR person so long as the person can “speak.” Again, several people practicing PR are not members of IPR; Ghana, the professional body, and the Association is unable to do anything about it. Several practitioners are also not members of the Association. Discussions by a number of practitioners with one of the authors of this paper (personal communication, June 2022) reveal that some of these practitioners do not see the relevance of the Association apart from collecting dues and organizing annual general meetings and CPD programs. South Africa is a relatively developed market with a long history of public relations training, ongoing professional development for practitioners, and significant multinational companies (Skinner, 2013). Skinner and Benecke (2014) record the instrumental role that PRISA played in the professional development of PR in South Africa. Several universities in South Africa also offer PR as a specialized area in communication science. In Kenya, the Public Relations Society of Kenya (RSK) was established in 1971 to regulate the activities of PR professionals. Kiambi (2014) reports

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that PR is growing with the continuous establishment of colleges and universities that offer degrees in PR. In Egypt, PR started as an academic discipline when the Faculty of Mass Communication was established in the early 1970s to offer journalism, radio, and public relations programs. PR instruction in Egypt ran into issues right away. PR was only taught from an academic perspective. Almost no graduates had any work experience, and the majority of Arabic textbooks were out-of-date. Nevertheless, the 80s and 90s realized an overhaul of the system, leading to the publication of several textbooks (Ayyad & Arouk, 2014). Although very few countries are discussed in relation to professionalism, they give insight into the state of professionalism on the continent. What is clear is that while it fulfills some professionalism criteria (e.g., training, education, Association, code of conduct, etc.), it is also lacking in other areas such as contribution to the body of knowledge, lack of influence in the boardroom, operating at the technician level more than managerial level, the inability of associations to properly regulate those who come into the industry as other professions such as law and medicine do (Anani-Bossman, 2021; Natifu, 2014; Niemann-Struweg & Meintjes, 2008; Ubwa, 2014; Ukonu et al., 2018). More worrying is the inability of professional associations to weed out charlatans parading as professionals. This allows anyone to be a PR person. Again, there is a lack of collaboration between practitioners and academics, with each living in their own world. This affects efforts to reach professionalism. African PR still has a long way to go if it is to reach the level of true professionalism.

Conclusion From the discussions, it becomes clear that African PR has gone through many phases and is still growing. As the world continues to shrink and the Fourth Industrial Revolution continues to evolve, the scope of PR activities in Africa will continue to expand. The challenge now is for practitioners to lead their organizations at several levels, including the integration of relationships with various stakeholders, management functions, corporate and organizational structures, as well as the integration with society. But for this to occur, practitioners and scholars must demonstrate a clear knowledge and understanding of the major trends and issues influencing businesses and society, and effectively communicate long-term implications to management (Verwey, 2000, p. 51).

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African PR practitioners must show more appreciation for the African worldview and the ubuntu philosophy as the bedrock of their PR planning processes and activities. PR associations in Africa should play a more active role in raising the level of consciousness of the African worldview and the ubuntu philosophy as part of its programs and activities. Educational institutions should also come to the party by giving prominence to these foundational values of African society in their PR curricula. Regarding PR scholarship, it is obvious that much needs to be done to advance the literature on the continent and participate actively in the global discussion on PR from an African perspective. There are several areas of PR yet to be explored in Africa, making the continent a “greenfield for research” (Rensburg, 2007). To do this, African scholars should collaborate among themselves and with scholars in the rest of the world. Accordingly, there is a need to coordinate PR research at a continental level. This can be done by establishing a professional body of Association. Unlike the American Commission for PR Education (ACPRE), the European Public Relations and Research Association (EUPRERA), and the European PR body of knowledge (EBOK), Africa currently does not have a common body or association capable of bringing PR scholars and practitioners together to develop a comprehensive body of knowledge on African PR.  The African Public Relations Association (APRA), the umbrella body of PR in Africa, does not seem inclined toward this area. APRA appears to focus more on the practice in its efforts to project a positive image of Africa than the scholarly aspect. However, such a body can collaborate with APRA to improve PR practice and scholarship on the continent. Also, African PR scholars need to move beyond the standard practice of using Western-based theories to measure PR practice on the continent. The advent of globalization and the evolution of digital technology has put a serious focus on PR practice and scholarship on the continent. There is a need to develop an African theory of PR that takes into consideration the mobile communication evolution, an amalgam of the mobile media technology, Western conceptions of social media with elements of the African worldview which is captured in the concept of ubuntu (Mersham et al., 2011, p. 20). Future PR research should focus on social responsibility, as companies are under immense pressure from rights movements to help eradicate the hunger, poverty, and inequality that have mushroomed worldwide. Notably, social responsibility is an issue consistent with the ubuntu

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philosophy. Companies are currently under pressure to address the environmental and social concerns of local communities and rights movements. The increase in the use of technologies due to, among other things, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic presents African scholars with an opportunity to explore topics such as the use of social media and the phenomenon of influencer marketing. Other areas that scholars can focus on include, but are not limited to, the issue of thought leadership in PR, application of technology and social media, measurement and evaluation, ethics and professionalism, crisis communication, and theory building.

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CHAPTER 2

Benchmarking Public Relations Practice in the Namibian Public Service with the Principles of the Excellence Theory Ndafilwonghenda T. Nambundunga and Eno Akpabio

The Government of the Republic of Namibia offers several services to the public through various offices/ministries/agencies (O/M/As). Still, the public is often unsatisfied with how the services are rendered. A key requirement of the excellence theory is to engage with publics in order to meet their needs, expectations, and requirements (Grunig et al., 2006). Another set of publics—reporters—are in the same category as they specifically complain that officials responsible for communication in government offices delay in responding to their queries (Kapitako, 2013). This delay was also confirmed by a journalist (T.  Ndjembela, personal

We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

N. T. Nambundunga • E. Akpabio (*) Department of Social Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3_2

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communication, September 5, 2019), who said that based on his experience with public relations officers (PROs), they are unfazed by journalists’ deadlines. This was also flagged by Kapitako (2013), who postulated that the Namibian government has not yet grasped the full importance of communicating with the media and the public. The Minister of Information and Communication Technology has called for the empowerment of government public relations officers (PROs) in line with the literature (Botan & Hazleton, 2006) to assist them in the timely dissemination of information to the public (Namibia News Digest, n.d.). The excellence theory, which undergirds this study, makes room for a theoretical profile and benchmarking that makes it possible for government public relations departments and units to compare themselves with world-class practices which may, in turn, lead to performance improvement (Grunig, 1993; Grunig et al., 2006). Given these dire reports and commentaries about public relations practice in the Namibian public service, this study tackled this issue by benchmarking PR practice with the principles of the excellence theory. The negative media report prompted the present benchmarking study. It is believed that applying the theory can enhance PR effectiveness once the principles enunciated in the theory are adopted and applied (Wise, 2003). The present study was therefore carried out to compare and contrast PR practice in the Namibian public service with the requirements outlined in the excellence theory guided by the following research questions: • How does PR practice in the Namibian public service compare to the tenets of the excellence theory? • To what extent do heads of PR departments enact managerial and/ or technical roles? • Which of the four PR models (as outlined by Grunig et al. (2006)— press agentry/publicity, public information, two-way asymmetrical, and two-way symmetrical) predominate in the public service practice environment?

Literature Review and Theoretical Framework Government Public Relations Fall (2006) believed that there are two major elements of effective public relations: the development and maintenance of a positive reputation. A

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positive reputation should have the following features: trustworthy, clear vision, treatment of everyone with respect and dignity, reliability, and knowledge of key publics, as well a crisis management plan in place. The second major element of Falls is an effective relationship with the organization’s various stakeholders. Fall (2006) maintained that for public relations managers to evaluate the effectiveness of the PR division, the first thing is to know the goals and mission of the organization because “effective public relations occurs when communication activities achieve communication goals (in a cost-­ effective manner)” (p.  231). For Childers (1989, p.  88), “unless those with power in the organization understand and support the public relations function, practitioners are not likely to practice sophisticated techniques of public relations.” The two elements identified by Fall appear to be very crucial as they are encapsulated in the PR practices adopted by PR departments/firms— either adding to the development and maintenance of reputation or tarnishing the reputation/image, encouraging relationships with stakeholders or destroying the relationship. This is because “organizations with an organic structure, participative culture, and a symmetrical system of communication… provide a hospitable environment for excellent public relations” (Botan & Hazleton, 2006, p. 53). A management role is critical not just from the perspective of the excellence theory but also in the achievement of corporate objectives (Tilson, 2009). Marland (2017) believed that government public relations’ function is to “generate favorable coverage, to influence public opinions and to persuade citizens about a course of action” (p. 36). Government officials are “public servants” and hence they must be accountable to the public. They should be obliged to communicate their institutions’ activities and respond to public and media inquiries (Lee et al., 2012). Lee (2012) also believes that “defensiveness and silence are not good either” (p. 10). According to McCollough (2015), government public relations officers are in charge of informing the public about the activities of their respective ministries or agencies. Therefore, it is the PRO’s responsibility to plainly explain government policies, actions, and activities to the citizenry. The Excellence Theory of Public Relations The excellence theory that undergirds this study identifies the issue of empowerment as a critical success factor (Grunig et al., 2006). The authors

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also pointed out other characteristics/principles of excellent public relations departments such as performance of a managerial role as well as higher levels of technical expertise, integration of all PR functions into a single department, research-based PR, and communication models, as best practices for excellent PR departments. The result is excellent relations with various publics—a real need in the Namibian context as this reduces negative publicity, increases employees’ satisfaction levels with their jobs and the organization, and makes the entity more competitive (Grunig et al., 2006). A study in the Australasia region indicated that the excellence theory remains the dominant paradigm of PR practice in Australia and many South East Asian countries (MacNamara, 2012). Similar studies have also been carried out in Korea and Slovenia with varying levels of compliance with the principles of the theory as well as surfacing unique contributions from these practice environments (Grunig et al., 2006). Akpabio (2012) took up the gauntlet to disprove the assertion that public relations in the African continent is stuck in the one-way publicity model by citing examples from Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritius, and South Africa to buttress the move toward the tenets enunciated in the excellence theory. Practitioners, he argues, go to great lengths to research and incorporate the views and perspectives of their publics into public relations activities and plans. According to Grunig (1992), the excellence theory is a general public relations theory resulting from a 15-year study of best practices in communication management. Grunig posits that the study explained the value and the quality of the relationship of public relations to organizations and society. Grunig (1992) stated that for any organization to be effective and socially acceptable, it must be stakeholder-oriented, be able to satisfy its goals, and solve problems. Furthermore, organizations must be conscious of their environment and be able to recognize and identify their stakeholders who are affected by the decisions they make or who want organizations to make decisions to solve problems that are important to them (Grunig, 1992; Botan & Hazleton, 2006). Thus research is a critical need in public relations (Aggrey, 2009). Botan and Hazleton (2006) echoed the same sentiment by stating that the question of value of the public relations has been of great concern… because of the belief… that public relations is an intangible management

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function in comparison with other functions whose value can be described, measured and evaluated through systematic research. (p. 31)

The excellence theory recommends that organizations employ the symmetrical communication method with stakeholders to preclude undesirable costs and social consequences (Grunig, 1992). Organizations must communicate regularly with their publics (Grunig, 1992), taking the interests of both the organization and publics into account (Grunig & Huang, 2000). According to the excellence theory, less excellent PR departments do not conduct research; they barely identify their new publics and do not even evaluate their organizations’ objectives to determine the level of achievement (Botan & Hazleton, 2006). They acknowledged that some entities, such as governments, observe this more in its breach. The public relations practitioner, as a communicator, can play four major roles in organizations: “the manager, senior adviser (also known as a communication liaison), technician, and media relations role” (Botan & Hazleton, 2006, p. 41). The manager and technician roles are commonly practiced, and both can be carried out by one PR practitioner (the effectiveness will probably depend on the size of the organization). The public relations department should be headed by the public relations manager who will conceptualize and direct all PR programs, or else other members of the dominant coalition with no or little knowledge of communication management will lead. The public relations officer should have educational knowledge to discharge the management role (Grunig, 2009). The excellence study indicated, regarding the structure of the PR department, that there should be a manager to direct PR programs—and it is more advantageous to possess technical expertise, especially in media relations—as well as an expert to carry out the technical role—daily communication activities of PR departments (a technical expert should possess vital supporting role to the management role) and an administrative expert (Botan & Hazleton, 2006). Similarly, Marland (2017) emphasized the building of media–PR relations and stressed the importance of having a designated official to handle PR-related functions. Botan and Hazleton supported “the integration of PR programs into a single department” or coordination of all PR “programs managed by different departments” (2006, p.  44), adding that “excellent communication departments also seek support from outside firms” (2006, p.  46) to assist with either “all or some of their

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communication programs or… techniques” (2006, p.  43). Botan and Hazleton (2006) also emphasized that public relations should embody diversity, both genders (men and women) regardless of cultural and racial background, adding that “excellent departments should seek more of the scarce supply of minority practitioners.” (p. 38). Similarly, Grunig (2009) encouraged inclusivity involving “practitioners of different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds” (p. 2). A survey by Botan and Hazleton (2006) discovered that not all PROs or communicators report directly to CEOs. They argue that such a reporting relationship does not ensure excellence, but we found that without such a clear path to the CEO public relations cannot contribute much to organizational effectiveness. A direct reporting relationship, therefore, appears to be a necessary, if not a sufficient, condition for participation in strategic management, which is one of the most critical components of excellent public relations. (p. 40)

However, Valentini (2013) found that most Italian public relations officers had direct reporting lines to the senior managers of their departments or to the general manager of the local administration.

Methodology Research Design The study adopted a mixed-method approach consisting of participant observation and in-depth exploratory interviews because they allow for detailed and elaborate information gathering (Wimmer & Dominick, 2010). Population and Sampling The study population comprised the executive directors and PROs in the 34 government offices, ministries, and agencies (O/M/As) in Namibia (Government of Namibia, n.d.). Purposive sampling of 3 senior government officials, 12 PROs in ministries, and 7 PROs in offices and agencies was adopted because it yielded rich data.

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Research Methods Observation A checklist detailing the characteristics of excellent PR departments was used to evaluate public relations practice in offices, ministries, and agencies as this aids understanding and gives new and fresh insights, thus assisting in achieving the objectives of this study (Wimmer & Dominick, 2010). The checklist address the following areas: . Empowerment of PROs 1 2. Performance of a managerial role 3. Higher levels of technical expertise 4. Integration of all PR functions into a single department 5. Research-based or not 6. Model favored—press agentry/publicity, public information, two-­ way asymmetrical, and two-way symmetrical 7. Basis—mediated or interpersonal communication 8. Activism and the environmental context of excellence 9. Involvement in strategic management I n-Depth Exploratory Interview Interview guides were used to gain clarity on data from the benchmarking exercise as well as for the key informant (senior officials) interviews with the executive director, 2 senior officials, and 12 PROs. The interview guide contained the following questions: . Are all the units within the PR office spread out to other departments? 1 2. Is PR a management function in your ministry? 3. Is PR regarded as a technical or managerial function in your ministry? Give reasons for your answer. 4. Which model—press agentry/publicity, public information, two-­ way asymmetrical, and two-way symmetrical—predominates in your ministry’s PR practice? Give reasons for your answer. 5. What role does research play in your practice? 6. Which are the best tools/media for more effective reach of your publics?

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The interviews were recorded after obtaining authorization from the respondents. The analysis took a narrative form involving pattern matching—the practice of PR in the Namibian public service was benchmarked with the characteristics of excellent departments (Wimmer & Dominick, 2010). The researchers obtained an ethical clearance letter from the University of Namibia prior to embarking on this study. All participants’ rights to participate were explained and consented to by the interviewees without any pressure or intimidation. Interviewees’ identities were masked by not divulging their names or affiliation, thus fulfilling the promise of confidentiality. Since one of the researchers is an employee in the public service, honesty and integrity were guiding principles in conducting this study.

Results and Discussion of Findings The findings of the study are discussed under the following thematic categories: Stakeholder Engagements Stakeholder engagements in various platforms where publics can post comments or pose questions provide an avenue for either two-way asymmetrical or symmetrical communication. The study discovered that stakeholders’ engagement could be done based on the organization’s publics, its size, its culture, and the product/service it renders to the public (Gregory, 2003), more especially “where the interests of the organization are secure or where interests at least coincide” (2003, p. 89). Some O/M/As have a proactive approach where they arrange for school visits to their institutions during school holidays or recess. To improve service delivery and ensure compliance with International Standards and Practices, some of the O/M/As are benchmarked with the international organizations to which Namibia has ratified. The study found that some O/M/As were subjected to a public survey—“customer satisfactory survey”—which was unilaterally and anonymously conducted countrywide by one of the country’s prestigious higher institutions of learning. According to one of the PROs, “the survey report was shared with individual O/M/As and the issues of concerns raised therein are still being addressed by O/M/As.”

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Challenges Faced by the Government PROs Only one of the PROs reported using an outdated computer which necessitates updating information at another institution. During the interview with this specific PRO, it emerged that, besides outdated tools, there was no relationship between the media and the management. Support from management is critical—for effective practice (Childers, 1989, p.  88). Despite the challenge, this PRO said, “[I] keep on monitoring the media, although I often cannot provide feedback because information hardly comes on time to enable a timely response to media queries.” This is a perfect hint that the PRO’s functions in this ministry are relegated to support functions instead of the strategic management role (Tilson, 2009). Although this PRO report directly to the executive director (ED), media queries are not attended to with urgency as the direct contact between this specific PRO and the directors in the ministry, for whatever reason, is purportedly not permitted: I cannot contact the directors directly; I have to wait for a response to come to me via the ED’s office. By the time I get it, the reporter’s due date for the specific article has already passed. This attitude of disregarding the media’s deadlines exacerbated the whole thing (PR-Media relationship). I was often told that I do not work for the media; therefore, there is no need to work according to their schedule.

This contradicts Wilcox, Cameron and Reber (2014), who suggest that media has deadlines; therefore, PR personnel should respond to media queries cognizant of media deadlines. The PRO stated that “this attitude has created a bad relationship with the media because they hardly get information from me.” The PRO further said, “Our ministry has a suggestion box but hardly provides feedback on comments, complaints or suggestions from suggestion boxes because information does not flow well between the PR office and the management.” Some PROs said that in their O/M/As the suggestion boxes are ineffective as staff members flood them with personal problems with other staff members instead of addressing their issues procedurally. Furthermore, financial constraints prevented the execution of PR activities in this ministry, and to compound it all, PR functions are centralized and performed by one person. This case was regarded as odd, and participants concluded that it was a result of little understanding of the

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importance and value of a PRO in the institution, as stated by Grunig (2009). Other participants also assumed that the situation might have been influenced by some personal problems/issues. Some of the common problems encountered by the PROs is that they are not in control of the ministerial websites for security reasons, but the Office of the Prime Minister does, while the IT division does the uploading of information on the webpages in all government institutions. The PR divisions only provide information to IT to update the institutions’ web pages. PROs felt they were overworked as each O/M/A mostly has one PRO who worked as “a photographer, scribe, spokesperson, coordinator, and other PR-related functions.” According to literature, “many practitioners play both manager and technician roles” (Botan & Hazleton, 2006, p. 41). Other challenges are the following: lack of funds to participate in trade fairs, produce newsletters (quarterly), annual reports, pamphlets/ brochures, and customer service charters, and procure banners and exhibition materials for marketing purposes. While PROs feel overwhelmed by many problems, one of the senior officials refuted the claims, saying, “In the past PROs had many issues, but slowly we resolved them, particularly the reporting line and gadget issues.” With regard to the problems encountered by the PROs, the senior official said: The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology’s (MICT) role is to continue sensitizing and highlighting to O/M/As through the management meetings of senior civil servants [executive directors meetings] regarding the shortcomings that are still bedeviling the PROs, the urgency of them being attended to and need for effective government communication with the citizenry.

He added that the minister would communicate to Cabinet about the challenges faced by the PROs. The MICT, according to senior officials, is satisfied with the performance of the PROs, adding that they have greatly improved compared to the low performance experienced in previous years. One of the senior officials said, “Given the challenges and myriads of impediments the PROs face, one can proudly say the Ministry is 80% satisfied with the level of their performance.”

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Diversification in PR The participants were encouraged to carry out their duties/functions in complete consideration of cultural and racial diversity. However, an examination of the composition of PROs in government does not reflect the Affirmative Action, which encourages the consideration of previously disadvantaged people for employment in the government service and Namibia in general (Botan & Hazleton, 2006; Grunig, 2009). As per the researchers’ observation, it was clear that women undoubtedly dominate PR in government. One of the informants stated that “PROs are hired according to their qualifications.” The researchers could not determine the criteria used to employ or hire the PROs and the reason why women dominate government PR. PR Structure/Reporting Line Cabinet, in 2005, directed the O/M/As to appoint PROs who should report to the accounting officers. However, according to some PROs during their presentations at Walvis Bay, they still report to either director, deputy directors or chief control officers instead of the executive directors. One of the key informants noted that “although Cabinet gave such a directive, it has not taken away the O/M/As’ discretion to determine the reporting line of the PROs.” Grunig (2009) contended that “excellent public relations units have at least one senior manager who directs public relations programmes” (p. 2). Cabinet directive appears to consider the importance of the PROs and the crucial role that the PR department has in an organization, particularly the government institution in this case. While acknowledging the issues of confidentiality and secrecy in organizations, the significance of the PR function/department in O/M/As should be emphasized to make sure they are accorded the recognition owed to them. In doing so, even the O/M/As’ discretion regarding the PRO’s reporting line (chain of command) would not be determined contrary to Cabinet’s directive. If the PR managers do not head the PR units to carry out the managerial roles and direct all PR programs, such “direction will be provided by members of the dominant coalition who have no knowledge of public relations” (Grunig, 2009, p. 2). The study revealed that PROs have different reporting lines. Such reporting line does not guarantee PR excellence and cannot stimulate the PR departments to optimally contribute to organizational effectiveness

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(Botan & Hazleton, 2006). Some PROs responded as follows: “I report to both director and executive director”; “I report to the chief control officer”; “I report to the deputy director” and “I report to the Executive Director.” According to literature, a direct reporting to the CEO (in the case of the government—executive director) “appears to be a necessary, if not a sufficient, condition for participation in strategic management, which is one of the most critical components of excellent public relations” (Botan & Hazleton, 2006, p. 40). The study found that while some PROs (few) strive to put up with their supervisors. One of the PROs appreciatively said: I report directly to the accounting officer. I have good support from management in terms of providing the information necessary to compile documents, reports, memos, and other documents. I attend management meetings and have firsthand information on the developments taking place in the institution and the regions. I am also encouraged to work hard and contribute positively to the institutional mandate and government at large.

Empowering of PROs The key informants assured that the government PROs are empowered. One informant said, “Yes, they are 95% empowered. They are provided with all equipment and gadgets required to carry out their duties, and they have access to the principals and all management.” On the contrary, Botan and Hazleton (2006, p. 41) asserted, “If the senior communicator is not a manager, it is not possible for public relations to be empowered as a management function because there are no managers in the department.” Although the O/M/A may permit the PRO to attend all management meetings as stated by one of the PROs, the effectiveness of the PR division, in light of the theory, remains questionable. The excellence study posits that “the most effective public relations departments participated in, or were consulted in the making of overall strategic decisions in organizations” (Grunig, 2009, p. 11). Through this participation in organizational decisions, excellent public relations departments gain a strategic position to scan the environment and identify the stakeholder/potential publics who would be or are likely to be affected in one way or another by the decisions made by the organization. One of the key informants, however, believes that not all PROs are empowered:

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Some PROs have access to decision-making while others do not, and some have all that is needed, with some having little. It all depends on who you work with and the organization you work for. There is no standardization in government.

But scholars are of the view that participation in organizational decisions is the key to effective PR units (Botan & Hazleton, 2006), while “less effective departments generally had the less central role of disseminating messages about strategic decisions made by others in the organization” (Grunig, 2009, p. 11). It is thus emphatically underscored that for the organization to be effective, “the public relations function must be empowered as a distinctive and strategic managerial function” (Botan & Hazleton, 2006, p. 38). The empowered PROs are the members of the “dominant coalition or have access to this powerful group of organizational leaders” (2006, p. 38) that make decisions in the organization (Grunig, 2009). One of the PROs indicated that “the PRO does not partake in top executive management meetings. Managers see PROs as a threat.” Another echoed the same sentiment: “The trust issues prevent the PRO from sitting in top executive management meetings.” The affirmation by one of the key informants that PROs are 95% empowered can be challenged by the complaints of some PROs who lamented that they are not members of the management cadre and they report to other officials instead of the executive directors. The PROs might be equipped with all relevant tools, but excluding them from being members of the management cadre may negatively impact their performance because they do not “play a role in making strategic organizational decisions” (Botan & Hazleton, 2006, p. 38). The excellence theory dictates that PROs “must have relative autonomy from excessive clearance rules to play the strategic role” (Botan & Hazleton, 2006, p.  38). Therefore being a PRO but not a member of the “dominant coalition” may compromise the PR function. Grunig (2009) asserted that participating in decision-making leads to identifying potential publics, which further necessitates developing strategic PR programs to cultivate the organization–stakeholder relationships. Without that relationship, organizations’ decisions could fail where the publics do not support the decisions. The PR programs should, therefore, highly consider such a relationship to avert a crisis. That is perhaps mainly the reason why Grunig (1993) emphasized that excellent PR departments

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should develop effective programs and employ two-way communication (symmetric—Grunig’s preferred model—or asymmetric communication), which both are also research-based (Grunig, 2009). One of the senior officials in government questioned the effectiveness of the PROs, especially those who do not attend management meetings: “if a PRO cannot be part of the management cadre, can he/she be able to carry out his/her function effectively?” Another senior official asserted that the duty of the PR function in any organization is to advise the management, hence a need to be part of management. One of the senior officials opposed the idea and argued that for a “PR practitioner to be effective in his duties, he does not require to be a manager, but the recognition of the PR profession and the importance placed upon the PR function, as the face of an organization, is what matters the most.” Scholars (Botan & Hazleton, 2006; Grunig, 2009) revealed that in some countries, the practitioners who were less involved in strategic management were less valued by senior management, but the situation was dealt with by encouraging the top officials to support and empower PR managers, address the lack of PR knowledge, and emphasize employees’ relations. The senior official further clarified: Government PROs have taken oaths to perform their duties professionally, taking into account confidentiality and secrecy, but the oaths taken were measured for their levels. Therefore, such cannot guarantee their attendance at all levels of management meetings unless sanctioned by their executive directors. Similarly, it is incumbent upon the executive directors of the respective O/M/As to determine what issues should be shared with or disseminated to the public because not all matters are public consumable at any given time. Some issues must be thoroughly interrogated before they are disseminated to the public.

Furthermore, the senior official added, “The O/M/As have different mandates and deal with different issues. Confidential and secret issues are discussed at the management levels where decisions-making regarding their daily undertakings are made.” For that reason, he argued, the executive director may or may not permit the PRO to attend management meetings. The key informant, however, pointed out that “government PROs are not the ultimate spokesperson of their O/M/As, and there are issues that they can speak about.”

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Models of Communication One of the senior officials said a mix of PR models is deployed in government communication: There is no uniformity in government as O/M/As apply models of communication differently. Models of communication can be employed based on the matters at hand. The idea of communication is to use mixed models, giving to the public and getting from the public, determining the impact of service delivery and communication, and providing feedback to the principals as they also need to be informed of what is happening in the communities.

The senior official augmented this claim of lack of uniformity in government, noting that, “for instance, some O/M/As have branches all over the country. They provide information, but they are not giving maximum exposure, meaning the model they use is one-way [public information].” One-way model of communication (public information) does not necessarily mean a lack of exposure, as the senior official put it. Still, it is used to “carefully disseminate balanced information to the publics” (Bivins, 1989, p. 66). Motschall and Liqun (2002, cited in Akpabio, 2009, p. 353) posit that “no single method of public relations practice will dominate in all settings.” Communication models should be applied based on the matter to be communicated and the level of recipients. Conducting Research A key informant revealed that “99% of the PROs are not researchers as they rely more on decisions which are taken within their organizations. They hardly go out to unearth what the public expect or get the views of the public regarding their organizations.” The informant added that “it is a deficiency in Namibia which cannot be ascribed to the PROs alone,” contrary to the expectations of the excellence theory (Grunig, 2009). Botan and Hazleton (2006, p.  5) found out that, although conducting the research is crucial in public relations departments, “the government PR program did not fit the pattern” because government communication programs specifically “lobbying functions are controlled by lawyers and CEOs” and that PR practitioners have little control over their programs. The senior official further argued:

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It is a fact that in Namibia, research is not richly resourced. Even in institutions of higher learning, it is a challenge. Likewise, in government, you will not find budgetary provisions made for research on the mandate of an institution. As such, PROs cannot be condemned for not being research-driven, but they are rather expected to be mere recipients of government decisions.

Botan and Hazleton (2006) stressed that public relations departments need to understand the publics they serve and that knowledge or understanding comes from the ability to conduct research as excellent public relations is a research-based activity. The informant, however, agreed that PROs should master the mandate of their organizations, be in a position to research the level of service delivery and appreciation by the public, and be able to contrast the two to determine whether the public is happy with the service delivery of that specific O/M/A. If not, then “ascertain the cause of unhappiness in order to address the situation” (Botan & Hazleton, 2006, p. 48). Aggrey (2009, p.  398) affirmed that PR practitioners’ knowledge would be limited as “only with valid research can they present and advocate proposals supported by evidence and theory.” There might be a misconception that research in PR applies only to PR in the private sector, which is “motivated by profit” (Aggrey, 2009, p.  398), and not in the government sector. Aggrey (2009), however, pointed out that “research efforts must be viewed as equally important in both the public and the private sector” (2009, p. 398). If the effectiveness of public relations departments can be attained through empirical research, then such PR effectiveness might not be fully realized in Namibia’s context because “boundary spanning and environmental scanning is not part of the job description for African public relations practitioners” (Akpabio, 2009, p. 354). Conducting research in PR may have to be enforced in order for PR departments to optimally achieve their goals because the first step to any public relations effort is to probe the opinion, attitudes, and reactions of publics (Akpabio, 2009, p. 354). Scholars (Akpabio, 2009; Botan & Hazleton, 2006) support the use of Grunig’s (2009) preferred symmetric model of communication in public relations practice. Although Aggrey (2009) maintained that public relations practitioners in both the private and public sectors should employ research, he also postulated that the organizations’ motives or goals in the two sectors may play a prominent role in enforcing research in PR. He notes that PR in the

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private sector “emphazises sustained relationship with all relevant stakeholders” (Aggrey, 2009, p. 399). In the government sector, information management “is not necessarily based on the principle of mutuality, where the concerns of stakeholders are taken into consideration, but the expediency of the organization’s goals is what matters” (p. 400). He however asserted that government public relations programs deal with one-way communication directed to citizens.

PR as Technical or Management Function and the Integration of Communication Function The key informants stated that PR, in general, is a management function because it is about managing relationships. Nevertheless, it is not taken as seriously as it should be. Instead, it is viewed as a technical function. Similarly, the MICT is not among the senior ministries in the government, which also speaks to the anchorage as PR is anchored to the portfolio that is not highly ranked. That is why PR cannot be an agile discipline in the government as it should be. If then the public relations department is regarded or viewed as the “face of the organization,” as stated by one of the key informants, and “one that links the organization with its various stakeholders,” one wonders why its value should be questioned. One of the key informants told the researchers that the MICT would continue to advocate for the elevation of the PROs’ positions because, currently, they are all at levels below management. “If the senior communicator is not a manager, it is not possible for public relations to be empowered as a management function because there are no managers in the department” (Botan & Hazleton, 2006, p.  41). Similar sentiments to the effect that if PR practitioners are relegated to support functions instead of discharging a strategic management role it causes them to have little knowledge of PR roles such as “research, environmental scanning, problem solving, and managing total communications strategies” (Tilson, 2009, p.  379). The relegation of public relations practitioners makes “organizations vulnerable to both internal and external threats…and leads to organizational crisis” (Tilson, 2009, p. 379). The PROs should be optimally and appropriately utilized to carry out their functions as heralded and implied in the PR definition, which is a “management function that identifies, establishes, and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the various publics on whom its success or failure depends” (Tilson, 2009, p. 380).

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One PRO affirmed, “My functions as PRO are purely PR related, not doing other departments jobs except when they are PR related. I coordinate all PR activities from the PR division.” Another said, “I am acting PRO; I execute my duties as well as that of the PROs.” Grunig (2009) contested the sublimation of PR functions to other functions saying that such has an adverse financial implication. As for the Namibian government, PR functions are integrated but not “sublimated” Grunig (2009, p. 2). PR functions in the Namibian public service are integrated into a single department, but those departments are operated by mostly “one person which results in work overload as I end up being the cameraman, scripter, photographer, driver, and others,” said one of the PROs, adding that “the department needs to be strengthened even with a seasonal PRO.” Grunig, however, did not contend that the PR department should be managed by one PR practitioner but emphasized that an “excellent department integrates all public relations functions into a single department or have a mechanism to coordinate the departments responsible for different communication activities” (p. 2).

Conclusion and Recommendations The study found that the excellence theory is regarded as a “Dominant Paradigm” of public relations practices worldwide, but its tenets are seldom applied by PR in Namibian Civil Service. It is recommended for PR practitioners to be managers which will see the PR departments/units being headed by the managers—members of the dominant coalition (Botan & Hazleton, 2006). The Cabinet decision of 2005 echoed a similar sentiment that PROs should have direct access to the accounting officers and report directly to the executive director (Grunig, 2009). Despite the Cabinet directive in 2005, O/M/As are yet to fully implement the decision. The study found that most of the PROs do not report directly to the executive directors and, instead, they report to other officials such as the chief control officer, deputy director, director, or other “members of the dominant coalition who have no knowledge of public relations” (Grunig, 2009, p. 2). On the other hand, the research established that relegating PR functions (managerial functions) to that of support functions appears to be tantamount to disregarding the importance of the PR profession. As a result, PR divisions headed by non-managers render insufficient services;

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at least public relations units must have “one senior manager who directs public relations programmes” (Grunig, 2009, p. 2). The Namibian Civil Service PR division’s structure may need urgent reformation for effective and improved service. One of the findings which hamper the effective performance of government PROs is the lack of human resources. Most of the O/M/As have one PRO who carries out all PR functions ranging from photography, scripting, video capturing, and all other PR day-to-day activities. The one-way asymmetric communication (Grunig, 2009; Huang, 2004; Hayenhjelm, 2006; Botan & Hazleton, 2006) dominates the PR communication in the Namibian Civil Service and top-down communication (Etter, 2014, p.  328) permeates O/M/As. However, the lack of empirical research by PROS is pervasive, which makes one wonder how PROs measure their performance. The study’s focus was on the Namibian public service, so the findings are not reflective of public relations practice in Namibia. However, the findings point to the need for interventions to make public relations in Namibia conform to global best practices. One way this can be achieved is by continuing the professional education of practitioners through the Public Relations Institute of South Africa–Namibian chapter. A dire need for a homegrown PR association that can tackle these and other issues is also required. Other scholars may wish to investigate the private sector and not-for-profit entities and their level of compliance with the tenets of the excellence theory.

References Aggrey, K. (2009). Do public relations in Africa use research? A comparison of public and private organizations in Ghana. African Communication Research, 2(3), 351–366. Akpabio, E. (2009). African public relations and the mainstream of global practice. African Communication Research, 2(3), 351–366. Bivins, T. (1989). Ethical implications of the relationship of purpose to role and function in public relations. Journal of Business Ethics, 8(1), 65–73. Botan, C. H., & Hazleton, V. (2006). Public relations in a new age. In C. H. Botan & V. Hazleton (Eds.), Public relations theory 11 (pp. 1–20). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Childers, L. (1989). J. Grunig’s asymmetrical and symmetrical models of public relations: contrasting features and ethical dimensions.  IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 2(32), 86–93.

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Etter, M. (2014). Broadcasting, reacting, engaging  – Three strategies for CSR communication in Twitter. Journal of Communication Management, 18(4), 322–342.  https://doi.org/ezproxy.unam.edu.na/10.1108/JCOM-­ 01-­2013-­0007 Fall. L. (2006). Value of engagement: Factors influencing how students perceive their community contribution to public relations internships. Public Relations Review, 32(4), 407–415. Government of Namibia. (n.d.). Offices, ministries and agencies. www.gov.na. Gregory, A. (2003). The ethics of engagement in the UK public sector: A case in point. Journal of Communication Management, 8(1), 83–94. https://doi.org/ ezproxy.unam.edu.na/10.1108/13632540410807565 Grunig, J. (1992). Excellence in public relations and communication management. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Grunig, J. (1993). Public relations and international affairs: Effects, ethics and responsibility. Journal of International Affairs, 47(1), 137–162. Grunig. J. E. (2009). Paradigms of global public relations in an age of digitalisation. PRism, 1–19. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Grunig/ publication/303153523_Paradigms_of_global_public_relations_in_an_age_ of_digitalisation/links/573de9b308ae9f741b2ffcdb/Paradigms-of-globalpublic-relations-in-an-age-of-digitalisation.pdf?_sg%5B0%5D=started_ experiment_milestone&origin=journalDetail&_rtd=e30%3D Grunig, J. E., & Huang, Y.-H. (2000). From organizational effectiveness to relationship indicators: Antecedents of relationships, public relations strategies, and relationship outcomes. In J.  A. Ledingham & S.  D. Bruning (Eds.), Public relations as relationship management: A relational approach to the study and practice of public relations (pp.  23–53). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Grunig, J. E., Grunig, L. A., & Dozier, D. M. (2006). The excellence theory. In C.  H. Botan & V.  Hazleton (Eds.), Public relations theory 11 (pp.  21–63). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Hayenhjelm, M. (2006). Asymmetries in risk communication. Risk Management, 8(1), 1–15. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3867940 Huang, Y. (2004). Is symmetrical communication ethical and effective? Journal of Business Ethics, 53(4), 333–352. Kapitako, A. (2013, October 8). PROs failing in their duties. New Era. https:// neweralive.na/posts/pros-­failing-­duties. Lee, M. (2012). Commentary: Do’s and don’ts of public relations for government health care administration. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 35(3), 258–273. Lee, M., Neeley, G. W., & Stewart, K. (2012). The practice of government public relations. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/pol_fac_pub/65.

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MacNamara, J. (2012). The global shadow of functionalism and excellence theory: An analysis of Australasian PR. Public Relations Inquiry, 1(3), 367–402. Marland, A. (2017). Strategic management of media relations: Communications centralization and spin in the Government of Canada. Canadian Public Policy/ Analyse De Politiques, 43(1), 36–49. McCollough, C.  J. (2015). State of government media relations: Revisiting the “adversarial” PIO-journalist relationship. Public Relations Journal. https:// prjournal.instituteforpr.org/wp-­content/uploads/2015v09n03McCollough.pdf Motschall, M., & Liqun, C. (2002). An Analysis of the Public Relations Role of the Police Public Information Officer. PoliceQuarterly, 5(2), 152–180. Namibia News Digest. (n.d.). Tweya wants empowered govt. information officers. https://www.nampa.org/index.php?model=feature&function=displ ay&id=120717 Tilson, D. J. (2009). Current research in public relations: A critique and questioning of global trends. African Communication Research, 2(3), 351–366. Valentini, C. (2013). Public relations in the public sector. The role of strategic communication in the Italian public administration. Sinergie Italian Journal of Management, 92, 93–113. https://doi.org/10.7433/92.2013.06 Wilcox, D. L, Cameron, G. T., & Reber, B. H. (2014). Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics, Global Edition-Pearson Education. Wimmer, R., & Dominick, J. (2010). Mass media research: An introduction. Thomson/Wadsworth. Wise, K. (2003). Linking public relations processes and organizational effectiveness at a state health department. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 25(4), 497–525.

CHAPTER 3

Ethiopian Public Relations in Practice: Historical Development and Its Constraints Geremew Chala

This chapter discusses the practice of public relations and its historical development as organizational reputation and maintaining public trust in Ethiopia. Several efforts have been made to address the development of Ethiopian public relations, which is still at the early stage of development. Geremew (2017), for instance, found that public relations practice in contemporary Ethiopia is equated to the press agentry stage of communication, focusing on “propaganda, publicity, and manipulation” (p.  136). Similarly, Mengistu and Hasen (2020) claim that public relations in Ethiopia execute mainly the technician roles, which encompass routine activities such as photography, speech writing and production, and

I have no known conflict of interest to disclose for this manuscript.

G. Chala (*) Department of Afaan Oromoo, Literature and Communication, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3_3

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dissemination of information, with minimal managerial activities. Geremew (2017) further argues that most public relations practitioners in different organizations in Ethiopia strive to obtain media coverage, prepare organizations’ speeches, organize press releases, attend organizational meetings, and organize semi-annual and annual reports. In principle, public relations is expected to maintain relationships with several stakeholders and should operate to the need of the public, government, non-government, and commercial organizations. Every organization establishing a public relations department should inevitably take steps to enhance the practice by ensuring that the department goes beyond routine technicalities and engage in strategic relationship management with internal and external stakeholders. Through appropriate professional, practical, theoretical, and methodological implementation and development, all organizations can ensure the trustfulness of their services to their public so that both the organization and the public can enjoy mutual benefits. In today’s advanced and globalized world, striving for understandable public relations roles and enhancing the profession to the level that creates mutual understanding between organizations would be vital. For instance, employees expect their institutions to provide them with fulfilling careers. Communities demand the organization to provide effective and efficient services or products. Organizations will unlikely choose these goals if they exist in isolation in their context. If they do not pick them, the public will put pressure on them, just as children put pressure on their parents to take them to amusement parks, companies put pressure on employees to work late, and neighbors put pressure on us to keep our yards nice (Grunig, 2008). As a result, life is a perpetual process of negotiation and compromise for both individuals and institutions. Hence, communication is one of the most powerful tools we have for negotiating and compromising (Grunig, 2008). Grunig extends his argument: Organizations that communicate well with the public with whom they have relationships know, what to expect from that public, and the public knows what to expect from them. They may not always agree or have a friendly relationship. But they do understand each other, which is the main objective of public relations. Although an organization with good public relations may have to incorporate the goals of the strategic public into its mission, in the end, it will be able to pursue its own goals more effectively than it would if it ignored or fought the goals of the public. (p. 22)

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This chapter aims to provide an overview of public relations practices in relation to its historical development and contemporary practice in building, maintaining, and enhancing organizational reputation and public trust by highlighting some indigenous communication systems among some ethnic communities in Ethiopia. This chapter will also discuss current constraints and prospects of public relations by examining the factors that influence the practical and theoretical constructs of public relations models that guide public relations practices in Ethiopia.

The Origin and Historical Development of Public Relations in Ethiopia The origin of public relations in Ethiopia is not different from that of other African countries, which is linked to ancient traditional means of human communication (town criers, drums beating, and heralds). Scholars such as Wilson (2008), Cutlip et al. (2006), and Ugboajah (1986) argue that these traditional forms of communication were considered mass media because they could reach a large number of people in most African countries. They were also considered the ancient roots of public relations (e.g., Wilson, 2008; Bonsa, 2000). Although most African nations used to exchange their traditional life perspectives through these indigenous forms of communication, one may argue that the introduction of public relations was an extension of these indigenous forms of communication. In their roles of activating their people to be aware of their historiographies, amplifying their past situations, and suggesting their performances of memorable descendants, the African communities aimed at using indigenous communications (Ugboajah, 1986). As a result, the beginning of some components of traditional communications that equated to the modern form of present-day public relations in African communities cannot exactly be recognized. However, some African scholars recognize that the correct estimation of public relations in Africa dates back to the middle of the nineteenth century (see Mbeke, 2009; Rosenberg, 2013). Thus, the evolution of public relations in most African countries is extended from their traditional forms of social communications that vary from social, economic, political, and cultural perspectives. Ethiopia is not exceptional in this regard. Scholars argue that contemporary public relations in Ethiopia originated twofold: state structure of news dissemination (i.e., officially called Awaj Negari (official heralds) and community

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traditional communications) (Bonsa, 2000; Reta, 2013). The various communities had spokespeople in their social organizations, and the Kings had representatives who were responsible for disseminating messages from the top level to the community that partially coincided with the present-­ day public relations practices (Sileshi, 2019). Emperors had commonly used Awaj Negari in Ethiopia for several years to communicate public issues to the rulers, while the local communities used traditional communications to deal with their social, cultural, and economic issues to their communities (Bonsa, 2000). Hence, the manifestation of practices and applications of public relations techniques are not new to Ethiopian communities such as Afar, Sidama, Oromo, Amhara, and Tigre. Each of these communities had its communication systems, structures, styles, and even spokespersons. The concept of the present public relations, such as crisis management, individuals and institutional relations, corporate identities, and social institutions, is not entirely new to these Ethiopian communities. For instance, social organizations such as idir, iqub, and afooshaa are common among most communities that have organized structures and possess spokespersons chosen among the organizations. Idir is a social cooperative activity involving reciprocal financial contributions, mainly toward social security and funeral services (Ta’a, 1996). Both idir and afooshaa are social institutions used for the same purpose but in different ethnic terms (Amharic and Afaan Oromoo, respectively). Iqub is a credit association that also involves reciprocal money contributions for a self-help saving system. Iqub is also regarded as a capital accumulator for the individual members to begin a small business or to buy anything the members wish (Pankhurst & Hailemariam, 2000; Ta’a, 1996). However, a little better-organized form of traditional communication that looks like the present-day public relations in Ethiopia had been observed centuries ago among the various Ethiopian communities. Different communities in Ethiopia are still using some communication systems that seem to possess the knowledge and skills of the current public relations in rural areas. Demis (2019) argues that the earliest practices of traditional communications that manifested in some form of public relations make public relations one of the oldest phenomena in Ethiopian civilization. One can imagine that ancient Ethiopian civilizations had not been realized without mobilizing the public and, of course, that mobilization has demanded a huge effort of persuasion (Demis, 2019). Mengistu and Hasen (2020) argue that the knowledge and skills of public relations

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in Ethiopia can be integrated with the various early forms of traditional communication in the country. These earliest indigenous forms of communication are traditional communications, some of which have been collectively used in rural areas among certain ethnic groups. Among those indigenous communications, the Dagu (to mean news in Afar) communication system of the Afar people, the Qeexaala communication system of the Sidama community, and the Iya gafo and the egalitarian communication system in the Gada system of the Oromo people were/are some examples of indigenous communication that can build the basis for public relations practices. Iya Gafo is a ceremony of a drum beating to disseminate information from rulers to the public from the hilltop (Reta, 2013). Dagu is a sophisticated means of news exchange among the Afar community when they meet on roads that exceed hard and soft news (Abebe, 2019; Menbere & Skjerdal, 2008). Qeexaala, on the other hand, belongs to the Sidama community and can be translated as the cultural dance accompanied by the beautification of cultural clothes. These all were/are spoken traditional communications used to persuade the community to accomplish their social activities and opened doors for the present-day manifestations of public relations that also engage in some kinds of negotiations and persuasions. The Afar community has a popular and highly sophisticated form of traditional communication called Dagu. Scholars such as Abebe (2019) and Reta (2013) articulated that the Dagu, an indigenous communication system of the Afar community, is ironically equated to the modern form of internet-supported news dissemination in its fast spreading across their community. Dagu is a traditional communication system whose mission is to spread vital, persuasive, and trustworthy in/ soft news package journalism (Menbere & Skjerdal, 2008). According to Menbere and Skjerdal (2008, p. 2), Dagu is a system of communications that “can be any item of public relevance, such as wedding, funerals, battles, news alliances, missing cattle or the conditions of the trail ahead.” Reta (2013) states that the Afar people continue to use the Dagu communication system to educate their people about the harmful practices of female genital mutilation and child labor, as well as to promote other development programs. Dagu communication system is ruled by the customary law called mada’a of the Afar community that imposes particular punishment in case of failure to pass information. For example, failure to pass on relevant information not only is offensive to the conversation partner but also harms the community (Menbere & Skjerdal, 2008). The Afar

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community begins the Dagu communication by saying, ‘Iytii maha Tobie?’ (what have your ears heard) and ‘Intii maha tubilie?’ (what have your eyes seen?). Dagu communication system is often appreciated for its fastest dissemination of information/news. Although it might fail to reach large populations compared to the modern form of mass communication within the shortest period, its rapid news dissemination is more sophisticated among Ethiopia’s indigenous communications systems. This form of information dissemination can be related to digital public relations in today’s advanced technology that is used to promote corporate business products without time and financial limitations. According to Ezeah (2005, p. 135), “digital public relations is highly creative, strategic, fast, result-oriented and yet cheap.” Dagu communication also is the fastest information dissemination among indigenous communications in Ethiopia though it is not as fast as digital-based information dissemination in reaching its audiences. The Iya Gafo and the egalitarian communication in the Gada systems are other examples of indigenous communication systems among the Oromo community of Ethiopia. The egalitarian communication in the Oromo Gada system that resolves conflict through negotiation under the Odaa (sycamore tree) through mutual understanding among the conflictual bodies is one component of public relations of modern times. “The whole set of Gadaa political activity including Gadaa rituals, initiation, the handover of power ceremony, revising and enacting customary laws and judiciary practices are held under the shade of Odaa tree” (Hinew, 2012, p. 81). Odaa is seen as a symbol of peace, identity, unity, reconciliation, and humility among the Oromo community of Ethiopia under which the Gadaa ceremony takes place. Chala Teresa and Dagim Raga (2018, p. 7) note that “under Odaa is a place the Oromo used for reconciliation, worship, where traditional laws (seeraa and Heeraa) are legitimated, and the Gadaa power exchange takes place.” According to Jalata (1998), under the Odaa tree, the Oromo people undertake open communications and discussions about every social, political, economic, cultural, and religious issue that need common understanding and pass decisions acceptable by the community. The Oromo people had a spokesperson called Abbaa dubbii, who is one of the Gadaa officials in its Gada system, to present the decision of Gadaa officials, which could be translated to the present-day public relations practitioner (Mengistu & Hasen, 2020). According to Workneh (as cited in Mengistu & Hasen, 2020, p. 40), Abbaa dubbii is a person in a position of speaking “the decision of

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the presidium to the assembly, which is equivalent to the current press secretariat.” In this sense, Abbaa dubbii in the Oromo Gada system is similar to the griots of the western African communities. Schulz (1997) suggests that the griots played an essential role as public speakers, family historians, and musicians to legitimize the rule of various kings and chiefs in western African communities. According to Schulz (1997), in oral accounts, griots were often expected to speak on behalf of powerful clans. Yet as clients and allies, they were expected to act on behalf of their patrons and remind the chief, in an indirect but clearly understandable way, that he could rule thanks to his hereditary rights, but only if the people accepted him. Griots had, therefore, ambiguously positioned in the western African community; they were both spokespersons for the powerful and mediators between the powerful and the populace. To a certain extent, both the Abbaa dubbii in the Oromo Gada system and the griot in the western African communities overlap the modern form of public relations. According to Lubbe and Puth (1994), public speaking and speech preparation are among the several work assignments of contemporary public relations practitioners. However, griots are different because they are also traditional music experts considered agents of social change through orality in western African communities. The practice of open communication to settle certain issues under a sacred tree in the African community is not unique to the Oromo of Ethiopia but is also common in other western African communities. One can draw a parallel between Odaa (sycamore tree) and the palaver tree of other western African communities. Under the palaver tree, there is a place where truth-telling and reconciliation are undertaken. Scheid (2011, p. 17) posits, “The palaver creates physical, social, and psychological space for open communication so that persons can be integrated into the life and expectations of their communities.” According to Scheid (2011), the western African community expresses itself through a ritualized discourse under the tree known as palaver. It includes not only conversation but also dances, riddles, mythologies, storytelling, body language, proverbs, recitation, and silence, which are more robust and inclusive than Western notions of discourse. African communities animate their affairs through the participatory dialogue of palaver, ensuring holistic interventions on life’s issues and maintaining relationships within the hierarchy of life’s relationships (Oborji, 2020). In this sense, both the Odaa and palaver tree are equated to the modern public relations concept of crisis management. Hence, the

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philosophical foundation of the sycamore tree and palaver tree of the sub-­ Saharan African communities possesses effective crisis management processes, which can also be translated to effective public management. This is because the discourses made under both the sycamore tree and palaver tree of the African community involve mutual understanding that builds good relationships among the parties and can be seen as a crucial counterbalance for successful communication. Here, the concept of mutuality, which is one of the central concepts of the two-way symmetric model of western-centric public relations, is the hallmark of the communications undertaken both under the sycamore and palaver trees. The Oromo people used a similar form of traditional mass communication known as Iya Gafo. Reta (2013) postulates that Iya gafo is accompanied by the bugle, which is usually done from the hilltop so that the sound could be heard far and wide throughout the chief dominance. The Oromo people gather in the village square, often under the Odaa tree to listen to the message from the ruler or his palace. The same process is repeated from village to village to hear the messages across the land. In some cases, the Oromo people use horsemen to spread the message to the community. The Oromo also use the bugle and drum in announcing funerals to the community to invite everyone to come and participate in the ritual performed for the deceased. (p. 5)

From this excerpt, it can be argued that the Iya Gafo had been used to disseminate relevant information from village to village and from individuals to groups among the Oromo. In this regard, Iya Gafa is equated to the practice of public relations that manages and disseminates information from the organization to the public vis-à-vis to meet certain objectives. The other example of an indigenous communication system that built the basis of public relations in Ethiopia is the Qeexaala communication system of the Sidama community. The Sidama community used the Qeexaala to arrange when they have some economic, social, cultural, and political issues at Gundumaale, which is a public meeting place through their clan leaders to discuss Affini (Did you know this and ‘what do you say’?) (Bogale, 2016). At Gundumaale, they reach a mutual understanding of the issues they discuss. The mutual understanding and consensus among the clan leaders of the Sidama community are crucial in solving the social, cultural, political, and economic problems in what they call Affini. Hence, Affini is a technical term used to begin a discussion on certain

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public issues. According to Dozier and Broom (1995), the core function of contemporary public relations is creating and disseminating technical tasks through mediated communication. In this sense, both Affini and public relations share similar roles in being the eyes and ears of their organization and the public. Rather than rely on positions of authority or the status of the elite, the Affini approach to social organizations involves consensus-oriented decision-making (Dukamo, 2018). Accordingly, Affini is an embodiment of egalitarian living based on civility and deliberation through restorative and reparative justice, peace consolidation, and structural and direct prevention of conflict (Dukamo, 2018). Thus, this communication system can be equated to the two-way models of communication, in which both parties must create mutual understanding to solve conflicts as crisis management. In the Qeexaala communication system of the Sidama people, every discussion and message is based on the decision made through negotiations among the clan leaders. The Qeexaala proposes fairness among the parties who have some issues to be solved by the Sidama culture of Affini (Bogale, 2016). The same principle goes to the present-day sophisticated public relations that carry a democratic framework for public relations practitioners to be followed for organizational public relations as well. The Sidama people make sound interactions with Qeexaala to express messages, thoughts, and feelings internally within the community and externally with neighboring societies. They send messages on various topics using Qeexaala. Being in clan-based groups, the people convey messages to others about their culture, custom, belief, lifestyle, administrative issues, and so on. We, thus, can deduce that the Qeexaala of the Sidama people can be translated into the modern form of public relations. It is used to transmit messages between sub-clan and major clan being in a group at clan and sub-clan level or interaction between major clan and sub-clan, between sub-clan and sub-clan, or between one major clan and another major clan. Strategic public relations in the contemporary world are also expected to function, build relationships, interact, and inter-organization publics to publics, organizations to the public, and vice versa.

Modern Public Relations in Ethiopia In most developing countries, modern public relations is a relatively new discipline, but its manifestations can be traced back to the dawn of human civilization. The introduction of the modern form of mass media in most

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countries seems to build a basis for the beginning of modern public relations in those countries. Though it is difficult to trace when exactly the practice of public relations started in Ethiopia, it can be argued that the beginning of modern public relations is linked to the introduction of modern mass media. According to Bonsa (2000), foreign missionaries who had been catering to religious issues initiated the earliest modern form of mass media in Ethiopia. The first attempt at the printing press in East Africa was in 1863 when a Lazarist missionary known as Father Lorenzo Biancheri set up the first printing press in 1863 in Massawa that could have published the Geez script. The second effort of printing was in 1879  in Keren, which could have been able to publish Geez-Amharic grammar by the Lazarist missionaries. The third attempt was in 1885 when the Swedish Evangelical Missions opened a small press in Mankullo, near Massawa. It was after the 1900s that the introduction of modern form of mass media in Ethiopia was observed through Ahimiro, an Amharic script newspaper, and used as public relations for Emperor Menelik. This newspaper was considered public relations for Emperor Menelik because of the political enterprise it played for the Emperor (Bonsa, 2000). Hence, Menelik was appreciated not only for introducing the railway, telecommunication, and printing press but also for the introduction of the modern form of mass media and public relations practices in the late nineteenth century (Nigussie, 2019). However, according to Solomon (as cited in Mulatu, 2017), the introduction of the modern form of public relations in Ethiopia in its present name goes back to the 1940s during the era of the Haile Selassie regime with the establishment of the Ministry of Pen in government offices (as cited in Mulatu, 2017). Nevertheless, its development was extremely slow and given minimal deliberation in 1974 because the Derg regime that took over the power officially forbade private media, including private-­ public relations, with a few exceptions that assisted the regime (Mulatu, 2017). At the time, routine activities dominated public relations, including receptions, protocols, running the printing, and more, in support of propagating the socialist Marxist Leninist party’s ideology (Mulatu, 2017). There was private public relations, which had been regulated by the government at the beginning of the 1950s and 1960s (Mulatu, 2017). According to Mulatu, this was public relations firm consultancy by the name ‘Alem public relations consultancy,’ which was established by Sibhat Gebreigziabher and Dereje Deressa. However, these public relations consultancies were discontinued after the Derg regime took over the power

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because it did not allow any private form of communication (Mulatu, 2017). According to Mulatu (2017), public relations in that era did not have any systems to promote the country’s ‘real’ demands. There were newspaper publications that aimed to reflect the ruling parties and gave more attention to the interest of the governments than the public issues on the ground. Gezihagne (2018) argues that even though the beginning of public relations in Ethiopia was in the 1940s, and an attempt was made to reshape its practice in the 1960s, the forms and contents continued without significant change until recently. The chief purpose of public relations during the reign of emperors was to assist the ruling class without considering the publics’ roles in every aspect of development (social, cultural, economic, and political). Modern public relations was directly linked to the introduction of modern mass media owned by the government and thus subjected to stricter control (Chala, 2018). Similarly, the practice of public relations units had fallen under strict control through an assigned individual from government bodies to practice government activities at the propaganda level (Gezihagne, 2018). Currently, the importance of public relations has received significant understanding in every organization in Ethiopia because of its benefits for both organizations and their respective publics. It generally aims to advance commercial benefits from private perspectives and create national and local state-building consensus from the government perspective. Public relations campaigns significantly create local- and national-level state-building (Taylor, 2000). Hence, public relations in Ethiopia can be generally realized through private and government perspectives on the views of national-level policies. When seen from a private perspective, it mainly aims to bring changes to organizational development and public satisfaction toward the organization’s products or services. From the perspective of the government, it aims to create nation-building through the creation of awareness of unity based on diversity and demand to strengthen democratic institutions, and fair and rapid economic development, which are reportedly said to be pillars to saving the nation from disintegration and being engulfed by civil war (Taylor, 2000). It is also equipped to project a positive image of Ethiopia to the outside world in the spirit of investment, trade, and tourism sectors steadily flowing to the country so that the sectors can contribute significantly to the country’s steadily growing and diversifying economies.

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Public Relations Education in Ethiopia There is a significant development in public relations education in a few African countries such as Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia (Ferreira, 1999). However, the emergence of the modern form of public relations in some African countries like Ethiopia, Mali, and Burkina Faso was very late, and its profession is still not matured (Ferreira, 1999; Geremew, 2017). The paucity of research and the limited efforts made by Ethiopian universities to launch public relations departments or programs until recently has contributed to the practice of public relations in a very traditional way (Mohammed, 2021). According to Hornaman (2000), public relations education can significantly contribute to the profession’s status. Individuals with a background in public relations are scarce in Ethiopia (Geremew, 2017). Unlike other professional training programs, professional public relations training in Ethiopia has received little attention in recent years. Kruckeberg (1998) asserted that public relations is a professional occupation that necessitates specialized professional training. Scholars such as J.  Grunig (1989) and Bissland and Rentner (1988) (as cited in Hornaman, 2000) have argued that public relations education is critical to the advancement of the profession. Even though the government of Ethiopia has established and appointed some public relations personnel, most of them are not technically qualified for the job (Gezihagne, 2018). Their educational background does not include any public relations or communications courses (Geremew, 2017). They seem to learn through experience over time despite having little knowledge of the subject. Although public relations education is a very recent phenomenon in Ethiopia, its practical manifestation has a long history. Until recently, there was no public relations education that produced and enabled experts in the field of Ethiopian higher education either at a course or at a program level. Recent changes have seen some universities, such as Addis Ababa and Jimma Universities, producing graduates with Masters of Arts in public relations. Other universities are striving to launch both undergraduate and postgraduate studies. In 2006, Biniyam Wubishet became the first person to produce a master’s thesis on public relations in Ethiopia. This was after the beginning of the master’s program in journalism and communication at Addis Ababa University in collaboration with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication in Norway in 2004. Since then,

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many scholarly public relations works have been produced. Most of the research is centered on the practice of public relations within organizations. The outcomes of these research works show that public relations in Ethiopia is at the lowest level of organizations’ routine activities, including preparing the organization’s annual report, organizing the exhibition, preparing press releases, and preparing speeches on behalf of the organization. Currently, almost all universities are offering public relations at the level of courses in language and journalism and communication programs that hope for the future development of public relations research in Ethiopia. The Practice of Public Relations in Ethiopia Public relations in Ethiopia is currently one of those emerging professions receiving crucial attention from scholars in the field. Both private and public organizations recognize the role that public relations can play in building a positive relationship between an organization and its stakeholders in order to communicate organizational goals and missions. For example, in the last 5–10 years, the concept of public relations is only understood as communication techniques that assist an organization’s managers technically. However, the findings of some very recent researchers indicate that public relations in large companies and large government organizations are engaging in some kind of management roles (e.g., Mengistu & Hasen, 2020). According to Wondimu (2021), most corporations and organizations perceive public relations as senior management. However, in the majority of Ethiopian corporations and organizations, public relations practitioners perform the communication technician role (Geremew, 2017). When public relations tabulates public attitudes, defines policies and organizational procedures, and performs action programs in understandable and acceptable ways, they play managerial roles (Grunig & Grunig, 2002). However, when public relations practitioners engage in activities such as executing strategies with communication tactics such as news releases, employee newsletters, position papers, media placements, website content, speeches, blogs, and social media messaging, they are acting in the roles of communication technicians. As a result, public relations practitioners can be divided into two major categories: (1) communication technicians and (2) communication managers (Broom, 1982; Broom & Dozier, 1986).

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 ommunication Technician Roles of Public Relations C Most public relations professionals start their careers as communication technicians. Grunig and Grunig (2002) note that the communication technician’s role is viewed as the start of professional development. According to Gezihagne (2018) and Geremew (2017), most Ethiopian public relations roles are dominated by technicality rather than managerial. The technician role of public relations is expected not to make organizational decisions but to carry out public relations campaigns. According to J.  Grunig and L.  Grunig, practitioners in this role are typically not involved in defining problems or developing solutions but instead base their tactics on the technical skill of writing. Broom (1982) and Broom and Dozier (1986) posit that the communication technician’s role may not require them to conduct research or participate in organizational decision-­making except to determine which communication mechanism is best suited to their assigned purpose. Their primary responsibilities include developing and writing messages for organizations. Practitioners are frequently in charge of news release communication tactics, press conference planning, employee newsletters, position papers, brochure design, and media placements (Castelli, 2007). They are frequently expected to provide good information to managers, which may be necessary for managers to make good decisions. This role seems to match most of Ethiopia’s present-­day public relations roles.  ommunication Management Roles of Public Relations C There are three distinct roles in the communication management category: (1) expert prescriber, (2) communication facilitator, and (3) problem-­solving facilitator (Broom, 1982; Broom & Dozier, 1986). The theoretical role of the expert prescriber in public relations is linked to the responsibility to handle consultation functions or involvement by other senior management. The management role of the public relations practitioner is responsible for independently describing and resolving public relations problems. The expert prescriber is the go-to person for information on public relations issues and solutions (Castelli, 2007). The public relations as a communication facilitator act as a go-between, listening to and brokering information between the company and its key stakeholders (Broom, 1982). Its purpose is to provide both management and the public with the information they need to make mutually beneficial decisions (Cutlip et  al., 2006). Practitioners in the managerial role are

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expected to be knowledgeable about public relations innovations and demonstrate leadership in new approaches to old problems. According to Dozier (1984), the problem-solving facilitator’s function is the role in which practitioners become problem-solvers, decision-­ makers, and planners. They must be aware of public relations developments and take the initiative in problem-solving. Rosenberg (2013) asserts that the most effective public relations operations involve anticipating problems, planning to avoid them, or, at the very least, attempting to address them while they are minor. The problem-solving facilitator collaborates with other managers to define and solve problems. This function requires the professional to be a member of the organization’s dominant coalition and have access to other top executives. The facilitator of problem-­solving assists other managers in thinking through organizational problems from the public relations standpoint. Hence, public relations that executes as a managerial role is inevitable in every organization, more specifically in developing countries like Ethiopia, to minimize organizational corruption. The communication manager’s primary responsibilities include planning, organizing, managing, and integrating public relations programs, providing advice to management, participating in top-level decision-making meetings, and overseeing overall public relations implementation (Broom, 1982). Lages and Simkin (2003) affirm that the classification of public relations as a management discipline implies that public relations activities are broader than communication techniques and more general than specific public relations programs such as media relations, community relations, and others. Some argue that public relations is ineffective when practitioners possess technical skills but lack an understanding of when and why public relations should be used to improve organizational communications (e.g., Grunig et al., 1995; Grunig & Grunig, 2002). This chapter argues that public relations must operate effectively to create mutual understanding between organizations and the publics. The case in Ethiopia still demands much more focus to ensure the managerial role of public relations. To serve in ways that satisfy both the public interest and the demands of companies, the emphasis of public relations on management is critical via effective anticipatory research and ethical communication practices as a primary instrument (Geremew, 2017). In Ethiopia, though there are certain attempts in some government organizations to engage public relations practitioners in the top-level management decision-making in

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interpreting organizational philosophies, policies, and programs, their involvement seems only to provide information for media personnel on behalf of the organization.  odels of Public Relations in Ethiopia M Grunig et al. (1995) suggest that one of the major predictors of the excellence study was whether the top public relations executive performs either the manager or the technician role. They found that public relations professionals in management positions greatly impact their organization’s overall services and products more than those in communication technician positions. As a result, while both wings of public relations professionals are important in organizations, the role of public relations in organizational decision-making is far more important for the end goal of public relations, which is to ensure mutual benefits between the public and organizations. The excellence theory explains why public relations is important in terms of organizational and societal effectiveness. That is, organizations are only effective if and only if the problems or needs of the public or stakeholders are met and vice versa. According to the excellence study’s team research findings, 14 public relations characteristics were classified into three broad categories: (1) program-level public relations, (2) department-level public relations, and (3) organizational-level public relations (Grunig et  al., 2002). In their study, the team also discovered three effects of excellent public relations: (1) programs meet communication objectives, (2) costs of regulation, pressure, and litigation are reduced, and (3) employee job satisfaction is high (Grunig et al., 2002, p. 9). The excellence study also strongly suggested that public relations practitioners must execute strategic management of public relations (Yang, 2005). In the excellence study of Grunig et al. (2002), strategic public relations management roles among the 14 characteristics of the excellence study have been identified. For example, at the program level, public relations should be involved in strategic management, while at the department level, public relations should report directly to senior management, should have a senior public relations practitioner in a managerial role, and should be knowledgeable about the managerial role (Grunig et al., 2002). The author of this chapter contends that one of these strategic management values is critical to Ethiopia’s effective public relations and demanding development. Though its practices are still in their infancy, all efforts must be made to advance to

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excellent public relations, as it is critical for both the organizations and their respective publics. In addition to the excellence theory of public relations, when discussing the practice of public relations in Ethiopia, it is important to consider the various worldviews of public relations models. The following four models of public relations can be used to examine public relations around the world: (1) publicity or press agentry, (2) public information, (3) two-­ way asymmetry, and (4) two-way symmetry (Grunig et al., 2002). The first two public relations models are strategies for one-way communication. The press agentry or publicity model, sometimes called the propaganda model, aims to maintain publicity and obtain media coverage of their organizations. Practitioners of this model always struggle for organizational benefits without considering the organization’s stakeholders’ needs. This activity coincides with what most public relations researchers in Ethiopia revealed in their studies. Another one-way communication strategy of public relations is the public information model, in which public relations practitioners disseminate accurate information about their organizations to the general public. In such public relations practices, information flow is from the organizational perspective to their stakeholders only when an organization has relevant information (Grunig et  al., 2002). This public information model integrated practices of public relations in Ethiopia is sometimes practical through public relations professionals leading journalists in government and private organizations (Mohammed, 2021). The third and fourth models of public relations involve two-way communications and research by experts. In both models, however, their communication strategies are not equal. Practitioners in the two-way asymmetrical model conduct scientific research to persuade the public systematically in how their organizations’ wishes are expressed (Yang, 2005). On the other hand, the two-way symmetric model involves an equal and balanced form of communications strategy in which both organizations and the public enjoy mutual benefit based on mutual consensus (Grunig et al., 2002; Yang, 2005). It could be argued that public relations practitioners in Ethiopian organizations rarely use the two-way symmetric model of public relations practice. Thus, there is a low chance to be a balanced form of communication, which involves the negotiations of the two parties’ implementation. Mengistu and Hasen (2020) confirm that the first three public relations models are used in their study area, though

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much more is left in their effectiveness. In contrast, the use of the two-way symmetric model is rarely implemented. Public Relations and Ethiopia’s Political System There is no doubt that a country’s political systems and political environments influence the practice of public relations (Braun, 2007; Sriramesh & Verčič, 2020). Public relations in Ethiopia is also highly influenced by the country’s political system. It only promotes the government’s policies, programs, and projects in propaganda ways without considering the public’s interest (Geremew, 2017). As a result, public relations can be considered an instrument of political power to enhance the reputation of organizations in the political environment. Within such politically driven public relations, implementing effective and strategic public relations would be difficult. Thus, the political environment of a country has a crucial impact on the practice of public relations. “The effects of the political environment on public relations come through four major gateways of influence—a country’s political history, the pervading political and philosophical climate, the effects of economic policies created by political bodies, and the effects of political geography” (Braun, 2007, p.  199). According to Gezihagne (2018), Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic and multilingual country with a political structure that must emphasize public opinion. However, the political system in Ethiopia seems to support one-way propagandistic communication of public relations instead of two-way strategic public relations. Gezihagne further claims that over the previous years, the political systems in a nation with multi-ethnic and multilingual communities have been headed by a single-party system and that the nature of public relations discipline tends to be in propaganda fashion in diversified governments and commercial entities. Public relations is profoundly affected by the interplay between public policy and economic systems, whether in the governmental, nonprofit, or corporate realm (Duhé & Sriramesh, 2009). Nowadays, government public relations in Ethiopia is primarily regarded as the focal point of development activities. Its major job is to deal with how various organizations engage with the government, government bodies, and policies, rules, and programs mainly implemented by government entities. Public relations in private organizations also seem to execute primarily for the success of their employing organizations instead of making efforts for the mutual benefit of both parties. According to Teshome (2021), public relations in both

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government and private organizations tend to be propagandistic of their organizational favor without thriving on public opinion because of the influence of the political system and the nature of public relations discipline’s maturity level in the country. The level of understanding of the political system and the nature of public relations in the country cannot change public relations practices in multinational corporations. As a result, public relations role in every Ethiopian organization is not far from breaching its subsequent organization. Constraints of Public Relations in Ethiopia In today’s world, developing countries face imminent economic, social, and political constraints that also contribute to the effective practice of public relations in those countries. Ethiopia is no exception. In Ethiopia, public relations faces many challenges that vary from economic, social, political, and professional aspects. Although public relations is spreading and growing rapidly in many Ethiopian organizations, the profession is still plagued by many issues. These constraints vary from a misunderstanding of the clear roles and functions of public relations to a lack of understanding of the distinction between public relations as a discipline in and of itself, as a management tool, as a marketing expert, and as a communication process in an organization (Geremew, 2017). Public relations in Ethiopia is also struggling with challenges such as a lack of professional skilled human power, negative attitudes toward the profession, a lack of empowerment, a lack of adequate capacity-building training, a lack of infrastructure, and insufficient assistance from concerned leaders (Gezihagne, 2018; Geremew, 2017). As a result, it is plausible to assume that public relations practitioners are frequently busy marketing the organization’s success stories (Gezihagne, 2018). Many Ethiopian companies’ top management does not consistently recognize the value of public relations (Geremew, 2017). Hence, the consistency of public relations activities may be out of whack. Despite significant advances in the purpose and practice of public relations in Ethiopia over the last decade, the term is still misused and misunderstood in many business companies. It is frequently associated with propaganda, publicity, and manipulation in the wrong context (Geremew, 2017). According to Rosenberg (2013), many people mistakenly believe that public relations is about presenting a false front or concealing a scandal. The necessity of

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public relations in any organization is effectively to serve both the public and its organizational success in a balanced proportion. Whether it is government public relations or non-government public relations, its presence in the organization is not merely to serve its organization as propaganda machinery but also to serve as a custodian of the organizational public too.

Conclusions The purpose of this chapter was to assess the practices of public relations practices and their constraints in Ethiopia. This chapter has discussed the historical development of public relations in Ethiopia by linking indigenous communication systems of various communities that can build the basis for modern public relations practices for academic literature and the practitioners’ utilization purpose. In this chapter, I provided the synopsis of public relations practices from the perspectives of indigenous ethnic-­ based communication systems to the modern form of western-centric public relations in Ethiopia. The chapter specifically elaborated on the practice of public relations in Ethiopia in relation to the global views of public relations, models, roles, and functions, which completely resembles the early stage of western public relations that emphasized more technicalities. In Ethiopia, the practice of public relations has been hampered by a misunderstanding of what a public relations professional does, particularly in the more advanced globalized world. This chapter also explored a lack of understanding of the major functions and roles of public relations in various organizations in Ethiopia, and practitioners are rarely involved in strategic planning, decision-making, and plan implementation in their organizations. It has also been identified that public relations practitioners failed to interpret the organizations’ policies, philosophies, and programs because they did not hold top-level positions or make decisions. Based on this understanding, it is possible to improve and advance the practice of Ethiopian public relations from technicalities to a strategic one that can mutually benefit both the organizations and the public. The commitment of the government of Ethiopia, as well as organizational decision-­ making, could bring public relations practice into more strategies that can play roles in local and national state-building beyond organizational and public success. The indigenous communication systems of various communities in the country that contributed to the emergence of the modern form of public relations could create an environment conducive in this regard even to alleviate the present ethnic tensions and conflicts in the

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country. Taylor (2000) believes that public relations can significantly build relationships among ethnic groups through proper communication campaigns. Strengthening multidisciplinary viewpoints on public relations for social and organizational changes through educational training, capacity building, and using effective models of public relations is so important. While acknowledging the various modern public relations models assumed as effective, it is noteworthy to look at some of the most indigenous communication systems that many ethnic groups in the country experience. Attempts to link those communication systems more creatively could make every public, organizational, and civic engagement successful. Hence, empowering public relations practitioners and strengthening the practice of public relations featured in this chapter can enhance the practice of public relations to achieve its organizational goals and missions. The replications arising from this chapter designate the significance of the indigenous communication systems linkage of public relations for sustainable relations organizations and publics of the government and private and even multinational corporations. The various theoretical and practical issues mentioned here in this chapter can raise the need for another investigation, for instance, how the modern concepts of public relations can influence the consideration of indigenous communication systems in organizational reputation in their future research.

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CHAPTER 4

Radicalization, Divides, or Interfaith Harmony? Relationship Management and Strategic Communication in Sudan Nadeem Akhtar , Muhammad Khalil Khan , and Cornelius B. Pratt

Islamic extremism and Islamophobia have paradoxical outcomes: They foment pari passu, radicalization, and social divides, even as they also engender interfaith dialogues and conflict resolution. Since Islamic extremism is more associated with religious extremism than orthodox Islamic practices, it can be viewed as an extension of a religion’s theological, ritualistic, social, and political factions (Wibisono et  al., 2019). We have no known conflict of interest to disclose. N. Akhtar (*) School of Urban Culture, South China Normal University, Foshan, China e-mail: [email protected] M. K. Khan Department of Journalism and Communication, School of Media and Law, NingboTech University, Ningbo, China e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3_4

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Wibisono et al. (2019) noted that extremism is often misunderstood as terrorism, arguing that religious factions vary widely as do their methods of expressing religion. Islamic extremism is often described as “Islamic radicalization” and “terrorism” (Prinsloo & Simons, 2018; Kruglanski et al., 2014, p. 70; Bartlett & Miller, 2012), which require interventions such as counterterrorism and military measures (Prinsloo & Simons, 2018). The 9/11 incident in the United States contributed to an association of Muslims with terrorism. The construction and popularization of explicitly negative terms such as “extremism” and “radicalization” paved the way for another alarming wave of Islamophobia, defined as hatred toward Islam, Muslims, or Islamic culture, leading to discrimination in society and to physical attacks (Open Society Foundations, 2019). Another study defined it as “racism” (Lauwers, 2019) against Muslims. Muslims across Europe have been targeted with these negative labels and victimized through verbal and physical attacks. For example, on March 15, 2019, a right-wing extremist murdered more than 50 Muslims by starting a fire in two mosques when worshipers were offering Friday prayers. Imran Khan, prime minister of Pakistan, proposed a resolution against Islamophobia when he visited the United Nations General Assembly in 2019 and raised the issue on various platforms. Prime Minister, Khan, emphasized that freedom of expression should not be at the cost of hurting other human beings or believing any religion. Recently, the UN General Assembly designated March 15 as an International Day to Combat Islamophobia (Iqbal, March 17, 2022). Prinsloo and Simons (2018) aptly explained the terms “radicalization” and “reactionary approach” (Fig. 4.1). Radicalization is the adoption of an extreme stance that aims to change society as a result of their dissatisfaction with the existing system. By contrast, the reactionary approach seeks to maintain the status quo. Therefore, extremism and radicalization work together to divide societies and call for a variety of conflict resolution strategies, such as mediation and interfaith dialogue. If such extremist C. B. Pratt Communication Psychology and Application Research Center, Northwest University of Politics and Law, Xi’an, China Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Lew Klein College of Media and Communication, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA e-mail: [email protected]

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Fig. 4.1  Prinsloo and Simons (2018) model

approaches are not well managed by offering interfaith dialogues, then macro-level communal conflicts or even civil wars are bound to begin. Like other world regions, North Africa is also prone to such difficulties. National governments and nongovernmental organizations use strategic communications to address environmental turbulence such as that which is prevalent in North Africa. That region is also tackling militancy and insurgencies from both domestic and external forces, even though Hassabo Mohammed Abdel-Rahman, vice president of Sudan, said that “Sudanese society is marked by tolerance, intellectual and religious pluralism” (Sudan Tribune, 2015, August 09). The latest political and constitutional crisis (Eltayeb, 2022)—the resignation of prime minister Abdalla Hamdok— has brought the country once again to the point of pro-military and pro-­ democratic demonstrations (International Crisis Group, January 2022). In addition, the recent military coup and the communal conflicts in Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan have aggravated the humanitarian crisis (Homeland Security, 2022, March 2; Obaji, 2022, February 4). Therefore, Sudan’s political history is replete with social movements, military coups, and external influences that have contributed to radicalization, extremism, and terrorism. This situation is further exacerbated by the absence of a democratization process and by the use of unsustainable mechanisms of reconciliation that ignore the representation of local communities and other stakeholders in the peace process. Previous studies only raised issues such as the democratization process in Sudan, communal conflicts, extremism, Islamic radicalization, and North-South Sudan divides, all absent strategic interventions of religious institutions, clerics, and local communities. Therefore, this chapter explores the key communication strategies used by Sudan for relationship management and engaging militants and insurgent groups in the peace-­ building process. In addition, it assesses how effectively Islamic institutions have managed Islamic extremism and radicalization for the peace and stability of the region.

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Sudan’s Political Quagmire, Political Islamism, and the North-South Sudan Divides Since January 1, 1956, Sudan has been contending with civil wars, political Islamism, and religious-ethnic conflicts. The northern part was comprised of Muslims, while Christians dominated the south. In the nascent state were two public issues: (a) the nature of state, that is, whether it would be a secular or an Islamic state; and (b) the structure of the state, that is, whether it would have a federal system or not. Unfortunately, the first constitution in 1956 failed to address these crucial issues, sparking communal riots that gradually nudged the country into its first civil war from 1955 to 1972. Because Islam is the major religion in northern Sudan, that region provides a basis for instituting Islam as a state religion. There was also a kind of ambivalence toward Arabism, mainly affiliated with Egypt. This Arabism gradually developed into a political ideology; however, ethnic diversity undermined the development of Arabism more broadly throughout the state as a whole. An enabler was the Egyptian Brotherhood, known as the Al-ikhwan Movement, which was initially introduced as a student movement, and later developed into a political ideology rooted in Islamization through state institutions (Daoud, 2022, February 24). Under Hassan al-Turabi, the architect of political Islamization, it gradually expanded into a civil and political movement in the 1960s and 1970s (Daoud, 2022, February 24). Daoud (2022, February 24) added that the Islamization process drew its impetus from the presidency of Gaafar Nimerie (1969–1985) by opening new branches, institutionalizing Islamic practices, and ultimately gaining a foothold in the military through developments such as the recruitment of Omar al-Bashir. The southern region was predominantly Christian; therefore, having Islam as the state religion saddled them with a minority status. Therefore, Nuba, an indigenous ethnic group, resisted the political and cultural hegemony of Khartoum, which they believed would marginalize them, as in the pre-independence era. Anya Nya, the southern rebel, fought against the Arab-led government of Sudan, thus paving the way for the Southern Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM), which later became Sudan’s People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The civil war ended with the Addis Ababa Agreement in 1972. The entire country comprises Muslims, Christians, and indigenous ethnic groups, which makes relationship management among the various groups challenging, to say the very least. Islam has been politicized, setting up the country for a series of conflicts, not only between Muslims and

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Christians but also with other traditional ethnic groups. There was always an option for a peace-building process centered around the cultural values of groups along the southern corridor like the Dinka, who are Christian, and the Missiriya, who are Muslim—both of whose “belief system is a shared culture that largely revolves around the cow” (Wilson, 2014, p. 9). President Jaʿfarel-Nimeiri ignored the Addis Ababa Agreement on the still-unresolved 2011 Abyei referendum by which residents are still undecided about joining South Sudan or Sudan and instituted Sharia law in 1983, thus fomenting the second historical civil war (1983–2005). Once again, in 1989, SPLM/A government of Sudan suspended Sharia law. That same year, Omar al-Bashir overtook the government of Sudan through a military coup, politicizing Islam to gain social control. Al-Turabi argued that external and domestic factors prevented an Islamist rule, motivating the military to launch a coup (Daoud, 2022, February 24). The conflict soon developed Arab and non-Arab connotations that diffused to other ethnic groups. The civil war left millions dead and displaced and eventually ended with a Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. Such agreements, however, were mainly based on politico-military elites looking to grab political power and economic resources, which always undermined the common people and caused communal conflicts (Jok, 2021). This tenuous peace led to the independence of South Sudan by referendum on July 9, 2011. The very next month, however, in August 2011, new ethnic clashes arose along the border. Thirty years of military-Islamist regime came to an end with a revolution in 2018–2019, which brought the country to the verge of collapse with deteriorating economic conditions, corruption, and overwhelming ethnic conflicts. As a result of the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir, which is considered one of the significant events in Africa (BBC, 2019 December 28), the transitional government started to de-Islamize the state by repealing a number of Islamic laws, such as corporal punishment, the ban on alcohol, and the dress code for women. In addition, the transitional government and rebel groups signed an agreement to separate religion from state, which was warmly welcomed by the international community and Sudan’s human rights activists. The transitional government established the Anti-Corruption and Public Funds Recovery Commission (ERC) to dilute the power of Islamists in various government institutions by removing civil servants supportive of al-Bashir and seizing their assets. The transitional government, led by Prime Minister Abdella Hamdok, was once again overthrown by military coup, led by the top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on October 25, 2021. This plunged the country once again into pro-democracy protests. A month later, however, Abdella Hamdok

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was reinstated by signing a 14-point agreement, which stipulated that a political transition would take place based on the 2019 constitutional declaration. Hamdok would lead the technocratic cabinet until the new government came to power in the 2023 election and democracy was restored. The Force of Freedom and Change (FFC), however, and the civilian coalition also played a significant role in al-Bashir’s overthrow, stating that they did not recognize any agreement with armed forces. The pro-democracy movements and demonstrations led Hamdok to step down, leading the country once again into instability. From the historical context, it can be inferred that Al-Turabi and al-­ Bashir used the concept of political Islamism to provide a solid foundation from which to rule for three decades. As a result, the country plunged into ethno-religious conflicts and ended up with a Muslim majority in the North and a Christian majority in the South. Three civil wars, military coups, and interethnic group rivalries have complicated the nature of the country’s conflicts. The trust deficits among the various ethnic groups and between the predominant religious groups in the north and South have derailed the dialogue and peace processes. The intergroup discord rages unabated. On April 15, 2023, fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), headed by Gen. Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (SAF), a paramilitary group led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Since then, the conflict, which continues as of this writing, has escalated into a civil war; spilled into the western Darfur region; tested the resolve of all parties in the conflict to use strategic dialogue in on-and-off ceasefire talks and negotiations for a peaceful reconciliation; cost some 1,100 lives; and resulted in the displacement of nearly two million people, most of whom sought refuge in neighboring Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Applying any conflict resolution model, including the Juddiya model, requires a profound understanding of the context of the conflict and a commitment from all involved to seek a peaceful resolution. Community leaders and religious figures could play a crucial role as mediators in defusing the current conflict between SAF and RSF. In other words, the marginalization of communities can be prevented by including them in the political and governmental structure and in conflict-management dialogues. Therefore, this chapter aims to explore the various perspectives and suggest interventions such as interfaith dialogues, relationship communication strategies, and efforts to find common cultural values among conflicting parties.

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Theoretical Framework: The Emic and Constructivist Approaches This chapter applies an emic approach by using the traditional model of Judiya to analyze and explore conflict management among the various ethnic communities in Sudan. As the conflicts among ethnic groups are rooted in indigenous issues like grazing fields, agricultural lands, oil resources, and allegations of marginalization, it appears that traditional approaches of mediation like Judiya may be a better option for developing interfaith harmony, peace-building dialogues, and civil coexistence (Busch, 2016). Therefore, the authors argue that communal-level conflict resolution, by applying traditional approaches, can effectively mitigate conflicts, especially where religion plays a significant role in the development of cultural values. For example, the mediators in traditional conflict resolution practices are heads of clans and religious scholars who are considered credible and influential in their respective domains. This chapter also adopts a constructive approach to outline the mediation process for conflict resolution. Yeghiazaryan (2018) argued that constructivism theory provides ground for ethnic identities to be constructed, reconstructed, and mobilized in the context of social and political domains. Morris and Fu (2000) highlighted that a constructivist approach in negotiation focuses on exploring the nature of conflicts and the general behavior of conflicting parties. The mediators construct their knowledge based on their life experiences and existing information, seeking options for conflict resolution. Onuf (1998) explained constructivism as “a way of studying social relations—any kind of social relation” (p. 262). Therefore, grounded in emic and constructivist approaches, this chapter aims to analyze the ethno-religious conflicts, their nature, and possible strategies for engaging the conflicting parties in relationship management and strategic communication. A well-coordinated communication process can de-radicalize Sudanese youth influenced by the indoctrination of militant organizations. Interfaith dialogues, indeed, are one of the tools that can be used to bridge ethno-religious differences and conflicts and, ultimately, create a harmonious society. The authors of this chapter analyzed various studies on ethno-religious conflicts, radicalization, and terrorism in Sudan. The studies collectively provide sufficient evidence that implies the conflict management strategies that best promote peace building, harmony, and coexistence in ethno-religiously diverse Sudan.

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Extremism, Radicalization, and Peacebuilding Religion is commonly considered a trigger of international conflicts (Haynes, 2020; Uysal, 2016; Kimball, 2011; Fluehr-Lobban, 1990), even as it also contributes significantly to interfaith harmony and peace building (Holmes, 2017; Basedau & Koos, 2015). Schwoebel (2017) noted that extremism and radicalization are influenced by multiple factors, making it a complex phenomenon that calls for a multi-tiered approach. The study suggests that instead of focusing on short-term outcomes, stakeholders should consider the root causes and explore the historical and cultural dynamics of the conflicts. Therefore, conflict resolution strategies and peace-building practices should consider the macro, meso, and micro levels. Such efforts can help to engage the various ethnic groups in the peace process, political process, and demilitarization (Schwoebel, 2017). Stephens et al. (2021) noted that to cope with challenges, governments are employing strategic communications as a national strategy in response to radicalization and extremism. In such efforts, the concept of resilience can be used as a framework for prevention by incorporating “contextual structure and institutions” (Stephens et  al., 2021, p.  346). Therefore, “community engagement” and “community resilience” (p. 352) may help the deradicalization process, ultimately leading to achieving peace building. Extensive involvement of community organizations at the lowest level with government institutions and religious institutions can help to bring about harmony among various factions of society. Raising awareness about the negative consequences of extremism and how to avoid it through the use of mechanisms such as engagement will help in creating social bonds within the communities, bridging various factions, and forming social bonds among various government and religious institutions (Stephens et al., 2021), which in turn will make the society more resilient to extremist views. As radicalization involves the social-psychological transformation of an individual (King & Taylor, 2011), it is crucial to identify the factors that motivate young Sudanese to join terrorist groups.

Factors in the Sudanese Susceptibility to Terrorism Sudanese youths are motivated to join terrorist groups by several important factors: 1. Ignorance: Many young people who join terror groups have been limited by negative thinking (Arciszewski et al., 2009). Lacking purpose in life and feeling unable to help themselves or others, they are

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easily manipulated into participating in acts of crime and terrorism (Tohamy et al., 2017). Benefits: Most youths who join extremist groups do so for pecuniary reasons (Omelicheva & Webb, 2021; Zelenkov et al., 2021). Those who are materialistic are lured by promises of wealth, and the extreme poverty in the region makes it easier to capture their interest. According to Mahdi Abdile, a Finn Church ‘Aide’s regional representative for East and Southern Africa, 27% of respondents joined terrorism for economic reasons. Bigotry: Many join terrorist groups because of religious intolerance and extremism (Wibisono et al., 2019; Iannaccone & Berman, 2006). They feel that only they have the right to practice their religion, while others are wrong in their beliefs and should be forcefully stopped. Some even feel that those with whom they share common beliefs are also wrong in some of their dealings. Terrorist organizations give them weapons and financial aid to carry out their mission. Unemployment: Sudanese youths see terrorism as a job (Adelaja & George, 2020; Zelenkov et al., 2021; Caruso & Gavrilova, 2012). Because the government cannot provide them jobs, they opt to sign a full-time contract with terrorism. Many who renounced terrorism later returned as a result of being jobless and idle. Revenge: Some terrorists have experienced injustice and have been harmed in one way or another by either the government or groups of individuals and seek revenge. They see themselves as victims and harbor anger and discontent. Revenge-seekers seldom reject an offer to participate in terrorism as it empowers them to retaliate against their offenders.

Vergani et al. (2018) categorized radicalization into cognitive radicalization, which focuses on an individual’s adoption and internalization of violent and extremist beliefs, and behavioral radicalization, which focuses on an individual’s engagement in violent action. In addition, they explored various critical predictors that may influence individual’s actions. McCauley and Moskalenko (2008) also identified political radicalization, which encourages individual’s “beliefs, feelings, and behaviors in support of intergroup conflict and violence” (p.  415). Their study also identified mechanisms of political radicalization at three levels: the individual, group, and mass level. At all levels, societies are prone to terrorism and intergroup conflicts that can ultimately lead to political instability and civil war. Therefore, by applying relationship management, strategic communication can effectively reduce the influence of extremists’ views and help overcome the challenges

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of radicalization and terrorism. For example, interfaith dialogue can be one of the significant ways to promote peace building and reconciliation.

Fundamentalist Islamist Groups: Al-Qaeda and ISIS In 1989, political Islamism was introduced by al-Bashir in Sudan, paving the way for radical Islamist groups. In 2012, Sudanese security forces conducted an operation against the fundamentalist training camps in al-­ Dindar, where explosions occurred in 2007 (Elshabik, 2015). As Elshabik (2015) noted, the group was comprised largely of students from the University of Khartoum, as announced by Al-Qaeda in 2013. ISIS took root in Sudan in mid-2014 when Mohamed Abdullah al-Jazouli, who was the head of the country’s One Nation Movement, extended his support to the organization. Recently, Sudan faced a new wave of ISIS activities linked with terrorist cells, as the US State Department had warned, mainly due to their loss of safe havens in Syria and Iraq (Abdallatif, 2021). Because fighting Al-Qaeda and ISIS brought no significant results, mainly due to their organizational structure, a more effective method of countering terrorism may be to open up the ethnic communities for interfaith dialogues and relationship communication in order to de-radicalize the Sudanese youth. Salihu (2021), in studying Boko Haram, an extremist group confined to northeast Nigeria, suggested that a shift from de-radicalization to counter-­ radicalization may be a more effective way to create a sense of belonging among impoverished communities by addressing their inequalities. Similarly, anxiety and depression among the youth of any society can easily be radicalized by militant organizations (Makoye, 2022); therefore, the state institutions and social organizations should engage the youth by creating opportunities ranging from employment and scholarships for study abroad to grants for small and medium enterprises.

Conflict Management: Possibilities, Approaches, and Communication Strategies One of the key factors in Sudan’s historical conflicts is the importing of religion from Egypt, an outcome of the Brotherhood Movement. Thus, it led the country to communal conflicts and civil wars in a country that comprises diverse ethnic groups and religions. Political power, under the guise of religion, and military coups paved the way for long-standing resistance and ethnic conflicts. Because religion has emotional and ideological implications for social cohesiveness, it can be used as a positive force to

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resolve conflicts or as a negative agent in escalating them. In a constructivist approach, conflicts can be mitigated by using religion as a symbol of peace. On the contrary, religion is also used to instigate conflicts. In the case of Sudan, religion is used to acquire political leverage; it is used to defuse communal conflicts by integrating and developing local conflict resolution strategies guided by the Judiya model. In a country that comprises diverse ethnic communities, power is not an antidote to challenges; rather, it can be an agent for peace building through interfaith dialogues (Table 4.1). Major reasons for conflicts among the various ethnic groups are categorized by Marion (2019) and outlined in Table 4.2, which indicates ethnic conflicts are mainly based on grazing fields, agricultural fields, oil resources, and identity politics and religions. Therefore, traditional interventions such as Judiya can be an effective way to resolve conflicts; however, extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism can be addressed through disarmament, de-radicalization, and counter-terrorism. As religion has remained a strong factor that was integrated with political power by alBashir and external factors such as the stay of Osama Bin Laden in 1990s, the ethnic groups were infused with extremism and radicalization. The threat of radicalization and terrorism was exacerbated when the Muslim Brotherhood entered Sudan after the fall of Islamist president Morsi in 2013 in Egypt (Aman, 2021, October 15). Similarly, the Islamic State saw Sudan as a fertile ground to revitalize its organization. Thus, indoctrination of extremism and radicalization among the Sudanese youth enabled the Islamic State to recruit members more easily (Elshabik, 2015). Because terrorism is an issue of national security, the civilian government (ethnic leaders) can use various de-radicalization strategies to break the chain of terrorism by including religious leaders (imams, clergy, and other ethnic-religious leaders), community organizations (mosques and churches), and all ethnic groups in multicultural interfaith dialogues.

Table 4.1  The ethnic groups in Sudan Sudanese Arabs

African ethnics

Descended from the Arabian Peninsula migrants during Arabization Awadia, Fadnia, Bani Arak, Bani Hassan, Al-Ashraf, Kinanah, Rashaida, Baggara, Darfurians

Preexisting indigenous population Nubians, Beja, Fur, Fallata, copts

Source: Metz (1991)

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Table 4.2  Sudan’s Tribal border conflicts and reasons Borders

Tribes

Reasons for conflicts

The Northern Bahr el Ghazal–East Darfur border Abyei

Rizeigat Malual Dinka

Grazing fields

Missiriya Ngok Dinka AwladOmran and AwladKamil (both of the HumrMassiriya group) Bul, Leik, Jikany Nuer, Rueng Dinka Seleim Shilluk

Grazing fields and oil fields Grazing fields and oil fields

Seleim and Rawat al MaganisAbialang Dinka and Shilluk

Grazing and agricultural lands

FellataMabaan, Uduk, Koma, Ingassana

Agricultural land, oil, refugees

The Unity–South Kordofan border The Upper Nile– South Kordofan border The Upper Nile state–White Nile border The Upper Nile–Blue Nile border

Transportation links and agricultural lands

Messih, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, in a discussion with Voice of America, explained that “Sudan is known for multiethnic, multilingual, multireligious and multi economic social and political activities. Therefore, its culture is a mixture of African and Arab features. They deal according to an interconnected social system through which it is easy to find suitable ground for the harmony of this hybrid of all their differences” (in Atit, 2020). Based on these factors, this chapter adopts the traditional Judiya model as a case study of conflict resolution that can promote peace building, harmony, and coexistence in Sudan. It can help not only to mitigate ethnic conflicts but also to develop deep relationships among various ethnic groups to de-radicalize extremism. By involving all of the key stakeholders of ethnic communities, strategic communication can decisively promote strong and trust-based linkages among various ethnic groups by applying local conflict resolution practices. Judiya is a traditional method for resolving communal conflicts. The model is well aligned with cultural mores by which the elders play a critical role in resolving conflicts among various tribes. It is a documented agreement signed by stakeholders, including mediators, focusing on restoring and reconciling social relationships. As this mediation model is based on traditional values, it is more likely to be valued by the conflicting

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parties (Wahab, 2018). Therefore, if religious figures like imams, clergy, or other ethnic tribal heads intervene to resolve the conflicts, that will be more effective in terms of peace and stability as well. There are many religious sources that can be integrated with this traditional conflict resolution model, including religious ideas and practices, social organizations, and religious experiences (Wahab, 2018). All of the religions, whether the major religion or traditional religions, have religious resources that can be mobilized to resolve conflicts. Such practices and communication strategies can move beyond the secular or religious dialogues that can loop them into deeper and more meaningful engagements. For example, as mentioned above, the Dinka, who are mainly Christians, and the Missiriya tribe, who are Muslims, in the western corridor share the same cultural values in which cattle reflect wealth and status. Accordingly, their conflict resolution practices are based on cultural and religious beliefs. Interfaith dialogues can help mitigate these ethnic conflicts. To understand the root causes of conflicts, all possible contexts must be considered—geographic, political, religious, and social. Again, the Judiya model offers a possibility where the knowledgeable, learned, and aged members can listen to conflicting parties and suggest possible solutions. So, diverse ethno-religious members in mediation can resolve many ethnic conflicts by practicing their traditional methods. Interfaith dialogues can also help in identifying the peace-building resources within an ethnic community’s practices of faith and thus can be a positive step toward social change. Likewise, extremism, radicalization, and terrorism are rooted in religious ideologies that lead the tribes and, gradually, the country into conflicts and chaos. The same model can also be used to de-radicalize the people by developing strong avenues of communication to better understand each other. Strong relationships within the ethnic communities and better communication strategies based on mutual respect and understanding can also help to de-escalate conflicts. In addition, such an approach mitigates external influences from terrorist organizations that are looking to recruit members in various countries. Moreover, some countries like United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel wield great influence by giving political support and weapons in exchange for gold from Sudan (Gbadamosi, 2022, January 2). The military coups and civil wars in Sudan’s history undermined the power of traditional conflict resolution practices. Islam, Christianity, and other indigenous ethnic groups are deep-rooted, so any kind of challenge

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to their cultural values and belief systems can ignite resistance. In addition, the long history of conflicts charged with political Islamism has turned some groups to violent extremism. Therefore, a traditional and constructivist approach can be an effective strategy for defusing communal conflicts, developing interfaith peace processes, and countering radicalization of the young Sudanese who are being recruited by militant groups.

Interventions of Islamic Institutions: A Source of Conflict Resolution The role of religion in conflicts is paradoxical: It can provide a framework for peace and reconciliation, and it can also be a source of violence and conflict (Hinkel & Traore, 2020; Omer, 2015; Smock, 2006). US religion scholar Philip Jenkins argues that the twenty-first century will almost certainly be regarded as a century in which religion replaces ideology as “the prime animating and destructive force in human affairs, guiding attitudes to political liberty and obligation, concepts of nationhood and, of course, conflicts and wars” (in Micklethwait, 2007, The garden of Eden section, para. 1). Therefore, to engage in conflict resolution, it is imperative that religious institutions and leaders be included in a process that engenders credibility, legitimacy, and trust (Bercovitch & Kadayifci-Orellana, 2009). Additionally, in light of the influential role of Islamic institutions and religious leaders, their participation should be sought not only by key players at the upper echelons of local and state hierarchies but also by transnational networks to facilitate communication across national and ethnic boundaries. Appleby (2008) opines that Islamic institutions and religious leaders work across ethnic communities to counter Islamic extremism and to emphasize norms of tolerance and reconciliation. In the case of Sudan, Islam has been employed to initiate the integration of various state institutions in an attempt to strengthen the fragile trust between the state and ethnic communities. At the horizontal level, however, local Islamic institutions and leaders can play a critical role in bridging differences. Examples of their successful contribution to conflict resolution are presented in Table 4.3. Faith-based organizations have played a significant role in mitigating ethno-religious conflicts; however, this chapter argues that local religious institutions can play a more significant role in resolving these conflicts than international organizations can. This is because local religious

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Table 4.3  Summary of the analysis of Muslim and Christian peace-building actors in Sudan Actor

Examples described

Specific results and Contribution to Selected lessons learned outcomes peace

International Center for Religion and Diplomacy

–Projects between Christian and Muslim leaders in Sudan

Establishment of Sudan Inter-­ Religious Council Payment of compensation by government of Sudan to Catholic Church

Meditation encouraging dialogue and reconciliation dissemination of ideas

Religion and Peace-­ Making Initiative

Sudanese Inter-Faith Dialogue Peace mediations of Inter-­ Faith Mediation Centre in northern Nigeria

Contribution to peace agreement with Muslims and Christians in Yelwa-Nshar and Jos

Dissemination of ideas encouraging dialogue mediation

Faith-based peace building can create the transcendent environment that is conducive to overcoming personal and religious differences. International peace-builders must build up credibility with local conflicting parties, often through long-term presence or through partnering with local actors that command respect. Religious leaders may bring moral authority to the peace process Selection of credible local religious counterparts is of crucial importance to international peace-builders. Secular and faith-based peace building are complementary and should go hand in hand. Faith-based peace building is sometimes more to discuss emotionally sensitive political issues (continued)

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Table 4.3  (continued) Actor

Examples described

Specific results and Contribution to Selected lessons learned outcomes peace

Sudanese Women’s Initiative for Peace

– Advocacy for peace and women’s rights in Sudan

Salam Sudan foundation, US

– Peace lobby, especially in Sudan

Contributed to the orientation of the Sudanese peace agenda towards all civil society groups and other community members. Managed to include women’s perspectives and issues in the peace process Salam Sudan is credited with having played a positive role by lobbying both the US administration and the Sudan government, which led to a strategic shift towards peacemaking

Altering behaviour. Challenging structures.

Women’s negative perception in the public and political domain may hinder their peace-building work. Sensitive communication between Western donors and local (religious) aid recipients is crucial

Dissemination of ideas policy change and encouraging reconciliation

Source: Bouta et al. (2005)

institutions and leaders are well versed in cultural norms and the nature of conflicts, whereas international organizations like nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) may not be cognizant of the sensitive nature of particular issues. In addition, INGOs are funded by international donors, which may pressure them to pursue international agendas rather than provide relief to local communities. Thus, we strongly suggest that local religious institutions and leaders be more influential not only in resolving the ethnic disputes but also in playing a constructive role in combating extremism and radicalization. As Table  4.3 indicates, the Religion and Peace-Making Initiative, for instance, has sponsored interfaith dialogues

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in Sudan and contributed to peace between Muslims and Christians in both Yelwa-Nshar and Jos, in Nigeria. It is recommended strongly that societal engagement within the larger public sphere—that is, interfaith local organizations, religious institutions and leaders, indigenous ethnic leaders, and professional organizations—be invoked to better promote sustainable peace and ultimately contribute to resolving ethno-religious-political issues.

Communication Response to Ethno-religious Crises and Extremism Government, at all levels, contributes, directly and indirectly, to either mitigating or fueling conflicts or extremism. People tend to overreact when they feel marginalized or treated unfairly, especially on the basis of their religious inclination or ethnicity. Such sentiments led to civil war in Sudan. Al-Bashir’s Islamic Arab-majority government was alleged to have systematically marginalized the native African ethnic minorities. Such state policies led to armed rebellion by the native African ethnic groups around the Nuba Mountains, Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan areas in what became the Darfur Conflict of 2003. The government of Al-Bashir, which emerged from a coup, was perceived to be tolerant of fundamentalist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda (Besançon, 2017). Such tolerance culminated in the imposition of sanctions on Sudan in 1993 and 1997 by the United Nations. The impression of being marginalized by the Islamic Arab-­ majority encouraged other African minorities in Sudan to agitate for sovereignty. But Sudan’s situation is akin to that of Nigeria, a West African country. Citizens in the east, predominantly Christian by faith and Igbo by tribe, who describe themselves as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), claim they are being sidelined from major aspects of political governance and are being marginalized and maltreated by Muslims in other parts of the country. They have been agitating for a sovereign state, Biafra, through a Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra. Unlike the African minorities in Sudan, however, IPOB has had a head of state and a president emerge from its ethnic group. The religious faithful or ethnic groups seek representation in government, even if they are a minority. They aspire to participate in

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decision-­making, without which they feel marginalized and tend to react through violence, which leads to civil unrest. Consequently, it is critical that governments engage all interfaith groups in governance, ensuring fair treatment for all; avoiding bigotry, nepotism, and sectionalism; and reducing incidents of extremism, interfaith discord, heresy, and blasphemy.

Intervention of Foreign Entities and Organizations: A Source of Conflict Resolution Western governments and international organizations such as the United Nations have a very vital role to play in resolving conflicts. We have seen the extent to which the sanctions imposed on Sudan by the United Statesin 1993 helped to minimize the internal chaos and the extent to which the further sanction of 2005 helped to reduce the conflicts. The sanctions resulted in the country’s shrunk economy, with inflation reaching 55%. The economic crisis worsened toward the end of 2018, resulting in a shortage of basic commodities such as food and fuel and cash in Sudanese banks. These shortages increased the cost of living, resulting in anti-­government protests, which eventually led to military ousting alBashir on April 11, 2019. Transition talks between the ruling Transitional Military Council and the protest movement, the Forces for Freedom and Change, resulted in a power-sharing peace agreement between the two parties. Conflicts, especially those involving interfaith and radicals, tend to be too cumbersome for the affected country to shoulder alone; hence, the interventions of other countries and international organizations come to play their due role. In some instances, other nations become hideouts for high-profile criminals. In Nigeria, for example, Nnamdi Kanu, who was alleged to be responsible for the criminal activities of the IPOB, was hidden in plain sight in the United Kingdom after being jailed for treason, then bailed out. He hosted a radio show based in the United Kingdom, where he aired his programs and allegedly instigated violence. He had been away from the country but allegedly masterminded criminal activities in Nigeria and incited ethno-religious violence despite being declared a criminal and wanted by the Nigerian government.

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Conclusion This chapter analyzes the historical events that have contributed to Sudan’s religious extremism and ethnic conflicts, making peace building, conflict, and relationship management the sine qua non for the well-being of Sudan. Since Sudan’s independence from Britain and Egypt on January 1, 1956, ethnicity and religion have remained the dominant factors that have dragged the country into three civil wars, military coups, and ethnic conflicts. Hassan Al-Turabi was influenced and then joined the Sudanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a religio-political organization. He is considered the real architect of political Islamism in Sudan. He also introduced the integration of Islamic ideology into state institutions. The South, populated mainly by Christians, felt that political Islamism was a threat to their identity; this morphed into the first civil war, which ended with the Addis Ababa Agreement in 1972 with a proposal for regional autonomy. But Nimeiri introduced Shariah law in September 1983, which was resisted by Christians and some seculars from the North, sparking new conflict in the South. As a result, his government was overthrown in 1985 and a new military government held civil rule. Sensing the political instability, Omar al-Bashir seized power in 1989, strongly supported by National Islamic Front, the Islamist political party. The second civil war ended with a Comprehensive Peace Agreement on January 9, 2005. The rebels and government of Sudan agreed to hold a referendum on regional autonomy or independence for the South within six years and to limit the implementation of Shariah law to the Muslim-majority north. Eventually, South Sudan gained independence on July 9, 2011. Conflicts continued between the north and South, especially in the border regions. Based on these harsh historical facts, it can be inferred that marginalization of smaller ethnic groups and the fear of religious cleansing were crucial factors in the Sudan conflicts. The authors argued that political Islamism in state institutions infused extremist views among the Sudanese youth, ultimately leading to radicalization. Al-Qaeda and ISIS have exploited the radicalized youth and recruited them across the country. To counter the militant organizationsin Sudan, viable strategies of relationship management are needed as well as strategic efforts among organizations to address the country’s extremism and radicalization challenges. Interfaith dialogue, addressing the core issues, and traditional models of mediation like Judiya can be effective strategies to encourage de-radicalization of Sudanese youth. Mediation, by incorporating scholars and leaders from ethnic communities, can be used not only to

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resolve local ethnic conflicts but also to help strengthen relationships among various ethnic groups and involve the Sudanese youth in various positive activities. In other words, de-radicalization is the best way to break the chains of terrorism and minimize the influence of militant organizations. Militant organizations “amplify grievances and intercommunal differences as a means of mobilizing recruitment and fostering antigovernment sentiments” (“Countering Violent Extremism,” 2022, para. 1); therefore, trustbased interventions through local communities can ensure the security challenges in the “contested regions.” We argue that a marginalized society and poverty-trodden people can easily be recruited by militant organizations. Thus, it is crucial to consider all conflicting parties, religious institutions, religious leaders, traditional ethnic community leaders, and so on to broaden the perspective of the peace-building process. Traditional conflict models with well-integrated relationship and communication strategies can be an effective way to overcome radicalization and terrorism in Sudan. This chapter discusses various ethno-religious conflicts in Sudan, in historical contexts, and presents strategies that can lead to peace and stability; however, it has two major limitations. First, it is based largely on secondary data, with empirical evidence being absent. We, therefore, suggest that future studies explore marshaling primary sources whose firsthand contributions can provide additional insights to accomplishing sustainable peace and stability in the country. Second, this chapter focuses on radicalization and the possible way to develop interfaith harmony. It does not provide a comprehensive approach to resolving the various conflicts in Sudan. We suggest, therefore, that researchers consider all factors that have destabilized the country, ranging from communal to religious to military to foreign. Otherwise, a viable, sustained resolution to conflicts in Sudan would not be possible.

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tion: How significance quest impacts violent extremism. Political Psychology, 35(S1), 69–93. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12163 Lauwers, A.  S. (2019). Is islamophobia (always) racism? Critical Philosophy of Race, 7(2), 306–332. https://doi.org/10.5325/critphilrace.7.2.0306 Makoye, K. (2022, February 24). Tanzania, Mozambique launch deradicalization programs to combat terrorism. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/tanzania-­ mozambique-­l aunch-­d eradicalization-­p rograms-­t o-­c ombat-­t errorism/ 2512326. Marion, G. (2019). The effectiveness of regional organization in boundary conflicts: The case of African Union in the conflict between Sudan and South Sudan [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. United States International University-Africa. McCauley, C., & Moskalenko, S. (2008). Mechanisms of political radicalization: Pathways toward terrorism. Terrorism and Political Violence, 20(3), 415–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546550802073367 Metz, H.  C. (1991). A country study: Sudan. https://postconflict.unep.ch/ sudanreport/sudan_website/doccatcher/data/documents/Sudan%20A%20 Country%20Study.pdf. Micklethwait, J. (2007, November 3). In God’s name. The Economist, 385(8553), 4. Morris, M. W., & Fu, J. H. Y. (2000). How does culture influence conflict resolution? A dynamic constructive analysis. Social Cognition, 19(3), 324–349. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.19.3.324.21475 Obaji Jr., P. (2022, February 4). Winner of latest coup in Burkina Faso could be jihadists. https://theglobalobservatory.org/2022/02/ winner-­of-­latest-­coup-­in-­burkina-­faso-­could-­be-­jihadists/. Omelicheva, M., & Webb, C. (2021). Economic crises and terrorism: Analyzing competing economic pressures on terrorism in Russia. Journal of Global Security Studies, 6(3), ogaa041. https://doi.org/10.1093/jogss/ogaa041 Omer, A. (2015). Religious peacebuilding: The exotic, the good, and the theatrical. In R.  S. Appleby, A.  Omer, & D.  Little (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of religion, conflict, and peacebuilding (pp. 3–32). Oxford University Press. Onuf, N. (1998). Constructivism: A user’s manual. In K. I. Vendulka, N. Onuf, & P. Kowert (Eds.), International relations in a constructed world (pp. 58–78). Routledge. Open Society Foundation. (2019, May). Islamophobia in Europe. https://www. opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/islamophobia-­europe Prinsloo, B. L., & Simons, G. (2018). The etymology of “Islamic extremism”: A misunderstood term? Cogent Social Sciences, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.108 0/23311886.2018.1463815 Salihu, M. (2021). An analysis of youth deradicalization programs in Northeast Nigeria: A study on Boko haram. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 17(13), 21. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2021.v17n13p21

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Schwoebel, M.  H. (2017). Peacebuilding approaches to preventing and transforming violent extremism. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 12(2), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/15423166.2017.1338860 Smock, D. R. (2006). Religious contributions to peacemaking: When religion brings peace, not war. United States Institute of Peace. Stephens, W., Sieckelinck, S., & Boutellier, H. (2021). Preventing violent extremism: A review of the literature. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 44(4), 346–361. https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2018.1543144 Sudan Tribune. (2015, August 9). Sudan vows to undertake steps to contain domestic religious extremism. http://sudantribune.com/article54461/. Tohamy, A., Haj Salem, M., & Muhanna-Matar, A. (2017). The role of the sub-­ national authorities from the Mediterranean region in addressing radicalisation and violent extremism of young people. European Committee of the Regions.. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2863/241902 Uysal, N. (2016). Peace-building through interfaith dialogue: The role of faith-­ based NGOs. In S.  Roy & I.  S. Shaw (Eds.), Communicating differences. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137499264_17 Vergani, M., Iqbal, M., Ilbahar, E., & Barton, G. (2018). The three Ps of radicalization: Push, pull and personal. A systematic scoping review of the scientific evidence about radicalization into violent extremism. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 43, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2018.1505686 Wahab, A. S. (2018). The Sudanese indigenous model for conflict resolution: A case study to examine the relevancy and the applicability of the Judiyya model in restoring peace within the ethnic tribal communities of The Sudan [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Nova Southeastern University. https://nsuworks.nova. edu/shss_dcar_etd/87. Wibisono, S., Louis, W. R., & Jetten, J. (2019). A multidimensional analysis of religious extremism. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2560. https://doi. org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02560 Wilson, J. (2014). Local peace processes in Sudan and South Sudan. United States Institute of Peace. https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2019-­07/ pw_148-­the_religious_landscape_in_south_sudan_challenges_and_opportunities_for_engagement.pdf. Yeghiazaryan, L. (2018). Which of the three main ethnic conflict theories best explains the ethnic violence in the post-soviet states of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova. Undergraduate Journal of Political Science, 3(1), 46–64. https:// www.cpp.edu/class/political-­s cience/participate/undergraduatejournal/ vol3/yeghiazaryan-­3.pdf Zelenkov, M., Kruglova, E., Ryabchikova, L., Kibakin, M., & Remarchuk, V. (2021). ¿Cómo reducir la probabilidad de que se desarrolle el terrorismo en una sociedad democrática? Justicia, 26(39), 57–78. https://doi.org/10.17081/ just.26.39.4909

CHAPTER 5

COVID-19 Health Campaigns and Public Relations Management: A South African Perspective Sabihah Moola

Public relations (PR) can be defined as a process of communication whereby the publics are involved in trying to obtain a common grounding or feelings toward social reasoning for similar matters of concern (Tomic et al., 2010). Publics are considered to be groups of people based on their communicative behavior, demographics, and media preference. They can also include employees and communities (Grunig, 1978, p.  109, 123). Messages or information sent from organizations or institutions to its publics is of concern in PR. Tomic et al. (2010, p. 25) note the crux of the definition of PR as “the process of communicating with its public

I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

S. Moola (*) Department of Communication Science, University of South Africa (UNISA), Pretoria, South Africa e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3_5

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organizations to achieve mutual understanding and realization of common interests.” In addition, the evolution of E-health on social media platforms has evolved, creating infodemics, which have related to spreading fake news and misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations. This complicates matters regarding behavior change. This chapter aims to explain how health communication is related to the field of public relations (PR). PR is used (for the context of this chapter) to achieve attitude change in individuals by providing them with authentic health education on COVID-19 vaccination through health promotional campaigns. This is done to try and overcome vaccine hesitancy by beating myths, fake news, and infodemics that have emerged from/through the media. The COVID-19 pandemic is a recurring theme in this chapter, where different examples are used from the media to elaborate on health communication and its relation to PR as a field. COVID-19 is further used as a case study, with examples from two South African health campaigns related to vaccination. The World Health Organization (WHO) officially announced the widespread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020 (Kwok et al., 2021, p. 1). The core focus of healthcare and behavior implementation is emphasized in this chapter. Therefore, behavior change communication theories, as well as PR-related approaches and theories, are explained to contextualize the theoretical focus of the chapter. Initially, behavior change needed to occur in the form of self-protection and protecting others by wearing a mask, maintaining social distance, staying home, and altering behavior to avoid infection (Noar & Austin, 2020; Moola, 2022, p. 164). Thereafter, with the availability of a vaccine, countries/campaign planners/health sectors, among others, aimed to promote behavior change in the form of protection from infection, serve illness, and possible death. Due to the global lockdowns that occurred, companies, on the other hand, needed to improvise work situations by finding solutions to protect staff. Governments, societies, and other stakeholders are working together to support and endorse the importance of the citizens’ vaccination. PR strategies are being used to promote vaccination drives. At the same time, new strains of the virus are evolving, such as the omicron variant (Dyer, 2021). This evokes queries regarding the effectiveness of vaccines. Crisis and risk communication are being used to promote vaccination campaigns through health promotion (Glik, 2007; Singhal & Rogers, 2002). Health campaign messages are designed to target specific audiences and should cater for cultural components. Governments can try to vaccinate the public and

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ensure that lives can return to normalcy by promoting health efficiently. Noar and Austin (2020, p. 1738) explain that “we still have a significant opportunity to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and save many lives by applying effective communication.” The next section explains PR in the context of health promotional campaign messages disseminated via the media to create healthcare awareness.

Literature Review Public Relations Management and Health Communication/ Health Promotion via Education Entertainment (EE) Media Campaigns PR is a diverse field that can be linked to, or incorporated within, healthcare dynamics, for healthcare management. It can be used as a communication tool to spread health education to the masses. The publics need to engage with the communication sent by understanding and supporting the intended message. According to Botan and Taylor (2004, p. 652), “the major relationship of interest is between groups and organisations, and communication functions …” whereby the publics need to work as supporters in the message decoding and understanding process. This can be linked to healthcare messages used by organizations such as governments. The purpose is to educate the public on healthcare pandemics, such as the novel coronavirus, through social or traditional media. The intended messages from health campaigns need to be interpreted within the context of the situation. Boton and Taylor (2004, p. 654) note that “publics and issues are core concepts in public relations.” For example, the publics (audiences/citizens) need to support a PR health campaign on vaccination drives in order to prevent severe illness and death from the coronavirus (the pandemic is the “issue” at hand here). But, through vaccination, publics can manage the illness. Message interpretation occurs within a context and environment. Hence, health campaigns, in general, need to be contextualized to the targeted publics by catering for cultural components (Springston & Champion, 2004). Health communication can be understood as communication that is used to teach and upskill publics or communities on healthcare matters. According to Schiavo (2007, p.  7), “health communication is about improving health outcomes by encouraging behavior modification and social change.” Health promotion aims to disseminate health messages on

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healthcare topics via different media platforms, be it social or entertainment media. Health promotion can be linked to PR in the sense that it aims to divulge risk and crisis communication (Glik, 2007; Singhal & Rogers, 2002). PR enables these messages to be strategically managed and communicated to the publics. As mentioned above, “issues” are important in the field of PR studies. Hence, “the usual route for an issue to obtain public status is through media exposure” (Boton & Taylor, 2004, p. 656). Therefore, Education Entertainment (EE) is vital for media exposure in the field of health promotional campaigns on COVID-19 vaccination (as a process for working toward social change) since the publics can be reached regarding this critical healthcare issue. Education Entertainment (EE) is a form of healthcare promotion that uses entertainment to educate people on health and illnesses (Moola, 2015, pp. 165–166). EE aims to tackle social matters and is considered “an effective way to deliver prosocial and health messages” (Moyer-­Guse, 2008, p. 407). EE aims to create or influence “awareness, knowledge, attitudes and/or behaviors” for positive behavior change in healthcare matters (Moyer-Guse, 2008, p. 407). The case studies later in this chapter explain the link between PR and the selected health campaigns in working toward social change. Illness Outbreaks and Public Relations Management Qiu and Cameron (2007, p.  211) posited that “the emergence of an infectious disease now incurs multidimensional social concerns and conflicts, oftentimes all around the globe.” The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic increased the death toll in most countries and crippled economies. Governments needed to intervene and assist through health education (message communication) about the virus and how to protect oneself, among other precautionary protective measures. This was the case until the rush for vaccine development occurred. Then communication centered on the importance of vaccination drives as a form of saving lives and restoring the economy. Government communication through PR was needed to address the issue by educating and assisting the publics (citizens). In this scenario, governments can be considered as organizations that used conflict management communication or crisis communication to tackle the health crisis of COVID-19. This was done via health promotional messages to citizens regarding the importance of vaccination (Holmes et al., 2009, p. 793).

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Communities are affected and influenced by management decisions or actions (Alexander, 2008). Communities can also be considered as stakeholders, ensuring that campaigns are designed to cater for intended social and behavioral change. Meaning that the government can work through community stakeholders to ensure that the intended social change occurs from the efforts of health promotion/EE, as explained above. Stakeholders refer to “any individual, group or community living within the influence of the site or likely to be affected by a management decision or action, and any individual, group or community likely to influence the management of the site” (Alexander, 2008). Schiavo (2007, p.  19, 20) elaborates that for health promotional campaigns to be effective, adequate PR in the form of core communication on the illness, as well as precautionary measures, needs to be transferred to the publics. However, this might not bring about positive behavior change or intended social change in the publics “if they do not respond to a strategic need identified by marketing and audience-specific research and endorsed by key stakeholders from target groups” (Schiavo, 2007, p. 19, 20). This point is noted since health campaigns need to cater for social and cultural inclusion when being designed. PR needs to ensure that relationships between the government and the public are built carefully since relationship building is core in PR (Springston & Lariscy, 2005). The publics need to trust the health messages or health information they are receiving related to vaccine importance in order to implement positive behavior change. The government wants the publics to vaccinate against the virus as a matter of urgency. Therefore, the publics need to trust this stakeholder (government) to take note of the message communicated in this case. As explained above, the government is seen as an organization that is using crisis communication to attend to this conflict situation of people not wanting to vaccinate in SA. Schiavo (2007, p. 21) sums up this discussion appropriately by mentioning that “communication is a relationship business.” The government needs to gain public trust by maintaining relationship building with key stakeholders. According to Springston and Lariscy (2005, pp. 238–239), “building and maintaining a strong reputation and maintaining positive stakeholder relations have never been more important.” One such example is the media to ensure that authentic information related to COVID-19 (illness and vaccination information) is transmitted. Fake news and infodemics became rife from the start of the pandemic. This aspect will be elaborated on later in the chapter.

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Relationship building in the field of PR is vital for sustenance from the public’s perspective. An example that links directly to the issue of COVID-19 vaccination is that of the two French doctors wanting to test a possible COVID-19 vaccine on people from Africa. These remarks were made in a 2020 French television program. This sparked a huge debacle globally, especially in Africa, as a form of racism. Africans are not to be considered experimental subjects for medical trials. Social media comments reacted to this form of racism (Mavuso, 2020). This worked against global or African relationship building in promoting working together in developing vaccine trials. The World Health Organization (WHO) had to intervene and address this racist remark from the French. According to Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO chief, such racism and inequality will not be tolerated. Neither Africa nor Europe will be treated differently for trials. He was shocked that this type of behavior and mentality from scientists during a global pandemic still existed in today’s modern world. He emphasized the need to work together in solidarity, to move forward from this deadly virus by moving away from such a colonial mentality (Mavuso, 2020). This type of negative communication required the intervention of crisis communication from the WHO to sort out racism against a country. The aspect of crisis and risk communication related to health communication will be explained below. Health literacy is another important aspect that needs to be considered so that targeted audiences can understand the intended message and alter behavior change positively. Jargon should be avoided in campaign messages about COVID-19 vaccination drives. At the same time, language simplicity is crucial in facilitating understanding and the publics’ ability “to engage with risk information during crises” (Shulman et  al., 2021, p.  547). Aspects of language diversity in campaigns, as well as cultural inclusions, need to be seriously considered. “Messages need to be audience specific and tailored to channels allowing the most effective reach to target audience” (Schiavo, 2007, p. 20). Crisis and Risk Communication: Health Communication Perspectives Risk and crisis communication are closely linked to health concerns. They are similar or somewhat related forms of communication in the field of PR management. Risk communication is used to overcome threats or problems that publics are exposed to in relation to healthcare issues (Malecki,

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Keating, & Safdar, 2021, p.  699). In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, crisis communication was used by governments to curb infection rates by restricting measures of human interaction through implementing lockdown measures (Wodak, 2021, p. 329). According to Su et al. (2021, p.  1), “during global pandemics, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), crisis communication is indispensable in dispelling fears, uncertainty, and unifying individuals worldwide in a collective fight against health threats.” Related to this is the promotion of vaccination as a form of protection from the virus. Hence, the South African government embarked on a major vaccination drive campaign to enhance behavior change among South Africans. Crisis is a bleak word and is often associated with negative communication that can create panic in publics (Wodak, 2021, p.  330). This is exactly what happened with the coronavirus health information people received from the media overall. Yet, the role of crisis communication is to assist publics by trying to overcome their panic and bleakness. The vital role of crisis communication is to intervene and reduce panic and negativity. People were encouraged to adhere to calls from the government to be vaccinated against the virus. This type of communication also aims to promote the required medical action to decrease the load on a country’s healthcare system. This means crisis communication needs to be thoughtfully entrenched in order to be successful over time (Malecki, et al. 2021, p. 700). Glik (2007, p.  46) suggests that “The practice of crisis risk communication marries exigency with health communication basics to create emergent norms of practice reflecting the redefined role that public health finds itself in during the twenty-first century: emergency responder” Health communication, in the form of health promotional campaign messages, can be used to address crisis communication from the government or other stakeholders. Health messages, in the form of information or news, must be used to educate audiences. This needs to be adjusted according to their literacy levels and cultural components. When overcoming, for example, vaccine hesitancy and myth, authentic and substantive health communication is essential. Therefore, the SA government introduced “crisis and emergency risk communication” campaign drives on vaccination to educate the masses on the reality of its ability to save lives (Glik, 2007, p. 34).

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Crisis Communication: The Case of the Omicron Variant Detected in South Africa and Africa With the emergence of the Omicron variant in Africa (first detected in Botswana) by South African scientists in late November 2021, Southern Africa was, unfortunately, victimized for the discovery. Many Western countries immediately prevented travel to and from Southern Africa and South Africa. These embargoes can be seen as risk communication to curtail the spread of the new variant. The United Kingdom (UK) was the first to implement a travel ban as soon as the discovery was announced. Other countries swiftly barred travel to and from Southern Africa (McCain, 2021). According to Mendelson et  al. (2021, p.  1), these “travel bans have had the opposite effect and could be damaging to the health response, economy, and freedom of movement.” This actually hindered the social aspect of movement and family life. South Africa was concerned by this knee-jerk reaction. There was no public acknowledgment of the early detection of the new variant. The variant was soon found in other continents, yet Southern Africa was red-­ listed and treated indifferently. The WHO informed countries that such premature travel restrictions should not occur. This type of travel ban negatively impacts economies and societies, such as families and the public in general, leading to immense frustration (McCain, 2021). Interestingly, the travel restrictions and discriminations did not occur when the new variants were discovered elsewhere. This case highlights the issue of developing countries always bearing inconsistent global political agendas. According to Mendelson et al. (2021, p. 2), “once again, South Africa and other Southern African countries have been stigmatized and will pay a heavy economic and societal price for sharing information.” Instead of implementing travel bans, vaccination support drives should be emphasized in global solidarity to try to move ahead of the pandemic. Relationship building should occur where political leaders should work together to support the increase of vaccination as opposed to global travel bans (Mendelson et al., 2021, p. 2). Crisis Communication and the Call to Vaccinate in South Africa: A PR Strategy A strategy used by the SA government to publicize and promote pro-­ vaccination in citizens was to issue those over 60 years of age with 100

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South African Rand (about £20) grocery vouchers dubbed “Vooma vouchers.” It was an incentive to receive the first vaccination. This process of “exchanging” vaccines for grocery vouchers was publicized in the media and formed part of the Vooma vaccination drive campaign to ramp up the vaccination process in South Africa (South African Government, 2021). This links to the theory of the exchange approach where the Vooma campaign messages were “sold” to the specific age category and “bought” by this audience. The voluntary exchange ensured mutual benefit for the targeted age group and the government (Cook & Whitmeyer, 1992; Nord, 1969). However, this incentive strategy was not unique. It was also used in the UK and America, among other countries (Ebrahim, 2021). Governments used this PR strategy to “push” or “attract” senior citizens, who were most vulnerable to the virus, to vaccinate. At that time, the country was due to enter a fourth wave of infection caused by the rapid spreading of the omicron variant (Dyer, 2021). This meant reaching vaccination targets was essential. Public Relations Management in Organizations: When Illnesses Outbreak The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on businesses and organisations across the world (Charoensukmongkol & Phungsoonthorn, 2020, p. 1).

To curb the spread of the virus, lifestyles had to change from isolation to quarantine when infected and working from home, among other precautions. Companies needed to ensure that staff were protected from infection. However, essential work still needed to be completed. This dilemma needed internal communication in the form of health news by increasing staff’s knowledge of virus protocols. Both risk and crisis communication were required to manage the pandemic. Charoensukmongkol and Phungsoonthorn (2020, p. 1) note that “formal communication from an organization’s management is crucial during a crisis to reduce the uncertainties of employees.” Social support was needed from organizations in the form of formal communication to counter uncertainties and fear that existed in employees. Staff could be affected psychologically due to factors such as “workload, job security, and mental health” (Charoensukmongkol &

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Phungsoonthorn, 2020, p. 1). These negative feelings could impact job performance and therefore needed to be addressed by organizations. “Emergency communication strategy” needed to be developed by organizations in the form of mental support, safety policies, work from home policies, and so on, to protect both the organization and staff (Su et al., 2021, p. 3). Crisis communication in the form of social support, care, and clear basic communication from fellow staff, managers, supervisors, and so on, is central to ensuring that employees are managed appropriately. The pandemic was economically devastating (Thorn et al., 2020). In developing countries, such as South Africa and many other African countries, many people were left uncertain about job stability and faced job losses resulting from lockdowns and restrictions. Governments had to combat this situation through crisis communication by helping their citizens with social grants to curb massive job losses. This was done by the South African government, where unemployed people over the age of 18, who were not receiving any other grants, insurance, or remunerations from other sources could apply for the social relief grant for COVID-19 (South African Government, [sa]). Social Media Representation of the Coronavirus: The Era of Fake News and Infodemics As a serious matter of concern, COVID-19 healthcare news has been rife in the media. Wise (2001, p. 475) concurs that “health is a common topic of discussion in our society. One can hardly pick up a metropolitan newspaper, a national news magazine, or watch a network news broadcast without being exposed to a health-related story.” This is exactly the case with COVID-19, where information is publicized on various social and traditional media platforms. This also gave rise to infodemics and fake news. Solomon et al. (2020, p. 1806) “define an infodemic as a contagious disease infecting our information culture.” Social media can be used as a “powerful tool” for interactive health communication as well as information collaboration. The benefits in terms of a health crisis and sending health information updates via social media are many (Moorhead et al., 2013; Spence et al., 2015). With such technological innovations, health communication is interactive and instant. However, there are many disadvantages to this. Misinformation creates panic in the publics by developing infodemics on these platforms. Moorhead et al. (2013, p. 1) explain that for health communication on

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social media to maintain the benefits, “the information exchanged needs to be monitored for quality and reliability, and the user’s confidentiality and privacy need to be maintained.” The era of E-health has emerged. E-health platforms cater for diversity and interactivity through digital platforms for adequate health promotion, which aims to improve and promote positive behavior change in individuals. E-health systems should work toward monitoring health communication authenticity to overcome infodemics (Neuhauser & Kreps, 2003, p. 7). Many myths have emerged around the coronavirus and vaccination. “Anti-vaxers,” those opposed to vaccination, have emerged globally, and this is a matter of concern. People make use of social media and blogs to spread incorrect information about the supposed dangers of vaccination. This can harm the public’s perception of this form of protection against the virus. According to Su et  al. (2021, p.  1), “infodemics fuelled by a kaleidoscopic range of misinformation can be dangerous.” Yet again, crisis communication needs to be used to overcome this dangerous mismanagement of authentic information, which uses scare tactics. The SA government tried to overcome this negativity and misinformation by creating vaccine awareness campaigns. Authentic information had to be communicated to the public from credible sources. This will be elaborated on as the chapter proceeds. Tim Noakes and Mahdi: Twitter Debate on COVID-19 Vaccines in South Africa An interaction in relation to vaccination occurred on Twitter between Shabir Mahdi (a professor and Dean in vaccinology at Wits University, South Africa) and emeritus professor Tim Noakes from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Noakes supported the views of Dr. Judy Mikovits, an anti-vaccine activist and virologist, who shared her views against the COVID-19 vaccines. Noakes emphasized that the COVID-19 vaccine did not qualify as a vaccine, and this sparked debate. In light of this, Mahdi was offended and, tongue-in-cheek, informed Noakes to obtain a refund from his medical school for being misinformed. Mahdi then explained why vaccines are used to protect from severe illness and death if infected instead of preventing infection. This, he explained, is the reason for having vaccines. Health (mis)information, such as this, from so-called medical experts, can cause confusion in audiences if not clarified immediately (Nkanjeni, 2021).

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Mahdi tackled the Twitter debate with facts and health communication that were clear and beneficial to society. Otherwise, the anti-vaccination publics can grow and further mislead and confuse people. Van der Linden et al. (2020, p. 1) agree that the “negative influence that COVID-19 misinformation can have on the widespread adoption of health-protective behaviors in the population” in the vaccination context, can be seen from the debate above. Hence, behavior change toward vaccination drives can be hampered. Social media, specifically Twitter in this case, “evolved to become an interactive, collaborative, conversational, and community-­ based platform for crisis communication” (Spence et al., 2015, p. 172). PR and Cultural Diversity in Health Promotional Campaigns South Africa is a diverse land with rich cultural diversity and religious freedom (Moola, 2022, p. 169). The aftermath of the apartheid era ensured that cultural respect and tolerance took priority (Goodsell, 2007, pp. 116–117). Thus, Sha (2006, pp. 60–61) notes that “an understanding of culture and cultural identity is important for public relations because they affect the manner in which an individual behaves and communicates.” Culture forms the basis of a person’s being and governs their belief system, which then impacts their healthcare decisions (Gurung, 2006, p. 93). Hence, PR health campaigns need to ensure that cultural sensitivity in health message communication is catered for adequately. PR health campaigns need to cater for cultural differences to be able to ensure success in targeted communities (Sha, 2006, p. 53). For example, the Vooma vaccination campaign, referred to earlier, is targeted at township communities. To be appropriate, health communication needs to be structured according to culture and health literacy (Rittenhofer & Valentini, 2015, p. 7). South African citizens make use of herbal medicine and traditional healers for illnesses (Moola, 2015, p. 115; Herselman, 1996, p.  157; Moola 2022, p. 169). The campaign is also reinforced by traditional leaders who support vaccines as a form of protection (South African Government, 2021). Traditional healing and nonWestern medical practices are indigenous to SA, a reality that needs to be catered for (Moola, 2022, p. 169). Hence, the support of cultural and traditional leaders is vital. Thus, the conventional Western biomedical model is inappropriate for medical treatment and care in a culturally

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diverse country like SA (Moola, 2015; Moola, 2022). The Western model is scientifically orientated and lacks the inclusion of social and cultural components that health campaigns need to consider (Richter, 2003, p. 7).

Case Studies: Health Campaigns Related to COVID-­19 Vaccination in South Africa Campaign 1: South Africa’s asking: Vaccine Conversations with experts Roll up your sleeves SA (#RollYourSleevesSA).1 This vaccination campaign was developed by the South African Government and the COVID-19 Solidarity Fund. It is a campaign that explains the vaccine, what it is about, and why it should be taken by providing authentic information to clear the publics doubts. The campaign opens with a popular medical doctor and television personality, Dr. Fezile Mkhize asking “layman” questions by raising his concerns and queries to professionals about the vaccine, including how it works, if it’s experimental, and if it is safe. The campaign sees various health professionals responding to the concerns and queries. They explain that the vaccines are thoroughly tested and cannot just be rolled out because of the harshness of the virus. The campaign explains that the vaccines undergo rigorous trials before approval is granted. The aspect of safety for all age groups and different populations is emphasized by explaining that “lots and lots” of studies were conducted (Roll Up Your Sleeves SA, 2021). Several issues are addressed in the campaign, including the short time frame for the development of the vaccine; the availability of already existing platforms for its development; global support; its safety; as well as how or what is in the vaccine—protein or the injection of a small part of the virus into one’s body, to build immunity. Concerning the speed with which the vaccine was developed, it was explained that globally, people had to work together to develop the vaccine due to the nature of the pandemic. The issue of infection occurring after the jab is also addressed. The point is emphasized that the vaccine saves lives by limiting the severity of any infection. Side effects are addressed, explaining that they are mild. Emphasis is placed on the move forward as a country because “together we can do amazing things” (Roll Up Your Sleeves SA, 2021). The campaign ends with a contact number of the South Africa Department of Health to call for any queries related to vaccination (0800 029999) and 1  The campaign video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6LtPz3ytjY. Source: Roll Up Your Sleeves SA, 2021.

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the Solidarity Fund logo “Citizens in Solidarity” (Roll Up Your Sleeves SA, 2021). Campaign 2: Vooma Vaccination Drive Campaign. The SA government launched the Vooma (which can be translated as “yes” or “agree” in the isiZulu and/or isiXhosa languages) vaccination campaign, on October 01, 2021, in Kathelong, Gauteng province, South Africa. This campaign aimed at increasing vaccination numbers in the country. “Vooma Vaccination Weekends aim to mobilize citizens and people living within South Africa to get vaccinated as a means to fight the COVID-19 pandemic” (South African Government, 2021). The campaign aimed to publicize the need to vaccinate all citizens. It focused on rural areas, townships, taxi ranks, different districts, and municipalities with the main aim of reaching out to actual communities. This campaign focused and catered for rural and township communities. The President led the inauguration of this campaign, which was supported by “public and private health sectors, organized labor, and business and community and faith-based formations” (South African Government, 2021). Traditional leaders supported this vaccination drive by providing the essential cultural aspect. All vaccinations were free of charge during this drive. Theories Related to Health Behavior Change and PR Approaches Behavior change models such as the Trans-theoretical Model (TTM) or Stages of Change Model, as well as The Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAMP), are included to contextualize the vaccination campaigns (case studies) and are explained briefly below. From the PR campaign perspective, the Exchange Approach (which was discussed earlier in this chapter) and the Social Marketing Approach are discussed in addition to the Agenda setting, which explains how campaign messages are framed for audiences.  he Trans-Theoretical Model (TTM) or the Stages of Change Model T This theory focuses on attitude and behavior change implementation in a given context. It includes different stages an individual goes through before making a decision. The six stages include pre-contemplation, contemplation, action, maintenance, relapse, and termination (Cottrell et al., 2015, p.  110; Prochaska et  al., 2008, p.  98). In the case of deciding whether to take the COVID-19 vaccination or not, a patient can go

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through these six stages. It starts when campaign information is received and a decision to alter behavior toward becoming vaccinated or not. The stages of the change model have been used in many health promotional campaigns to implement behavior change. “Application of the model has shaped service planning, provision, and implementation” (Bunton et al., 2000, p. 55).  he Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM) T This model also includes seven stages that an individual experiences, from being unaware of the issue to being unengaged by the issue and then undecided about acting, to deciding not to act or deciding to act, toward acting, and finally, maintenance toward a new emergence, such as taking the COVID-19 vaccine (Gurung, 2006, p.  189; Cottrell et  al., 2015, pp.  110–111). An individual goes through these stages before he/she decides to implement behavior change by managing precautions and becoming vaccinated (Gurung, 2006, p.  189; Cottrell et  al., 2015). Health educational messages need to be absorbed and implemented after knowledge is received via vaccination awareness campaigns. Individuals need to become aware of the virus and take precautions (in the form of vaccination) of the seriousness of the illness and decide to act responsibly by altering behavior change positively. S ocial Marketing Approach Social marketing campaigns are aimed at promoting behavior change for the benefit of all (Peattie & Peattie, 2009). This approach can be used for health campaigns that are aimed at updating the public on healthcare aspects that benefit society. This is evident in the selected vaccination campaigns, as discussed above. Vaccinating helps protect individuals and those around them. The selected case study campaigns, namely the Vooma vaccination awareness drives and #RollYourSleevesSA, aimed to bring about change and hope in overcoming the coronavirus. These vaccination campaigns created awareness of the urgency to get vaccinated, and the media was used to aid in disseminating the campaign messages. Social marketing caters for social issues or concerns, such as clarity on myths, cultural doubts, and safety around vaccines.  genda Setting and PR Campaigns A The agenda-setting theory aims to publicize, or prioritize, public mindsets for prioritizing information they view, gather, and see (as for the purposes

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of this chapter) in a campaign context (McCombs, 2015, pp. 351–352). The media, in the context of this chapter, aims to overcome the negative perception of vaccines in individuals by creating awareness through health campaign messages. This aims to achieve positive behavior change in individuals. These campaigns communicate clear health information, aiming to set the social agenda and frame clear and authentic vaccination information by avoiding myths and fake news. In the selected campaigns, the government is seen as the main stakeholder or “gatekeeper” in ensuring that medical facts related to vaccination information are being presented.

Recommendations for Future Research Audience engagement with the actual campaigns can be considered on both qualitative and quantitative levels to analyze or further research the effectiveness of these campaigns for audience understanding.

Conclusion The field of public relations is essential in healthcare by ensuring that health matters reach audiences through clear, authentic, and understandable communication. PR and health promotional campaigns can bring about effective healthcare if implemented correctly. In a diverse country such as South Africa, cultural components need to be catered for in health campaigns. This is a matter of concern in developing appropriate message content. COVID-19 is a healthcare crisis that needs to be managed and maintained by government stakeholders through adequate crisis and risk communication. Social media platforms need to be used carefully to manage the authenticity of E-health communication, by avoiding and countering fake news and infodemics. PR, as a field, can enhance the efficacy of healthcare. It is an effective communication tool to reach the public and educate them accordingly. According to Whitehead (2004, p.  315), “a positive outcome generally lies on the capacity and willingness of communities, and the individuals in them, to become politically and socially empowered/self-reliant so that they can prioritize and act upon health issues based on local need.” The government sees vaccination as a social priority, and crisis management is occurring via health promotional campaign information. At the time of writing, only 28.1% of the population had been vaccinated against a world average of 61.3% (Mathieu et al., 2021). Does this mean

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the vaccination campaigns were a failure? Not so. When compared with other developing countries in Africa, for example, Nigeria with 7% and Ethiopia with 8%, South Africa has had a good turnout (Mathieu et al., 2021). That implies the vaccination campaigns have had a measure of success.

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CHAPTER 6

Social Media and Public Relations Practice in Tanzania Rehema Muniko and Eno Akpabio

Public relations in Tanzania was wholly driven by the government at its early beginning principally because the liberalized media environment, which ended state monopoly, was being used by civil society, pressure groups, and opposition parties to paint the government in a bad light and downplay success stories (Falconi, 2007). Falconi notes that former President Benjamin Mkapa introduced the government communication initiative and embarked on efforts to sensitize his team about good information management.

We have no known conflict of interest to disclose. R. Muniko School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Dar es salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania E. Akpabio (*) Department of Social Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3_6

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Reasons that have informed the growth and development of public relations in other climes, such as increasing communication problems, diminishing reputation of business, the quest for respectability, envy and imitation, increasing emphasis on consumers, and so on, were enabled by the new liberal business environment and thus guaranteed the full take of public relations in Tanzania (Cutlip et al., 2005). Public relations practice has been impacted by developments in the environment, a prominent one being social media (Wright & Hinson, 2017). Grunig (2009) argues that social media is set to change public relations because of the power shift in communication management with the power to manage communication moving from companies to consumers. Scholars and commentators differ on the impact of this shift with some noting that the increasing use of social media has positively impacted the various dimensions of public relations. Ragan (2014) holds the view that organizations are quickly becoming their own media outlets, thereby bypassing traditional media and advertising channels to win over new customers, build buzz and visibility, as well as engage powerful decision-makers. Grunig (2009) agrees that social media has made the control of communication by public relations practitioners difficult, even though he also notes that the control exercised under traditional media was an illusion. Safko (2010) supports this argument and posits that social media has brought a fundamental shift in power. It is a shift from pontification to two-way communication. It is a shift in which public relations practitioners are no longer in control of corporate messages. But other scholars disagree, noting that public relations executives are still exercising control even on social media (Archer & Harrigan, 2016; Ihlen & Levenshus, 2017). Be that as it may, this shift to the deployment of social media in PR practice has many practitioners worried. Some have come to see it as a revolution that upsets the current practice (Grunig, 2009). Others are unable to come to grips with present use and future possibilities because of its growth and ability to morph into new forms (Paine, n.d.). The present study, therefore, attempts to document the views of Tanzanian public relations practitioners, given the ambivalence among scholars as regards this development, by posing the following research questions:

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1. To what extent is social media deployed in corporate public relations practice in Tanzania? 2. What is the predominant attitude of the PR practitioners in Tanzania towards the use of social media? The rest of the chapter revolves around theories and literature on social media and PR, the methodology, findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

Theoretical Framework and Literature Review Grunig’s Four Models of PR The model which best explains the deployment of social media in public relations practice is the fourth of Grunig and Hunt’s (1984) four models of PR—two-way symmetrical—because of its give-and-take component that involves organizations taking into consideration the viewpoints and concerns of their publics. Pieczka and L’Étang (2006) deemed it to be ethical and reflective of best practice public relations communication. The authors posit that this model focuses on the use of communication to negotiate with the public, resolve conflict, and promote mutual understanding and respect between the organization and its stakeholders. It, thus, closely reflects public relations practitioners’ use of social media that engenders instant feedback from their publics so that they improve and create strong relationships with them. Grunig and Grunig (2011) argue that for an organization to be effective, it must behave in ways that solve the problems and satisfy the goals of stakeholders as well as of management. If it does not, stakeholders will either pressure the organization to change or oppose it in ways that add cost and risk to organizational policies and decisions. They stress that to behave in socially acceptable ways, organizations must scan their environment to identify publics who are affected by potential organizational decisions or who want organizations to make decisions to solve problems that are important to them. Then, organizations must communicate symmetrically with publics to cultivate high-quality, long-term relationships. The focus of public relations is seen as relationship building hence the interest in finding how social media and online platforms can enable this (Shin et  al., 2015). This is because digital media conforms to the

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generic principles of public relations, including two-way symmetrical communication (Grunig, 2009). Hence, the effusive praises heaped on social media for enabling dialogic communication. However, some scholars are more critical and do not see social media in such positive light because they are still being used for one-way rather than two-way communication (Archer & Harrigan, 2016; Ihlen & Levenshus, 2017; Shin et al., 2015). The fact remains that dialogic and two-way communication theories have come to dominate the literature. Yet, public relations executives still long for control to persuade publics to their point of view and enable the achievement of corporate objectives (Archer & Harrigan, 2016). Social Media and Public Relations Many scholars have a favorable perception of the impact of social media on public relations practice. For instance, Solis and Breakenridge (2009) argue that the fast growing nature of social media and its adoption has broad implications on how public relations practitioners perform their roles that almost always involve communication. New technologies have changed how public relations function and provided a new and more efficient way to communicate PR messages. Paine (n.d.) believes that advances in technology have made it easy and almost free to create content. As a result, both consumers, the media, and everyone in between are creating content at exceptional rates that is turning the communications and PR measurement world upside down. This is because using blogs, for instance, gives immediate results in terms of the impact of the campaign (Archer & Harrigan, 2016). Thus, many of the tried-and-true PR strategies that we know and rely on are becoming ineffective and irrelevant (Solis & Breakenridge, 2009). Brian and Deidre note that we can no longer trust them to effectively reach and motivate today’s influencers. They posit that the web has changed everything, and the social web is empowering a new class of authoritative voices that we cannot ignore. For instance, user-generated content (UGC) has flipped traditional PR and media on its head, leaving many communication professionals and journalists shocked and confused. They wonder why everything is changing so suddenly, seemingly overnight. That does not mean that traditional media is completely irrelevant (Henley & Donovan, 2010). Solis and Breakenridge (2009) are of the view that new media is altering the entire communication landscape by placing the power of influence in

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the hands of regular people with expertise, opinions, and the drive and passion for sharing those opinions. This people-powered content augments, instead of replacing, traditional media and expert influence. And in the process, entirely new layers of top-down and bottom-up influence have been created. These layers dramatically expand the number of information channels (one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many). Hence, Grunig (2009) argues that social media should not be used as traditional media—where messages are dumped—rather, they should be taken as an opportunity for organizations to exchange, share, obtain feedback, and create close links with their publics. The rise of social media, clearly, has given PR practitioners another route or channel of communication. All of these point to the fact that PR is increasingly being changed by technology and social media. However, some scholars believe that the kind of PR which is highly influenced by technology is what is called PR 2.0. Breakenridge (2008) views PR 2.0 as being facilitated mostly by web 2.0 tools. She explains that every PR activity has a web tool to go with it and claims that this is an easy way to get your clients and keep them close. Folkens (2016) argues that social media has changed PR in three ways: With social media, there is no speech but rather conversations; information gathering by PR practitioners has been made a lot easier—information which can easily help them understand their customers; and with social media, PR has started to give personal service and each consumer’s complaints is addressed individually. Wigley and Zang’s (2011) interrogated public relations practitioners’ use of social media in crisis planning, crisis communication, as well as general communication. Their study found that nearly half of the participants, who are members of the Public Relations Society of America, use social media in crisis planning and specifically mentioned Twitter as their crisis planning tool used primarily for distribution purposes. Additionally, the study found that public relations professionals, whose organizations rely more heavily on social media tools in their crisis planning, correlated positively with practitioners’ greater confidence in their organization’s ability to handle a crisis. Younger PR practitioners, according to Wright and Hinson (2017), are using social media in their public relations efforts as well as in their search for news and information. Their 12-year trend study of public relations practitioners worldwide found that there is a continuous uptake and use of social media and other emerging communication media, especially

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Facebook and Twitter, which are providing unique ways for organizations to communicate with strategic publics. Gordon’s (2010) online survey of Northeastern Wisconsin Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) members assessed the value and impact of social media and revealed that public relations practitioners placed a huge premium on social media. Participants also said that they and their firms are not measuring the impact of social media even though they agree that public relations practitioners should engage in such metrics. Meyerson (2010, p. 138) notes that “social media helps you increase visibility, credibility and revenues” and are a guarantee of corporate success. Wilcox and Reber (2016) are of the view that, for the first time in history, social media has caused the democratization of information around the world. People have been given a chance to speak their minds about organizations, products, and services, and companies, in turn, have the opportunity to respond to any criticisms or compliments instantly. Benefits accruing from the use of social media have been identified as favorable public attitude towards the organization, increased trust, better product knowledge, positive attitude towards online advertising, and purchase of products as well as profitability (Shin et  al., 2015). Most CEOs have identified social media as assisting them in deepening relationships with employees, customers, and investors, reducing the power distance between CEOs and their publics, thus making them more personable (Tsai & Men, 2017). Thus, underlying Argenti’s (2009) call to public relations practitioners to develop an online media strategy. This encompasses creativity and effective information management among others (Freitag, 2009; Ruff, 2010; Smith, 2009). More so, as digital communication platforms, including blogs, social media networks, virtual worlds, and wikis, have empowered consumers to react to corporate messages, which may, in turn, negatively affect a company’s reputation. He argues that technology has actually shifted power from organizations to consumers and that PR practitioners should strive to engage consumers along with the media. Scholars (Argenti, 2009; Jacka & Scott, 2011) give examples of companies that successfully harness digital media’s power to reach and engage consumers and the media. Microsoft, for example, has built an online newsroom called “PressPass” within its main website which brings corporate information, news, fast facts, PR contact information, image galleries, and broadcasts into one central location for journalists to access.

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In Microsoft, journalists are not waiting for PR practitioners to provide information, rather, they get them directly from the online newsroom. It is clear that social media has changed public relations practice by impacting speed of communication, media relations, engagement, as well as by moving the focus of communication from companies to consumers. Therefore, it behooves practitioners to tweak their strategy if they and their departments want to remain relevant, engaged, and on top of the moving target that public relations (using social media) has become.

Methodology The design that this study employed was qualitative. Treadwell and Davis (2019) posit that this design deals with observations, impressions, and interpretations of research. The study used this design to understand the predominant attitude of public relations practitioners in Tanzania towards the use of social media and also to interrogate their deployment of social media in public relations practice as well as how impactful this has been. The target population for this study was all public relations practitioners in Tanzania. The unavailability of a complete listing of practitioners hindered the researchers from drawing a sample from the entire population and shifted the focus to only companies that are quoted on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. The study focused on quoted companies because these possess the financial muscle to stay competitive, stable, hire the best managers, and fund the biggest research and attract investors; hence, they are generally termed blue chips (Becket, 2009). Primary data was collected through in-depth exploratory interviews with public relations practitioners of companies quoted on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. In-depth exploratory interviews give detailed and accurate information on the subject (Creswell & Creswell, 2020). Out of seventeen companies, only fourteen accepted to participate in the study. Eleven of the senior PR practitioners in these firms were interviewed face-­ to-­face, while information from the remaining three practitioners were obtained through telephone interviews because these companies are not based in Dar es Salaam. All these interviews were tape-recorded and later transcribed. All the face-to-face interviews were done at participants’ offices based on scheduled appointments.

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Findings Deployment of Social Media in Corporate Public Relations Each of the study’s participants defined social media from different perspectives but with a similar thrust. “Social media,” according to Interviewee 1, “is the latest kind of networks that engage people who have common interests. It is, therefore, a modern way of communication using the internet.” Other ways in which they conceived of this phenomenon were the following: media which people use to engage with one another for social, free discussions; it is democratic as it allows people to air their opinions freely on matters that concern them; involving a group of people, of like mind and right mind, sharing ideas, sharing pictures on various life moments and sometimes sharing their frustrations; the media that allows people to interact, exchange views and put out demographic data like name, age, sex, gender, marital status, and so on; and social networking. Interviewees also view social media as involving the general public, employees, and individuals interested in particular topics or other matters of public interest. And they see these as being mostly used for sharing personal information etc. The study found that seven companies, out of the fourteen that participated in the study, use social media in their public relations function. Two of these corporate bodies depend almost entirely on social media, that is, they use social media extensively. The practitioners in these two companies justified this by positing that social media has become the primary communication media for a new generation of digitally aware consumers. The interviewees’ rationale for this was based on their geographically dispersed customer and prospects’ base. Interviewee 1 argued that “we use social media very much, maybe I should say a lot because we use it to engage our customers who are scattered.” He added that “we also engage in social media for marketing our products and services.” Interviewee 2 claimed that they use social media to communicate with geographically dispersed employees, suppliers, and partners. And due to the fact that this company operates in two countries, social media is seen as imperative. The study found that these two companies that use social media extensively deploy four social media/digital media platforms—Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and LinkedIn—in their PR activities. The other five companies also use more than one social media platform/digital tools, namely

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Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs, and these are deployed for more or less the same reasons as that of the heavy users. In the specific instance of application to the public relations function, the study participants deployed them to generate buzz about events and for product marketing. Interviewee 1 said: Yes we use social media, especially when we have an event or product that we want our customers to be aware of. We post the information on Facebook, Twitter and Blogs. We also use social media if we are introducing new products or services in the market which targets the youths.

Interviewee 2 noted that “if we want to launch products and plan events, we let people know through social media.” He was of the view that social media have been very helpful because “we publicize our company a lot more easily and people get a chance to comment on what we have done or accomplished particularly in the context of corporate social responsibility as social media allow us to share pictures of such events.” Interviewee 5 explained that since their company has many brands, each brand has its own Facebook page, Twitter account, and also uses Blogs depending on each brand manager’s strategic focus. He added that there is no official Twitter or Facebook page for the company as a whole. Social media is thus deployed to advertise brands and also to share corporate social responsibility events. Even though a number of these companies deploy social media in PR, they also use traditional media because not all of their target markets use social media. So they use billboards, newspapers, television, and radio to cater for those segments of their market that do not have access to social media. Two of the quoted companies prefer to use only blogs as opposed to other social media elements. The two practitioners in these companies said that they prefer the popular blogs—Michuzi Blog, HakiNgowi Blog, and MoBlog—because of their reach, noting that they do not have their own corporate blogs. In terms of how this works, they send their press releases to the blog owners as well as showcase their products and services on these blog sites. When these practitioners were asked why they are not fully engaged in using other social media tools, they argued that there is a need to have the right personnel to manage, respond to comments and queries, and also give feedback. Another argument was that they must understand social

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media before embracing it. In other words, they felt a misstep in social media could result in irreparable damage to company reputation. The other seven quoted companies that do not use social media in the public relations function prefer traditional media which they noted serves them quite well in reaching their stakeholders. Interviewee 8 underlined this by noting that We have almost ten thousands shareholders in our company but almost ninety percent of them are in the village. These people do not have access to even electricity let alone computers and internet, so it is difficult to even think of joining social media, maybe later when technology has moved far into the villages.

Interviewee 9 was still mulling over the advantages and disadvantages: “We are not on social media yet but we are thinking of the possibilities taking into consideration the risk and benefits.” Another interviewee (11) in this category noted that they had to overcome a lot of obstacles before they were given the go-ahead by the regulatory authorities to advertise in traditional media, and so the murky waters of social media presents unique challenges given the nature of their products. Participants from the other four companies which do not use social media cite their current communication strategies that do not include social media. But they understand that social media is helpful in terms of advertising and publicity. Interviewee 14 said, “as a company, we have given it some thought, but we still need to sit down and try to recheck again our strategies and see how to incorporate social media as well.” Another participant noted that “as a company we have a communication policy, we need to revisit it and see what to change and what to add so that we can know how social media will be involved.” Attitudes Towards Social Media There was variability in the opinions of PR practitioners in the quoted companies about their attitude to social media. Interviewee 1, who uses social media in carrying out his duties, believed that everybody should embrace social media. He urged practitioners to get over their technophobia and update themselves with the latest trends, of which social media is a key element. He argued that social media would help educate and engage the public about their activities and products.

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Interviewee 2, who also uses social media extensively, noted that social networking phenomenon reflects shifts in two long-term communication trends. First, there is a shift in communication patterns from point-to-­ point, two-way conversation to many-to-many, collaborative communications. Secondly, control of the communication environment is transitioning to open Internet platform providers, enabled by better, cheaper technology, open standards, greater penetration of broadband services, and wireless communication networks. He posits that the combined effect of these trends is altering the competitive landscape in communications, thus giving rise to emerging business models. On the use of social media in public relations practice, this participant preferred to focus on the models he sees are currently emerging based on the shift in communication trends noting that people have moved away from point-to-point communication to many-to-many communication or rather two-way-communication. And he sees the shift of control in communication environment to open Internet providers as another contributory factor towards these emerging business models. Interviewee 10, however, urged caution: My opinion on the use of social media is that institutions need to be very careful with the use of social media because it is not easy to manage it; you ought to keep your house clean before you invite people.

In spite of this caveat, he counseled companies to look at social media as a tool which saves time and money, especially on research. Once there is a project idea, one can easily get opinions and viewpoints from social media, which is a quick way to obtain people’s views on various issues. Another participant echoed the same positive sentiment about gauging public opinion using social media. Interviewee 1 sees social media as having the capability to help “improve and correct leadership or business practices.” Even though most participants had a positive disposition towards social media they also pointed out that for Tanzania, social media should complement traditional communication processes because of poor Internet access and limited use of social media in the general population.

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Social Media and the Changing Public Relations Landscape Most of the study’s participants believed that social media is changing public relations practice. Areas that they pinpointed are as follows: Reaching many persons at the same time and the instant feedback element; PR is forced to engage in two-way instead of one-way communication, thus keeping practitioners on their toes and making them more engaged; journalists source for and use information from social media sites; the flow of communication has moved from “inward outward” to “outward inward” with the audience in the driver’s seat instead of communication professionals. Interviewee 6 noted that social media is changing the practice because the work of a practitioner in the past was to make people see things the organization’s way and traditional media supported this form of communication, but with social media it is quite different: There is nothing to hide, news spreads fast and the only option is to tell the truth. Interviewee 7 pointed at crisis response and recalled that in the past, during a crisis, the crisis team met and outlined plans to address the crisis. However, with social media, there is no time. Once a crisis happens, it goes viral, and the crisis team meets not to plan how to address it but they plan on how to restore their image and reputation in the publics’ eye. A minority of the study’s participants held that social media is not changing but rather a complementing PR practice. Reasons they advanced included pointing out that social media is simply a tool that makes for easy communication with the public; it aids the communication process and adds value to it and; the lack of Internet access by a vast majority of Tanzanians.

Discussion The study’s participants demonstrated an understanding of what social media is, albeit from differing and interesting perspectives. However, one area of convergence among the participants is the democratization of communication which is in line with Wilcox and Reber’s (2016) postulation to the effect that for the first time in history, social media has brought about the democratization of information around the world. One practitioner noted that with social media, customers are in a position to name and shame officials who do not provide them with good service. She gave an example of tellers in the banks and noted that if a customer is not

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satisfied, then social media gives them the chance to speak up about service quality. Interviewees’ understanding of social media revolved around the idea that social media is an interactive, engaging, Internet-based technology that allows for free expression. These are the same elements that surface in the literature. For instance, Obar and Wildman (2015) outline the following characteristics of social media: premised on web 2.0 applications, user-­ generated content, creation of user-specific profiles by users, and facilitation of the development of social networks. And participation can cut across national boundaries, as reported by one of the study’s participants. Interviewees’ use of popular blogs for flagging news and events is a “fantastic” step in the right direction (Flannery & Karr, 2010, p. 142). But the aversion to corporate blogs and non-involvement in social media is not. Smith (2009) sees this posture as motivated by fear that once involved with social media there will be no privacy. But scholars do not equate involvement with social media with loss of privacy; rather, they counsel corporates to only give out information that they need to (Ruff, 2010; Smith, 2009). But it is also important to develop proper strategies to guide social media use (Argenti, 2009; Jacka & Scott, 2011). The study found that these quoted companies deploy social media for advertising, publicity, new products/services launch, and showcasing their corporate social responsibility activities. This assists in gaining traction, mileage, as well as positively impacting the bottom line (Meyerson, 2010). It also provides much-needed feedback which can lead to product and service improvements and assists in plans for containing crisis situations (Wigley & Zang, 2011). Even participants who do not presently use social media wish to get on the train, the only exception, and understandably so, being the one company with more than ten thousand shareholders in the rural area and the other whose products are age-specific. The latter’s use of traditional media is also justifiable as the “media are always singled out as one of the major factors influencing people’s attitudes, and values with respect to products, consumption and lifestyles” (Henley & Donovan, 2010, p. 222). The close embrace between PR and social media provides a litmus test of practitioners’ level of creativity (Freitag, 2009). More so as the communication landscape has been altered with power now residing in the hands of audience members and the expansion in communication channels—one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many (Solis & Breakenridge, 2009). The two-way communication fostered by social media use helps to

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create mutual understanding between the company and the public (Grunig & Hunt, 1984), which is at the heart of excellent PR practice.

Conclusion Public relations practitioners demonstrated an understanding of the social media phenomenon. Each and every one of the fourteen practitioners, who participated in the study, mentioned a number of aspects while defining social media. Their definitions have the following elements in common: interactive, engaging, Internet-based technology, and freedom in airing opinions. Social media is deployed in seven companies out of fourteen which participated in the study. Popular local blogs are used mostly by all these seven companies. The study also found out that Twitter and Facebook are also quite popular as well as LinkedIn. Traditional media is still a key element of the function based on its ability to reach publics who do not have access to the Internet. Practitioners have positive attitudes towards the use of social media and social media is changing PR practice by empowering audience members thus placing more demands on PR practitioners to be more creative and innovative in their communication efforts.

Recommendations The seven companies that deploy social media in their PR function cite advantages it confers such as feedback, engagement, interactivity, effective management of crisis and mileage for products/services, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Given all these benefits, all local companies should urgently consider deploying social media in their PR practice. Social media is changing public relations practice and placing greater responsibilities on practitioners. Training institutions and continuing professional education programs should factor this into training future practitioners as well as empowering those already in practice so that they can stay on top of the situation. There is clearly room for students with social media skills given that a number of firms have not deployed social media because they are unclear on how to proceed. These can bring the needed clarity to bear during industrial attachments as well as impress potential employers during interviews by demonstrating how social media can assist in the achievement of corporate objectives.

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This study has some limitations. It obtained qualitative data on the use of social media in public relations practice. Other researchers should consider a quantitative approach focusing on other players in the organized private sector as well as the public sector so that findings can be generalized to all PR practitioners in Tanzania. Other studies may also wish to measure the impact of deployment of social media in these quoted companies as well as determine if there are dedicated personnel exclusively carrying out social media duties in organizations.

References Archer, C., & Harrigan, P. (2016). Show me the money: How bloggers as stakeholders are challenging theories of relationship building in public relations. Media International Australia, 160(1), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.117 7/1329878X16651139 Argenti, P.  A. (2009). Corporate communication (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Becket, M. (2009). How stock markets work: A beginner’s guide to investment (3rd ed.). Breakenridge, D. (2008). PR 2.0: New media, new tools, new technologies. FT Press. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2020). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Sage. Cutlip, S., Center, A., & Broom, G. (2005). Effective public relations. Prentice Hall. Falconi, T.  M. (2007). The government of Tanzania at the forefront of public relations management…an in-depth interview with Mindi Kasiga and Gerhard Butschi. http://www.prconversations.com/2007/06/read-­this-­the-­ government-­of-­tanzania-­at-­the-­forefront-­of-­public-­relations-­managementa-­in-­ depth-­interview-­with-­mindi-­kasiga-­and-­gerhard-­butschi/. Flannery, C., & Karr, D. (2010). Corporate blogging for dummies. Wiley Publishing. Folkens, D. (2016). 3 ways social media is changing public relations. http://www. toprankblog.com/2011/01/5-­reports-­social-­media-­public-­relations/. Freitag, A. (2009). The social media handbook: Global public relations. Taylor & Francis. Gordon, J. (2010). Use, Value and Impact of Social Media on Public Relations Practitioners in the Fox Cities (Master’s thesis),  University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. https://prsanewis.org/downloads/social_media_thesis.pdf. Grunig, J. E. (2009). Paradigms of global public relations in an age of digitalisation. PRism, 6(2), 1–19.

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Grunig, J. E., & Grunig, L. A. (2011). Characteristics of excellent communication. In T. L. Gillis (Ed.), The IABC handbook of organizational communication (2nd ed., pp. 3–14). Jossey-Bass. Grunig, J.  E., & Hunt, T. (1984). Managing public relations. Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Henley, N., & Donovan, R. (2010). Principles and practices of social marketing: An international perspective. Cambridge University Press. Ihlen, Ø., & Levenshus, A. (2017). Panacea, placebo or prudence: Perspectives and constraints for corporate dialogue. Public Relations Inquiry, 6(3), 219–232. Jacka, J. M., & Scott, P. R. (2011). Auditing social media: A governance and risk guide. John Wiley & Sons. Meyerson, M. (2010). Success secrets of social media marketing superstars. Entrepreneur Media. Obar, J. A., & Wildman, S. S. (2015). Social media definition and the governance challenge: An introduction to the special issue. Telecommunications Policy, 39(9), 745–750. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2637879 Paine, K. D. (n.d.). How to set benchmarks in social media: Exploratory research for social media, lessons learned. https://www.instituteforpr.org/wp-­content/ uploads/SetBenchmarks_SocialMedia.pdf Pieczka, M., & L’Étang, J. (2006). Public relation and the question of professionalism. In J. L’Étang & M. Pieczka (Eds.), Public relations: Critical debates and contemporary problems (pp. 265–278). Routledge. Ragan, M. (2014). News and ideas for communicators. https://store.ragan.com/ ProductDetails.asp?catid=652C00F2324445739342D4B96E80F042&grfr=Y es&listshow=Workshops&product=YZCM. Ruff, L. (2010). # Privacy tweet book01: Addressing privacy concerns in the day of social media, book 1. Thinkaha. Safko, L. (2010). The social media bible: Tactics, tools and strategies for business success (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Shin, W., Pang, A., & Kim, H. J. (2015). Building relationships through integrated online media: Global organizations’ use of brand websites, Facebook, and twitter. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 29(2), 184–220. Smith, R. D. (2009). Strategic planning for public relations (3rd ed.). Routledge. Solis, B., & Breakenridge, D. (2009). Putting the public back in public relations: How social media isreinventing the aging business of PR.Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press/Pearson Education. Treadwell, D. M., & Davis, A. M. (2019). Introducing communication research: Paths of inquiry. Sage Publications. Tsai, W.  S., & Men, L.  R. (2017). Social CEOs: The effects of CEOs’ communication styles and parasocial interaction on social networking sites. New Media & Society, 17(1), 1848–1867.

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Wigley, S., & Zang, W. (2011). A study of PR practitioners’ use of social media in crisis planning. Journal of Public Relations Research, 5(3), 1–16. Wilcox, D.  L., & Reber, B.  H. (2016). Public relations writing and media techniques (8th ed.). Pearson Education. Wright, D. K., & Hinson, M. D. (2017). Tracking how social media and other digital media are being used in public relations practice: A twelve year study. Public Relations Journal, 11(1) https://prjournal.instituteforpr.org/wp-­ content/uploads/PRJ-­2017-­Wright-­Hinson-­2-­1.pdf

CHAPTER 7

A Framework for Excellent Public Relations Practice in Higher Education Institutions in Africa: A Study of Selected African Countries Albert A. Anani-Bossman

and Takalani E. Mudzanani

The higher education landscape has undergone a major paradigm shift since the turn of the century. In particular, the relaxation of government influence, coupled with a move toward marketization because of

We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

A. A. Anani-Bossman (*) Department of Public Relations, University of Media, Arts and Communication, UniMAC-GIJ, Accra, Ghana e-mail: [email protected] T. E. Mudzanani Department of Communication Science, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3_7

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globalization, has opened up educational markets worldwide (HemsleyBrown & Oplatka, 2016). Consequently, higher education institutions (HEIs) face challenges, such as local, regional, and global competition; increased faculty and dwindling resources; changes in stakeholder expectations; increasing skepticism regarding the value of education; and a greater focus on graduate employability, which necessitates a better understanding of why prospective students make a particular choice when applying to a university (Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka, 2016). HEIs thus operate in a competitive market, a stark contrast to the past when HEIs did not have to worry about student enrolment. The recent COVID-19 pandemic crisis has further heightened the need to be innovative and sustainable. As Wolff notes, “Sustainability elements become more obvious when the business did not go on as usual, but an unexpected break occurred” (2020, para 1). COVID-19 is reported to have created the biggest disruption in the history of education, with nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries across all continents being affected (Ayman et  al., 2020). Higgins (2017, p. 1) avers that “colleges and universities are now looking for ways to publicize their institutional distinctions and remain competitive in the marketplace.” In other words, HEIs are under pressure to find innovative ways to maintain their sustainability while keeping their competitive edge. The current study investigates the nature of public relations in HEIs in nine African countries in Western, Eastern, and Southern regions of Africa in relation to their contributions to the mission of their institutions.

Problem Statement Given the competitive nature of the higher education (HE) environment, as well as the need to be sustainable, HEIs have, over the years, set up public relations units/directorates to facilitate communication activities among its key stakeholders, including students, regulators, alumni, neighboring communities, and other key publics (Luo, 2005). Public relations practitioners have been appointed to develop effective communication strategies that will promote their institutions’ mission and vision, thus enabling them to be competitive at all levels (Higgins, 2017). They are also required to engage in direct communication with students, donors, and alumni, maintain relations with neighboring communities, develop and maintain a positive institutional reputation on an increasingly global scale (Lee et al., 2015), communicate with diverse strategic stakeholders, operate proactively, and have a measurable effect on institutional goals,

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and generally assist HEIs to achieve their goals effectively and efficiently (Harder, 2019). While this is the ideal situation, there is very little evidence that this is the reality in HEIs in Africa. Despite the increasing body of knowledge on public relations practice in Africa, very little is focused on the higher education sector. Scholarship on how well public relations is managed in HEIs in Africa is largely underexplored. The current study, therefore, aims to explore the nature of public relations practice in selected HEIs in Africa. The study benchmarks the practice against the principles of the excellence theory (Grunig  et  al., 2002). The overarching goal is to develop a framework that will lead to effective public relations practice in HEIs in Africa.

Literature Review Public Relations in Higher Education The higher educational setting has seen a continuous transformation over the years, occupying an important place in the social, cultural, and political spectrums of every country. Previously, HE was insulated from any form of competitive disruption and rivalry because of the prestige and hegemony of the education marketplace. It thus enjoyed revered, unquestioned status (Campbell, 2018). However, due to globalization, the number of students who seek to study in other countries has increased exponentially in the last half-century (Wilkins & Huisman, 2011). Several HEIs in countries, such as the USA, Canada, and the UK, as well as other Eastern European countries, are projecting themselves as attractive destinations for international students as well as expanding their global reach through the establishment of partnerships or satellite campuses (Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka, 2016, p.  16). According to Christensen and Eyring (2011, p. 1), the risk of competitive disruption is now genuine due to a greater focus on outcomes and the continual advancement of low-cost online learning technologies. Students no longer have to travel to other countries to have their HE, which further increases competition. This points to the need for HEIs not only to revise their operations but also better communicate their successes, innovations, and advantages to the public while simultaneously improving stakeholder perception. Higher education is viewed as a business with many customers, and the ability to attract more students will be based on the reputation that

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universities craft for themselves, given the challenges they face. Subsequently, managing the reputation of an institution in order to attract quality students and faculty, as well as donors and grants, has become an increasingly pressing issue (Lee et  al., 2015). Given these complexities, HEIs are now relying on public relations practitioners to project their institutions as the institution of choice. Campbell (2018) states that HEIs can use public relations to show transparency and accountability, as well as communicate effectively with stakeholders. In several HEIs, practitioners are charged with many responsibilities including telling the story of their institutions using multimedia communication to diverse stakeholders; counseling administration and departments; being involved in media relations; responding to crisis; engaging in community relations; persuading regulators, analyzing issues, and persuading donors in a communication environment that is overly saturated (Harder, 2019). Strategic community relations, strategic communication, and a good reputation not only attract but also retain the best students as well as garner the support of donors and alumni (Frasquet et al., 2012). Within this context, the role that public relations practitioners play directly influences their ability to perform their functions effectively.

The Strategic Management Role of Public Relations and the Excellence Study For more than 30  years, public relations scholars have argued for the involvement of senior public relations managers in the strategic management process because of their requisite expertise in providing publics affected by organizational decisions a voice in the strategic process (Grunig & Kim, 2011). The idea of public relations practitioners playing a strategic management role was first advanced by James Grunig and his team of scholars during the “Excellence study.” The study, which was sponsored by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) in the 1980s, sought to determine how public relations contributes to organizational effectiveness. According to the Excellence Theory, public relations is a distinctive management role that assists a company in interacting with its environment’s social and political elements (Grunig et al., 2002). The excellence theory is premised on the value of communication to an organization, especially as it helps develop long-term relationships with strategic publics (Grunig et al., 2002). The study identified empowerment

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and participation in strategic management as the fundamental characteristics of excellent public relations. In other words, when empowered, public relations shows the greatest value to businesses, society, and the public. The strategic management role of public relations empowers and gives voice to the publics in the decision-making process. Practitioners interact with key publics to identify potential issues and opportunities and take appropriate proactive measures to resolve them. This is done through the environmental scanning function of the practitioner. Practitioners perform scanning and diagnostic activities in the form of formative research to detect issues and opportunities and inform the executives who formulate the organizational strategy. Grunig (2009) argued for the reinstitutionalization of public relations as a behavioral, strategic management paradigm rather than an interpretive perspective. The strategic management paradigm emphasizes the practitioner’s participation in the decision-making process, which enables the practitioner to help manage the organization’s behavior rather than just interpreting the organization to the public. Van den Bosch and Van Riel (1998) described this as bridging. As a bridging role, public relations is premised on continuous environmental scanning and research, emphasizes two-way communication, builds relationships with publics, and acts as a means for organizational listening and learning (Grunig, 2009). The strategic paradigm does not exclude public relations activities usually associated with one-way communication (including media relations and information dissemination). Instead, it expands on the number and types of communication activities and connects them into a framework of environmental scanning, research, and listening (Tam et al., 2022). The practitioner thus serves the boundary-spanning role by interpreting management decisions to publics, gathering feedback and concerns, and relaying them to management. The strategic management approach is, therefore, different from the interpretive perspective, which assumes that the purpose of public relations is to influence how the publics interpret organizational behaviors after they happen, as well as secure the power of the decision-makers who chose those behaviors (Grunig, 2011 p. 13). The focus of public relations is on message dissemination, media relations, publicity, and media effects, which Van den Bosch and Van Riel (1998) defined as buffering. Buffering allows the organization to behave in the way they desire without interference from the external environment. For this reason, public relations practitioners must be part of the organizational management and participate in the strategic decision-­ making process to assist the organization in managing its behavior rather

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than just interpreting the organization to the publics. According to White and Dozier (1992, p.  91), communication departments cannot make a company productive unless public relations is a part of management.

Public Relations Practice and HEIs in Africa The higher education environment in Africa has become very competitive in recent years. Local HEIs no longer populate Africa. Several foreign HEIs have taken advantage of the relative peace and stability on the continent to expand their frontiers. The American University in Washington, DC, for instance, has branches in Nigeria, Egypt, and Libya (Hinson, 2020). Other universities with a presence in Africa include Lancaster, UK; Webster & Winsconsin, USA (in Ghana); Carnegie Mellon University, USA (in Rwanda); and China Europe International Business, China (in Ghana). Aside from this, African HEIs are also competing among themselves for students on the continent. Thanks to the Internet and social media, African HEIs can advertise their products easily to potential African students. An increasing number of African students are either enrolling in online degree programs run by Western universities or moving to neighboring African countries, especially South Africa, for their university education (Dennis, 2020). The competition for African students increases yearly as foreign HIEs continue to send representatives to recruit students, as well as establish satellite campuses on the continent. African HEIs, like HEIs in other jurisdictions, are struggling to sustain themselves amid the challenges they face. Many African HEIs have public relations units to assist in managing their reputation, increase student intake, garner donor support, and generally contribute to achieving institutional goals. Despite the growing scholarship in public relations practice in Africa, there is very little information on public relations practice in African HEIs. The few publications have demonstrated that public relations in HEIs in Africa can hardly be described as strategic. Moreover, these are based on individual countries and include Aikins & Adu-Oppong (2015) and Anani-Bossman (2022) (both in Ghana); Gezihagne (2018) (Ethiopia); Hadji (2022, South Africa); Onsongo et al. (2017, Rwanda). The paucity of literature on the subject has created a gap that needs to be filled. Scholarship on public relations practice in Africa has evolved in the last few years and continues to metamorphose primarily due to technological

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changes, increased foreign direct investment, and consumer adaptation. Moreover, HEIs are increasingly realizing the need to be more business-­ minded to remain relevant, competitive, and unique in an ever-expanding marketplace where students have several options (Higgins, 2017). The current study examines how public relations is practiced in HEIs in selected African countries. The study will be based on the following research questions: RQ1:  How are public relations practitioners in the selected HEIs involved in the strategic management process of their institutions, and how are they managing public relations strategically? RQ2: What is the communication role of public relations practitioners in the HEIs in Africa? RQ3: To what extent is public relations practice in the selected HEIs premised on two-way symmetrical communication? Based on the findings, the paper will propose an appropriate framework to enhance public relations practice in African HEIs.

Method In any research, the approach selected by the researcher is premised on the study’s overall goal and the specific questions it seeks to answer. Since the study sought to explore the practice of public relations in HEIs, the qualitative technique was deemed appropriate. Exploratory research enables a researcher to investigate a phenomenon in detail by engaging participants with deep knowledge about the issue (Sue & Ritter, 2012). The qualitative approach was, therefore, appropriate for exploring and understanding meanings ascribed to social issues (Rossman & Rallis, 2017). The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Participants and Sampling The participants comprised twenty public relations/communication practitioners from HEIs in three regions: (a) West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria); (b) East Africa (Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda); and (c) Southern Africa (Botswana, South Africa, Namibia). The researchers were unable to recruit any participants from North and Central Africa despite several efforts. Below is a breakdown of the countries and the number of participants (Table 7.1):

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Table 7.1  Location of participants Region

Country

West Africa

Ghana Nigeria Kenya Rwanda Tanzania Uganda Botswana South Africa Namibia Total

East Africa

Southern Africa

Number

Description of participants

3 2 3 1 2 2 3 1 3 20

P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9

The purposive sampling technique was used in the selection of participants. Purposive is premised on the judgment of the researcher and involves information-rich cases (Bryman & Bell, 2019). It allows the researcher to gain insight and a deep understanding of the phenomenon being studied (Patton, 2015). Participants were selected from both public and private HEIs. Procedure Emails of public relations practitioners were retrieved from the website of 15 of the top HEIs in the five subregions. Where the researchers were unable to get practitioners’ emails, emails of registrars of the institutions were retrieved, and contact was made with them to link the researchers with the public relations practitioners. Formal letters were then sent to the practitioners via email with a brief of the study. Twenty HEIs from nine countries in the three subregions responded favorably to the request. Except for South Africa and Rwanda, which had one participant each, the other countries had between two and three participants. All the interviews were done via zoom or Microsoft teams. Permission was sought from participants before the interviews were recorded. The interviews lasted between 30 and 50  minutes, depending on responses to the questions. Informed consent was obtained from all participants before the research started. All information that will identify the participants or their institutions was not included to ensure anonymity and confidentiality.

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Analysis The data were transcribed and managed via a computer-assisted qualitative software program (Atlas.ti). The software was used in the transcription, editing, coding, and storage process (Miles et al., 2014). The analysis and interpretation were, nevertheless, the responsibility of the researchers. Analyzing qualitative data requires making meaning out of large amounts of data. It consists of reducing massive amounts of raw data, sifting the trivial from the significant, identifying significant patterns, and constructing a framework for communicating the essence of what the data show (Patton, 2015, p. 762). This process is both iterative and sequential and requires a three-step process: (i) immersion (knowing the data in detail); (ii) analysis (organizing the data into several pieces); (iii) and interpretation (developing meaning or themes from those pieces) (Rossman & Rallis, 2017, p. 434). These steps ensured that the materials were systematically organized into salient patterns and themes, generating relevant meanings that tell a logical story.

Findings and Discussion Demographics The participants consisted of public relations/communication managers of the selected institutions. There were variations in their official job titles. From the director of (corporate) communication/marketing and communication to public relations officer. Participants experience levels also varied, from 2 to 14  years. Regardless, all the participants, except one, were heads of their departments. The one exception worked in the marketing department. Seventeen of the participants had at least one form of certificate (diploma, degree, and master’s) in communication. Three others had qualifications in business administration, public communication, and international labor relations. Participants were categorized based on the subregions, West Africa (WA), Southern Africa (SA), and East Africa (EA).

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Involvement in Strategic Management Process  articipation in Strategic Planning/Decision Making P Participants generally expressed a moderate level of participation in the strategic planning process of their institutions. Even though they are not part of the university council, which is the highest decision-making body, and are thus not included in high-level strategic discussions, they are, nevertheless, required to contribute to the strategic planning process from a communication perspective. As a Southern African participant (P8) explained: I form part of the bigger corporate relations and marketing directorate. So on an annual basis, when the annual plan of the university is being compiled, we are allowed to provide input to make sure that it addresses the issues at hand. So, we do form an integral part in taking the annual performance plan of the university forward.

Statements from participants in the other regions (West and East Africa) corroborated this: “the strategic planning process mostly consists of members of the executive management. However, we are part of the senate/ academic board; hence we are able to impact the strategic planning process through our contributions and suggestions” (P2-WA), and we are normally involved in the strategic planning process because at the end of the day you cannot really run an institution effectively without a marketing and communication element. The question, though is by what degree or percentage are we involved? In the university setting, the university council mostly determines the strategic direction. Our level of involvement comes when working with other departments to make inputs from various perspectives. (P5-EA)

Within HEIs, key decisions are made by the council, which is made up of the vice-chancellor, the registrar, the finance manager, the dean of students, and a few others. The senate or academic board is the highest body of institutions after the university council. It is made up of both administrators and academics and is chaired by the vice-chancellor or the deputy. It is in this group that public relations belong to. Although practitioners are not part of high-level strategic deliberations, they do participate in reviewing strategic documents before finalization. The result shows a

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gradual progression toward full strategic management, albeit slowly. Although Grunig et al. (2002) argue for full participation in the decision-­ making process, the result shows an improvement in this area. The result aligns with the findings of Harder (2019) regarding the progression toward strategic management. Reporting Lines Participants (except one) reported a direct reporting line to the vice-­ chancellor. Having a direct reporting line to the vice-chancellor enables them to gain some form of influence on university policies because the vice-chancellor serves as a representative of the department at the executive level. A participant from SA (P9) explained: I have an open line to the whole of the executive management, including the Vice-Chancellor, to talk to them and say, well, we have identified this, how are we going to address it or this is the problem we have identified, this is what we suggest, in taking it forward.

Participants asserted that they had a high level of influence, especially with the vice-chancellors, due to their expertise and the impact they had made, as posited by participant (P1) from WA: Because of my experience and expertise, management has come to value my work. They have been following my work and have seen the impact. Therefore when I prescribe a form of advice on an issue, it is taken seriously. For example, before any major decision is taken, I am consulted.

Another participant (P3-EA) was of the view that “being with the senate allows me to explain to management the implications of some of the policies and initiatives they are taking. Of course, since most of them are academics and do not understand my work, some try to push such decisions through. But over the years, many of the things I indicated came to pass, and now my counsel is highly valued.” Participants felt they could be more influential if they were part of the executive management. According to this participant (P6-EA), who said he was part of the executive management: I have a lot of power to influence management decisions. Because they are administrators and technocrats, they usually favor organizational processes over people. In such situations, I simply pull a report of what our stakeholders are saying, present it to management and say this is what people are say-

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ing. Whether it is the truth or not, that is their reality. So how we deal with this issue shouldn’t only be correct, but it should also be perceived to be correct. And we should be able to make a decision or take a position that is informed by what our stakeholders think

Regardless of the level of influence, all the participants were emphatic that they received massive support from the executive management. The excellence theory demonstrates that public relations can only be effective if it has significant influence. Vercic (2008) calls this soft power, that is, having the ability to influence others to do what you want. Berger (2013) suggests that practitioners need the power to help their organizations make accurate decisions and communicate effectively with key publics. Public relations practitioners have the expertise and skills to assist their organizations in developing positive relationships with their publics, solving problems, and establishing and sustaining social legitimacy. Nonetheless, the ability to influence is dependent on the practitioner’s level of participation in strategic decision-making, the value management places on public relations, and the skills and level of expertise of the practitioner (Edwards, 2009). The result shows a moderate ability to influence decisions and aligns with findings by others (see Luo, 2005; Harder, 2019).  ominance of Informal Research D The excellence theory posits that for public relations to be performed strategically, it must be based on sound research. Practitioners are required to scan the environment to identify issues that may pose a threat or serve as an opportunity. The result is used to develop and implement communication strategies that enhance organizational reputation. The result shows a dominance of informal research in the public relations process. Despite the acknowledgment of the importance of research, the reality is, nevertheless, different. As P9 (SA) postulated, “as a communication specialist, I understand the value of research. But to be honest, in the ten years that I’ve been in this department, I can tell you that I’ve only conducted extensive research twice.” Like this participant, most participants acknowledged that once in a while, they engage in a survey or interview and rarely use focus group discussion, but most of their research is informal. Lack of personnel, logistical constraints, and time were some of the reasons given for the preference for informal research. Grunig et al. (2002) argue that public relations cannot be described as excellent if it is not based on sound research (both formal and informal). Two

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participants, from WA (P1) and SA (P7), respectively, were of the view that public relations, especially at the higher education level, did not require extensive research. About six of the participants indicated that most of the research was done by another department called institutional planning and that they sometimes collaborate with the said department by including a few items of their own. However, one participant from SA (P8) did posit that his department conducted extensive internal and external research every 3 years to gauge stakeholder sentiments using more robust methods such as surveys and focus groups. The preference for informal research is not surprising as it has been highlighted over the years in literature (Macnamara, 2021). Participants use several methods to gather information for decision-making, including news media clippings, interpersonal communication, and social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. Rarely do participants use more complex techniques such as surveys, focus groups, or in-depth interviews.  nvironmental Scanning (Informal Based) E The excellence theory advocates that public relations contributes to strategic management by monitoring and scanning the environment to identify issues that might impact the organization (Bowen et  al., 2019). Environmental scanning includes asking questions through informal interviews with both internal and external publics, monitoring social media, and scanning through the traditional media. The excellence theory researchers believe that fulfilling the strategic management role requires practitioners to have key strategic management skills: “evaluation research, environmental scanning, and research to segment publics” (Broom & Sha, 2013, p. 74). Consistent research must be premised on formal and informal methods. The findings show that environmental scanning is mainly restricted to informal research. (Social) media monitoring, in particular, is very popular among practitioners. This is reflected in the following statements by some of the participants: With the advent of social media, people tend to post and say everything online. So I have a team that monitors our social media platforms to find out what people are saying regarding our institution and use this to develop strategies to deal with any issues that may arise. (P4 -EA).

“We use social media a lot to monitor issues and know what people are saying. We then do trend analysis to identify common themes within a

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certain period and advise management based on our findings” (P7-SA). “I am on more than 10 WhatsApp groups so I can monitor the issues coming up from both students and administrators. I then bring it to the attention of management for action to be taken” (P9-SA) and, When you use a survey, people don’t usually respond. But we realized that doing it informally is more effective. For instance, when we are having conversations with people, then we chip in; by the way, what do you think about this or that? We are able to get more honest responses. (P2-WA)

Participants also monitor the traditional media to find out general news about their institution, competitors, and the HE sector in general, as P5(EA.)stated: We engage in daily monitoring to understand threats that may come our way. Sometimes if you notice your neighbor’s house is burning, it is only a matter of time before the fire stretches to yours. So we try to be proactive through these insights to prevent similar problems our competitors may face.

Some of the participants use outside agencies such as meltwater to monitor the media landscape at the local and international levels and use the result to develop strategies.  ocus on Output Evaluation F The study further shows evaluation and measurement are primarily conducted in the form of social media impressions (likes, clicks, comments, retweets, etc.), news clippings, debriefing, the projected number of attendees for an event, and interpersonal communication (solicited and unsolicited). These forms of evaluation are generally described as output evaluation. Rarely do practitioners engage in behavioral and attitudinal research to gain insight into their activities and use such insights for future activities. P6 (EA) said, “I have a media file full of press cuttings. We use this during our annual appraisal where I show what the media have been saying and how the institution has benefited from it.” The situation is no different with P1(WA): We sample the opinions of people after events to find out what we did well or wrong and how we can improve. Sometimes we also get the media calling to congratulate us on a good job done. We also have situations where senior management members call to give us feedback. We rely on various methods to gauge impact.

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A participant from East Africa (P3) summed it up with the following comment: For example, when we go on a recruitment drive, we measure by seeing the responses that we are getting from students. What is also nice now is a lot of things are moving online. So there is also a lot of social media. There is a lot of traffic on our website, where we can almost always get feedback from people. So just by hearing the questions they are asking us on social media, we can gauge how well we communicate the institution’s activities. Also, when we have a campaign, we do a post-mortem afterward to determine how well we performed, where we could have done better, public sentiments, and so on.

Results demonstrate a lack of attention to formal methods of research and evaluation. Wilcox et al. (2015) refer to these methods as a basic level of measurement which does not require sophisticated techniques. The Communication Role of Public Relations Practitioners in HEIs in Africa  igh Emphasis on the Technician Role and Moderate Managerial Role H Regarding the communication role, the result shows a greater emphasis on the technician role than the managerial. Practitioners spend more time engaging in writing and producing communication materials such as newsletters, brochures, marketing materials, and annual reports. Participants are also responsible for managing all the content their institutions send out, including the website, social media, newsletters, press releases, etc. The emphasis on the technician role is reflected in how participants project their institutions. Projection of the university is mainly through media-related activities such as press conferences, publicity activities, advertising, events management, and community engagement. Some participants commented: “what I have been doing in the last three years is to hold frequent press conferences where I invite at least ten media outlets to come and cover. At the press conference, we update the public on all that we are doing” (P4-EA), “we mostly engage with the media to ensure they become our influencers and share positive information about the institution. This way, we have been able to manage crisis effectively” (P7-­SA), and “

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We try to project the institution through our websites and other social media platforms. We also have what we call ‘tech brief,’ which is like a newsletter that we use to draw a lot of traffic to the website by sharing them on almost all the social media platforms (P1-WA).

Participants engage the media on several issues to project their institutions. Grunig et al. (2002) assert that the practitioner cannot operate strategically when performing the technician role. Although the work of the technician is an essential component of day-to-day public relations, without a clear and well-defined plan, it can be unfocused and ineffectual. Despite the focus on the technician role, public relations practitioners in HEIs in Africa also perform moderate managerial roles. The development and implementation of communication strategies is the sole responsibility of participants. The strategies are reviewed every 3 to 5 years, depending on the institution. However, the strategies are not based on sound formal research but on informal means of gathering information. Sometimes the strategies are shared with other committees for their input. In addition, evaluation is primarily output-oriented. Literature shows that practitioners tend to practice both the technician and manager roles with one dominating. However, where the technician level dominates, it would not be possible for the practitioner to be empowered and influential. Therefore, Grunig et  al. (2002) argued that for public relations to be effective, the unit must have at least one senior manager who directs public relations programs. Without this, executive managers with little to no communication management knowledge will provide directions for the unit. The result corroborates the findings of other researchers (Whitaker-­ Heck, 2014; Onsongo et  al., 2017) that practitioners in HEIs mostly assume the role of technician with minimal managerial role enactment despite holding senior-level titles. The Extent to Which Public Relations Is Premised on Two-Way Symmetrical Communication  ominance of One-Way and Moderate Use of Two-Way Communication D The excellence theory posits that for public relations to be excellent, it must be premised on two-way symmetrical communication. In other words, emphasis must be placed on dialogue, collaboration, and public participation. This is necessary to develop and maintain long-term relationships with the publics. It is also regarded as ethical and the ideal form

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of communication because it is premised on common interest and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics (Grunig et  al., 2002). The result shows that communication at HEIs in Africa is dominated by one-way communication. The use of one-way communication is reflected in the emphasis on media relations, publicity, and the reliance on media clippings and other methods as a means of measurement. Some of the definitions given as the purpose of public relations also reflect one-way communication. Examples include, “I believe public relations deal with how communication is transferred from the institution to the public. It is about controlling the narrative,” (P7-SA), “for me it is about portraying the university in a positive light through reputation building and positive publicity and effective dissemination of information,” (P4-­EA), and “at this university, it is more about publicity, public information, crisis management.” (P2-WA). Admittedly, research, albeit informal, is conducted to determine the general perception of the publics regarding policies and initiatives of management. The result further shows a moderate use of two-way symmetrical communication. Insight gathered from research is used to develop strategies that will enhance the relationship between the institution and its stakeholders, as explained by these participants: We conducted a survey some time ago concerning internal communication. One of the issues that came out was the lack of communication between managers and their subordinates. Based on the result, we took the steps to provide training for all managers to empower them to be in a better position to communicate effectively with their subordinates. (P8-SA) and We sometimes organize customer care training where we invite the human resource office, legal, and academic registry, depending on what we want to address. We usually let them know what people are saying and how to deal with it to enhance the university's image. (P4-EA)

Another participant described what he normally does this way, So every semester, we organize a meeting where we meet the administrative staff and academics on the one hand and then the students on the other. We then listen to them, their issues, and their general attitude. We then put this together in a report and present it to management together with suggestions. (P9-SA)

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Despite their high concentration at the asymmetrical level, it is evident that public relations in HEIs in Africa is gradually inching toward the symmetrical level. The fact that practitioners engage with key publics through various means to create a mutual understanding between them and management indicates this. However, there is still a long way to go before it can be fully described as symmetrical. The findings agree with other studies (Aikins & Adu-Oppong; Anani-Bossman, 2022; Luo, 2005; Onsongo et al., 2017).  hallenges of Public Relations Practice in HEIs C Participants mentioned several challenges they faced regarding the practice; chief among them was the lack of understanding of their roles by the university community. According to P9 from Southern Africa, “in the academic environment, practicing public relations is difficult. Sometimes when you want to launch an initiative or advise management on an issue, people find it problematic because they do not understand you.” P6 from East Africa added that, “here everyone thinks they are their own masters and so can speak on any issue in public without a problem and that public relations is not necessary.” There were similar sentiments from the participants from West Africa. Other challenges mentioned included logistics and budgets. Based on the findings from the literature and the interviews, the study proposes a framework to guide the effective practice of public relations in HEIs in Africa.

The Proposed Framework The findings show that public relations practice in HEIs in Africa is not fully strategic. This framework recognizes that public relations can be practiced strategically regardless of whether it is part of the university council or not. The framework (as seen in Fig.  7.1) synergizes insights gained from literature and findings from the interviews with public relations practitioners of HEIs in the selected African countries. The framework posits that for the public relations department in HEIs in Africa to fully perform the strategic management role, it must be empowered to play its functions effectively. Empowerment means having access to top management and a direct reporting line to the vice-chancellor. This means practitioners can still be influential even if they are not part of the executive council of the universities. The result shows that practitioners

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Fig. 7.1  An integrated framework for public relations practice at HEIs in Africa

have a direct reporting line to the vice-chancellor and also are part of other senior management meetings. Practitioners can leverage this to demonstrate their value and influence, as most of them noted. But for that to occur, practitioners should engage in constant environmental scanning using both formal and informal methods. In this regard, formative research to determine stakeholder perception and attitude is very critical and must be organized at least once a year. Through sound research, practitioners can develop programs that create trust, commitment, and mutual satisfaction between the institution and the publics. This then ensures the institutions are given the social legitimacy to operate in the form of recommendations and public goodwill. Tied to formative research is formal Evaluative research. The focus on output metrics is hardly surprising as public relations scholars worldwide continue to bemoan the focus on output evaluation more than outtakes and outcomes (Macnamara, 2021). The framework recommends that evaluation must not only be at the end of campaigns but throughout the public relations process. Scholars describe three levels of evaluation: formative (undertaken before any campaign), process (tracking of communication activities being implemented mostly by media content analysis), and summative (undertaken to determine whether the program achieved its objective) (Macnamara, 2021, p. 216). Following this process allows practitioners to effectively engage in evaluation that shows outcome/ impact instead of just output. Again, evaluation should be both formal

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and informal and not just informal. The framework also demonstrates that effective public relations practice must be based on sound knowledge of the practice. Practitioners can only show true value when they have the theoretical knowledge as well as some level of experience to practice at the managerial level. The study revealed that one of the key challenges of effective public relations practice is the lack of understanding by those in academia about the relevance of public relations. Constant training of not just management but key members of the senate/academic board regarding how public relations brings value to an organization will be crucial in gaining support for the department’s programs. Literature tends to focus on the training of those in the profession. However, a lack of understanding of public relations by the decision-makers can affect the strategic practice of public relations. The framework further proposes that the public relations practice in HEIs should be premised on two-way communication with a greater focus on symmetrical and a lesser focus on asymmetrical. This does not mean asymmetrical communication should be abandoned, as it is unrealistic within the African context. Van Heerden (2004, p. 108) suggests that the “complex and diverse nature of the cultural, development, economic and socio-political issues of the African environment” greatly impacts public relations effectiveness. Global public relations literature has alluded to this also. Communication must therefore be based on both symmetrical and asymmetrical but with a greater emphasis on two-way symmetry. Two-way symmetry is based on dialogue, collaboration, and public participation. It allows the practitioner to develop a listening ear and fully engage constituents. It also ensures that public relations is guided by ethical responsibility. Positioned that way, the institution can create trust, commitment, and goodwill among stakeholders. The stakeholders then give the institution the necessary legitimacy through recommendations. The stakeholders become advocates of the institution. The principle of two-way communication, in particular, symmetrical communication, also aligns with communication within the African context. In Africa, communication is premised on reciprocity, mutuality of human relations, inclusiveness, and negotiations. Communication is, therefore, found at the interpersonal level. Two-way communication, therefore, is essential to gain social legitimacy among stakeholders. Finally, the framework proposes that public relations must be practiced at the managerial level. Practitioners must focus on the strategic level of the practice through engagement in extensive research, which will inform

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communication strategies. Being part of the senate/academic board allows practitioners to think in terms of impact and not limit their communications to tactics only. But to truly perform the managerial role, practitioners must utilize public relations tools such as environmental scanning, issues and crisis management, program evaluation, and counseling (Broom & Sha, 2013).

Justification of Framework While scholarship has established the nature of public relations practice and its influence on organizational practices in the corporate business environment, the same cannot be said when it comes to the HEI environment. The current study has demonstrated that public relations practice in HEIs is fraught with several challenges and cannot be fully described as excellent. The framework is thus expected to address this imbalance. We believe that following the framework will enhance public relations practice in HEIs and ensure it has true influence. Moreover, the lack of literature on the study, especially from an African perspective, makes the study very relevant. The framework presents an opportunity for African practitioners to critically review their roles in contributing more to the sustainability of higher education in Africa. It also offers public relations scholars the opportunity to further test the framework in relation to higher education in Africa. As higher education in Africa continues to evolve, the place of public relations will continue to be scrutinized, especially regarding their value to institutional advancement. The current framework thus ensures that practitioners can play their roles effectively.

Limitations and Recommendations for Further Research The main limitation of this study is that only nine African countries participated. Also, countries in North and Central Africa were not included due to the difficulties the researchers faced in getting information from these subregions. As such, the result cannot be generalized to the wider continent. The following recommendations have been made. The framework can be used as a basis to test public relations practice in HEIs in different subregions/countries in Africa. Also, further insight can be gained through wider research with a more generalized population, including those in

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other subregions. Moreover, knowledge and understanding of HEIs regarding the role of public relations would be essential in developing further strategies that will enhance public relations in such institutions. Finally, the issue of measurement and evaluation in HEIs should be critically examined by scholarship.

Conclusion The study aimed to develop a framework for excellence in public relations practice in African higher education institutions. The study was based on three key principles of the excellence study: the strategic management of public relations, the communicator’s role, and the symmetrical nature of communication. An integrated framework was proposed based on the extant literature and insights from interviews. The framework provides the foundation for effective relationship management between HEIs and their stakeholders.

References Aikins, E. M., & Adu-Oppong, A. A. (2015). Using public relations as a management tool in tertiary institutions. Afro-Asian Journal of Social Sciences, 6(2), 1–16. Anani-Bossman, A. (2022). Public relations management in higher education institutions: A case study of Ghana. Communication, 48(1), 127–157. Ayman, U., Kaya, A. K., & Kuruc, U. K. (2020). The impact of digital communication and PR models on the sustainability of higher education during crisis. Sustainability, 12, 8295. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208295 Berger, B. K. (2013). Power, as functions and structures. In R. L. Heath (Ed.), Encyclopedia of public relations (Vol. 2, pp. 668–669). Sage. Bowen, S. A., Rawlins, B., & Martin, T. R. (2019). Overview of the public relations function (2nd ed.). Business Experts Press. Broom, G.  M., & Sha, B. (2013). Cutlip and Center’s effective public relations (11th ed.). Prentice-Hall. Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2019). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. Campbell, K.  A. (2018). Looking inward: Higher education public relations and internal communication (Publication no. 3342) [Doctoral dissertation, Western Michigan University]. Scholarworks. Christensen, C., & Eyring, H. J. (2011). The innovative university: Changing the DNA of higher education. Forum for the Future of Higher Education. Jossey-Bass.

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Dennis, M. (2020, February 13). The scramble for Africa’s growing student population. University World News (African Edition) https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200212123955445 Edwards, L. (2009). Symbolic power and public relations practice: Locating individual practitioners in their social context. Journal of Public Relations Research, 21(3), 251–272. Frasquet, M., Calderón, H. & Cervera A (2012). A university-industry collaboration from a relationship marketing perspective: An empirical analysis in a Spanish university. Higher Education 64, 85–98 (2012). https://doi. org/10.1007/s10734-­011-­9482-­3 Gezihagne, T.  B. (2018). The practice and challenges of public relations in Ethiopia: The case of government universities. Journal of Advertising and Public Relations, 1(2), 27–37. Grunig, J. E. (2009). Paradigms of global public relations in an age of digitalisation. PRism, 6(2), 1–19. Grunig, J. E. (2011). Public relations and strategic management: Institutionalizing organization–public relationships in contemporary society. Central European Journal of Communication, 1, 11–31. Grunig, J.  E., & Kim, J.-N. (2011). Actions speak louder than words: How a strategic management approach to public relations can shape a company’s brand and reputation through relationships. Inside Train, 1, 34–49. Grunig, L. A., Grunig, J. E., & Dozier, D. M. (2002). Excellent public relations and effective organisations: A study of communication management in three countries. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Hadji, M. J. (2022). Analysing the strategic role of communication practitioners in South African Universities. Communication, 48(2), 110–135. https://doi. org/10.1080/02500167.2022.2086593 Harder, W. (2019). Analyzing public relations as a strategic management function at SEC Universities. MPA/MPP Capstone Projects. 317. https://uknowledge. uky.edu/mpampp_etds/317. Hemsley-Brown, J., & Oplatka, I. (2016). Introduction to higher education consumer behaviour. In J.  Hemsley-Brown & I.  Oplatka (Eds.), Higher Education Consumer Choice. Palgrave Pivot. https://doi. org/10.1007/978-­1-­137-­49720-­8_1 Higgins, S.  K. (2017). Exploring public relations excellence and integrated marketing communications at private, non-profit higher education institutions [Doctoral Dissertation]. La Verne University. https://www.proquest.com/ openview/1b17fdb1f423d6e38c4fafb6b9e67aa7/1?pq-­origsite=gscholar&cb l=18750&diss=y Hinson, R. E (2020, May 28) How to improve university marketing communications. University World News. (African Edition) https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200525092551396

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CHAPTER 8

Toward Ensuring Effective Crisis Communication Management in Institutions of Higher Learning: A Case of a South African University Oluyinka O. Osunkunle

University students are very important stakeholders in the higher education sector and their presence in some ways shape any nation’s economy. This is largely because students play a major role in steering and shaping higher education through institutional governance mechanisms (Ayodeji-­Falade & Osunkunle, 2019). It, therefore, means that a peaceful atmosphere devoid of any form of crisis or protests within the higher education sector is very important for the peace of any nation. This is also the same for

I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

O. O. Osunkunle (*) Department of Communication, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3_8

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South Africa, which is the focus of this chapter. South Africa, as a nation, has witnessed many student protests and crises over the years, and there are various causes attributed to these unfortunate incidents. Students have, over the years, used various ways to express their grievances, including dialogue, peaceful demonstrations, and protests. Nevertheless, history has shown that what is tagged ‘peaceful demonstration’ usually evolves into ‘violence’ and, later, a crisis resulting from confrontations between students, university management, and, eventually, the police. (Ayodeji-­ Falade & Osunkunle, 2019, 2021). It is normally not a good thing for university campuses to suddenly become a violent space; this is why a crisis must be nipped in the bud to ensure a peaceful atmosphere. It must be noted that there is always a strong sense of solidarity and unity among students when there are needs that they want university management to address. They are always prepared to use every means possible to get the attention of the management (Ayodeji-Falade & Osunkunle, 2021). Students have, to some extent, expressed their dissatisfaction with how higher education is being governed in South Africa while also not being satisfied with some university facilities and policies, leading to a crisis. Students’ protests, therefore, lead to crises as students press their demand on various issues with university authorities. The most recent students protest in South African universities was the #FeesMustFall. The protest was largely marked by violence, disruption of academic activities, looting, closure of institutions, and loss of properties, which had a negative impact on the affected universities, investors, and the nation. It must, however, be noted that some other protests preceded the #FeesMustFall protest. For instance, there was the #RhodesMustFall protest in March 2015, which focused on the removal of Cecil Rhodes’ statue at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. The statue was seen as a symbol of the apartheid era and which the students felt should no longer exist as a reminder of the past. This was another serious student protest that rocked the University of Cape Town and soon spread to other South African universities and cities where some symbolic apartheid-era statutes existed. Ayodeji-Falade and Osunkunle (2019) note that the #FeesMustFall protests started across South Africa in September 2015 after the Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Blade Nzimande, announced that there would be a tuition fee increase in all South African universities in 2016. This announcement was not well received by the students and triggered a spate of student protests in some South African universities. For instance, students at the University of Witwatersrand locked the institution’s main

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gate, and staff movement was restricted as the protest gained momentum on campus (Rahlaga, 2015; Ayodeji-Falade & Osunkunle, 2019). Similar occurrences happened at other South African universities, such as the University of Cape Town and Rhodes University in Grahamstown, where protesting students barricaded the university entrance gate and disrupted staff activities (Petersen, 2015). Also, at the University of Fort Hare, Alice, and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, the students protested by moving around the campus, hindering staff from performing their duties. At the University of Fort Hare, for instance, protesting students refused to write exams while waiting for university management to attend to their demands on fee upsurges and other issues (ENCA, 2022). The students also ignited bonfires at the gate of the institution and demolished the security offices (Koyana & Kekana, 2015). This prompted the university management to take various steps, such as closing down the institutions and ordering the students to vacate university residences (Koyana & Kekana, 2015). Other South African universities, such as the University of Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, and Stellenbosch University, also engaged in student protests as students gathered together and collectively marched around to show their grievances to the university management. These students made bonfires, disrupted university activities, and even made their presence felt at the university gates (Koyana and  Kekana, 2015; Ayodeji-Falade & Osunkunle, 2019). These are unprecedented student revolts witnessed by South African universities and which left indelible marks on the South African higher education sector. Similar student protests have focused on resisting academic and financial exclusions. Some of these protests quickly gained impetus and turned into a national student uprising with demands for free access and decolonization of higher education. These students’ protests made many universities suspend academic activities forcefully, as there were threats to human and financial resources. Normally, these riots and protests usually result in hundreds of millions of South African rand in damages as hostels, libraries, cafeterias, lecture halls, and office buildings, among others, get torched or destroyed in some ways. There are also situations when these protests result in violent confrontations between students, police, and private security guards, which pose a threat to safety and security (Ayodeji-Falade & Osunkunle, 2021). At times, these protests resulted in the arrest of many students, affecting the concerned students and their families. Interestingly, almost all South African higher institutions have had similar experiences of

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students protesting and the universities having to deal with the resulting crises. This has great implications for the future of South Africa’s higher education system. Falade and Osunkunle (2019) note that students’ protest is not limited to South Africa as it has also been reported in Venezuela (Lugo-Ocando et  al., 2015), Chile (Scherman et  al., 2015), and the United Kingdom (Cammaerts, 2013). The role of media in some of the reported protests has been studied, and it becomes clear that effective and timely communication could save a lot of trouble during crises like these. While the press remains the most powerful channel of communication that cut across all publics, the role of public relations in communicating to the various stakeholders and mediating peace cannot be ignored. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to examine the role of public relations and timely communication during a crisis at higher education institutions in South Africa. This study investigates the communication strategies used to engage key stakeholders of the university, the students, during the #FeeMustFall demonstration in 2015, which resulted in a crisis, and what the role of public relations could have been in addressing the situation. This is because public relations officers are well equipped with crisis communication skills, unlike the university management which lacks such skills and sometimes incites students during protests. This chapter discusses key issues such as public relations and crisis management in higher education, the need for public relations in an institution of higher learning, the theoretical framework, which is the stakeholder management theory, the methodology, data analysis and discussion, and, finally, the conclusion.

Public Relations and Crisis Management in Higher Institutions Adelabu and Oyedeji (2021) noted that public relations is a communication effort principally geared toward galvanizing human attitudes and actions toward achieving maximum benefits for an organization through effective communication. This, in essence, means that public relations officers or departments have a duty to develop communication strategies that will ensure that an organization and its various stakeholders relate and work together peacefully toward achieving organizational goals (Lim, 2016). There are many definitions of public relations that have been given by

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various scholars, groups, and associations, and interestingly, all of them are focused on activities aimed at ensuring understanding between people as stakeholders, their activities and future aspirations, and the health and progress of the organization (Adelabu & Oyedeji, 2021). For instance, the American Public Relations Association defines public relations thus “as the Management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an organization with the public interest and executes a program of action (and communication) to earn public understanding and acceptance” (Adelabu & Oyedeji, 2021, p.  3). The most concise and most popular definition is the one by the British Institute of Public Relations (BIPR), which defines public relations as “the deliberate and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics” (Adelabu & Oyedeji, 2021, p. 3). While also defining what public relations is all about, Myers (2018) notes that it involves a strategic communication process aimed at building mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. Public relations, therefore, function in institutions of higher learning by observing and respecting the system within that organization and also paying careful attention to the fact that an organization such as a university is made up of sub-units such as academics, non-teaching staff, and, most importantly, the students. Public relations is also cognizant of the fact that all the stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute their quota for the overall development of the organization, hence the need to nurture a smooth organization-stakeholder relationship devoid of any form of crisis (Anani-Bossman, 2021a). On the other hand, a crisis is defined as a significant threat to any organization’s operations that can negatively affect that organization, its stakeholders, and its resources if not handled properly and promptly (Rensburg & Cant, 2003). A crisis can also create three related threats: public safety, financial loss, and reputation loss (Skinner et  al., 2013). Students’ protests and the resulting crises also normally lead to threats and losses, which affect public safety as students move within and outside the university with a motive to destabilize environmental peace or even destroy things just to make their grievances known. The protests also normally lead to financial losses as buildings and facilities are destroyed at times, which invariably affects that university’s reputation. This is where the role of public relations becomes vital as public relations officers or departments are to ensure that reputations are protected and that negative situations do

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not arise as they ensure clear and meaningful communication between an organization and its stakeholders (Anani-Bossman, 2021a). This also calls for crisis preparedness, which must come into effect to minimize the impact of a crisis, and this is possible as public relations departments or officers are to be consistently proactive as they scan the organization’s environment for any possible threat.

The Need for Public Relations in Institutions of Higher Learning Studies have shown that the setting in institutions of higher learning does not appreciate the enormous power of the practice of public relations in the administration of institutions (Hadji & Osunkunle, 2020; Adelabu & Oyedeji, 2021). Some studies have, however, also shown that public relations is very central to the management function of organizations toward the successful evaluation of public attitudes while coming up with a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance (Skinner et  al., 2013; Rensburg & Cant, 2003; Hoffjann, 2021; Shen & Jiang, 2022). Public relations is therefore expressed as policies and practices through carefully planned and sensitive interpretation of events based upon two-way communication between an organization and its publics to secure mutual understanding and goodwill (Fourie & Cant, 2017; Anani-­ Bossman, 2021a). As noted earlier, the institution’s publics include students, staff, community, parents, guardians, and alumni, among others. The duty of public relations is to create communication that brings about understanding among and within the various subsystems of the organization and society (Auger, 2021). Public relations duties also include scanning the environment, sampling the views of the publics, and early detection of issues that could deteriorate into a major crisis. Public relation, therefore, involves a skilled communication of information to the various publics or subsystems in the system to produce the institution’s desired management goals (Shen & Jiang, 2022). Therefore, crisis management is a critical organizational function that organizations must engage in to avoid serious harm to stakeholders, financial loss for an organization, or a possible end to an organization’s existence (Lordan, 2003). This is why an organization must have crisis management, normally designed to prevent or lessen the damage that a crisis can inflict on an organization and its stakeholders. Therefore,

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public relations practitioners form an integral part of the crisis management team as they drive communication engagements toward solving the crisis. Research Questions 1. What are the main causes of students’ strikes in South African higher institutions? 2. What is the relevance of public relations in managing these strikes?

Theoretical Framework: Stakeholder Management Theory This chapter is underpinned by the stakeholder management theory, which focuses on managing stakeholders so that organizations can maintain good relationships with their publics and avoid crisis as much as possible. Normally, a stakeholder is defined as “any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization’s objectives” (Jensen, 2005:13, Friedman & Miles, 2006:1). This means that students are very important as a major or primary stakeholder of any higher institution as they are able to affect or get affected by the achievements of their institution. So, this, in essence, shows that stakeholders are those individuals on whom the organizational existence, progress, and survival depend. This is why universities or other higher institutions, as in the context of this chapter, must be able to scan their environment for any potential student conflict or crisis and seek ways to address such before they escalate. Hence, it is paramount for any organization to engage in effective communication with its stakeholders to ensure good understanding, address issues, and sustain its productivity and existence (Anani-­ Bossman, 2021a; Shen & Jiang, 2022). Freeman (2010) suggests that the term stakeholder emerged in the 1960s from pioneering work at Stanford Research Institute, which argued that it is fundamental for managers to understand the concerns of shareholders, employees, lenders, and suppliers. This shows that stakeholders are critical in any organization, and their views and concerns cannot just be swept under the carpet by any organization but be swiftly addressed for organizations to be at peace. In line with this thought and in the context of this chapter, higher institutions will be making a grave mistake when

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students’ conflicts or crises are not timely addressed or left to linger on. This has led to situations where students feel worthless, take matters into their hands, and go on to destroy valuables around them. This is why it is important for organizations or higher institutions to always realize their interdependence with their stakeholders toward ensuring peaceful coexistence and productivity. Hence, Jensen (2005:13) asserts that stakeholders include all those individuals or groups who can substantially affect the well-being of an organization. The stakeholder concept essentially represents a redefinition of all organizations to be thought of as a grouping of stakeholders whose interests and welfare matter to the survival and progress of the organization. This, therefore, means that the purpose of organizations should be to manage their stakeholders’ interests, needs, and viewpoints. To support these thoughts, Freeman et  al. (2007) stated that stakeholders should form an important element of any organization’s corporate strategic planning due to their crucial role in the attainment of productivity and the mission and purpose of the company. Hence, Jensen (2005) asserted that there is a link between corporate social performance and financial performance. Thus, it is important for the management to strive to apply integrated approaches for dealing with multiple stakeholders on multiple issues to sustain positive relations, which will boost firm productivity (Freeman, 2010). This will entail environmental scanning to understand stakeholders’ vast interests, needs, and issues that affect them. As noted earlier, organizations must not just be ‘blind’ to these challenging issues but make plans to implement the best communication channels to interact with the stakeholders and solve the problems at hand. In the context of this chapter, this means that when students have problems with teaching and learning resources, deteriorating hostel or classroom facilities, fees, and other related issues, university management must be able to organize meetings with student unions and see a way to address such issues without degenerating into a major crisis. Consequently, the stakeholder management theory entails managing the values of those different stakeholders. Accordingly, Freeman et  al. (2004:364) believed that the stakeholder management theory begins with the assumption that “values are necessarily and explicitly a part of doing business.” Hence, this theory requires management to articulate the shared sense of the value they create and to be specific about the relationships they want to uphold with their stakeholders in order to deliver on their purpose (Freeman et  al., 2004:364). Therefore, stakeholder

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management theory not only caters to the organization’s objectives but also cares for the needs of the stakeholders to enhance mutual understanding. This also highlights the importance of any organization to research the needs and beliefs of its stakeholders as well as communicate effectively with them.

Stakeholder Management Theory and Its Relevance in Organizations According to Freeman (2010), the stakeholder management theory is assumed to consist of interactive, mutually engaged, and responsive relationships that establish the eagerness to achieve the motives of both the organization and the stakeholders. The center of this theory entails the concept of participation and dialogue, where dialogue is assumed as the tool. At the same time, agreement and consensus are often regarded as the solution on which to base further decisions and actions to uphold positive relationships (Jensen, 2005). Freeman et  al. (2007) emphasize that the stakeholder theory also stresses that for the productivity of the organization, managers should critically make decisions that take account of the interests of all the relevant stakeholders in a firm. Stakeholder theorists believe that organizations have moved from focusing on managing stakeholders to focusing much more on their interaction with stakeholders based on a relational and process-oriented view (Jensen, 2005; Friedman & Miles, 2006; Freeman, 2010). This means that the management must strive to maintain a continuous process of managing the stakeholders themselves and their relationships with those stakeholders (Freeman et  al., 2004). The stakeholder theory, therefore, emphasizes the importance of engaging stakeholders in long-term value creation since organizations are to engage frequently with a variety of stakeholders upon whom dependence is vital to maximize profit and boost its survival. This is why the roles and outcomes of effective communication are paramount in any organization, especially in higher learning institutions, as in the context of this chapter. The stakeholder management theory is, therefore, premised on the fact that the management has to play an intermediate role whereby it acts in the interests of the stakeholders as their agent and also caters for the interests of the organization to ensure its survival. This helps the management to safeguard the long-term stakes of the organization and its stakeholders

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as they continue to relate together (Freeman et al., 2007). Therefore, it is important for organizations to focus on the needs of all relevant stakeholders because paying attention to one specific stakeholder group could upset a necessary balance and threaten the organization’s corporate entity’s success. This can be achieved by providing open channels of communication among all stakeholders and their management or organization. This is lacking in some higher institutions as students are sometimes not communicated with. Jensen (2005) strongly highlights that the central admonition of the stakeholder management theory does not put emphasis only on maximizing shareholder wealth, but it is more interested in understanding the needs and well-being of those who can assist or hinder the accomplishment of the organization’s objectives. It is, thus, very important for organizations and their public relations department to engage in effective communication in order to understand the needs of the stakeholders and also be able to create and sustain good stakeholder-management relations. Interestingly, an organization also needs to inform its stakeholders concerning its good intentions, decisions, and actions so as to ensure positive stakeholder support. This kind of relationship and communication is good for the growth and peace of any organization. In support of this, Freeman et al. (2007) noted that it was important for organizations to allow open channels of communication with their stakeholders since the stakeholders are so influential, as they can either give support in terms of showing loyalty and praising the organization or show opposition in terms of demonstrating, striking, or boycotting the organization. This is usually the case in institutions of higher learning as students usually show their grievances by protesting, damaging properties, and boycotting classes. In light of this, Freeman et al. (2007) note that in situations like this, mismanagement of the stakeholder needs may result in the stakeholders acting strongly against the achievement of organizational objectives, hence resulting in a crisis. This is what students do at times when they protest, which normally erupts into a crisis for days. Stakeholder management theory is human-oriented and more concerned with the need and interests of the stakeholders. Consequently, Freeman (2010) claims that whatever the ultimate goal of an organization, it must always take into account the interest of those groups who can affect or be affected by an organization. Nevertheless, this theory believes that when stakeholders’ interests are met, they will also strive to achieve their organization’s goals. In light of this, Garvare and Johansson (2010)

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posit that managing stakeholders’ relationships successfully is very important for any organization to achieve its set objectives. This signifies the need for managers to develop relationships, inspire stakeholders, and create communities where they strive to give the best for the value of organization premises. The above discussions show that effective communication is the key requirement for managing stakeholder-organization relationships. This is why this chapter also looks at whether the needs and concerns of students in this particular institution are always addressed toward sustaining mutual relationships between the student and the management. Basically, it is vital for the management to integrate the interest of the organization and those of its stakeholders toward achieving their shared multiple objectives. This view is also supported by Vincent et al. (2018), who note that the main task in this process is to manage and integrate the relationships and interests of stakeholders in a way to guarantee the long-term success of the institution.

Methodology This study adopts a qualitative approach as it is essential to get a very good understanding of the phenomenon being investigated. Content analysis was used to collect data as relevant newspaper, and social media articles were analyzed to know the various forms of student protests from this selected university and how the university responded to them. Content analysis is very useful in helping to analyze people’s comments on certain issues and thus know the views of the participants (Du Plooy, 2009). The contents analyzed were in line with the research questions guiding this study. Keywords like ‘university,’ ‘protest,’ and ‘strike’ were looked out for as online newspaper articles and social media messages focusing on this selected university were analyzed in relation to issues around the #FeeMustFall period in 2015 and other related student issues. It is important to note that since the advent of COVID-19 in late 2019, teaching and learning have been confined to online platforms and students attend off-campus, which has not given room for any student gatherings or protests. To ensure conformability to ethical considerations, the university used as the case study is referred to as ‘university.’ Likewise, students are just ‘students.’ A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies are

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commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research (Zainal, 2017). Usually, a case study research design involves qualitative methods, which is the method adopted for this study, but case studies are sometimes also used in quantitative methods. It is important to note that a case study is useful for describing, comparing, evaluating, and understanding different aspects of a research problem. Therefore, the use of a case study suits this study as it helped to describe, evaluate, and understand the causes and management of student protests and crisis in this particular institution (Zainal, 2017). For noting, the introduction of this chapter and a part of the literature review also described the crisis in other universities to ensure clarity on the problem being investigated. Case studies allow researchers to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case, which is what this chapter did in detail, exploring the student crisis in the selected university and the associated implications. This, therefore, alludes to the fact that a case study is an appropriate research design that allows researchers to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject, such as the student crisis in the context of this chapter. Data Analysis From the content analysis conducted, some issues and themes came out clearly. The issues include problems around fee structure, the unfavorable state of various infrastructural facilities, the irregular release of data for teaching and learning, especially in the era of COVID-19, and other related issues. Some of the contents of the online source analyzed were from News 24 Online, university websites, Facebook Posts, and thedailyvox. Pseudonyms have been used to portray the respondents and some of the views have also been paraphrased to conceal the identity of the respondents. Below is the analysis: Causes of Strike Various causes have been identified in this study that makes students go on a rampage and engage in strike actions, normally leading to crises. Some of the issues include problems around fee structure, academic exclusion, the deplorable state of various infrastructural facilities, the irregular release of data for teaching and learning, especially in the era of the COVID-19

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pandemic, and other related issues. Below are some of the online content on this: The students at University XYZ are protesting against the threat of academic exclusion as a result of outstanding fees. (the dailyvox Online— DailyVox, 2022) With the ongoing #FeeMustFall Protest, University management was forced to suspend academic activity and release staff due to violent student protests which included chasing staff out of offices, leading to a complete disruption of campus operations and threat to safety and peace. (University website) The present ongoing strike is about poor hostel facilities. We don’t have water, not to talk of hot water to bath with (University student—Facebook Post - Facebook, 2022) We have been complaining to management about the timely loading of data for classes as we attend classes online since covid-19 started. Data are loaded on time at times, and at times, there is a delay, and this affects us (University student—Facebook Post - Facebook, 2022)

Organizations will always need to deal with grievances from their stakeholders, as no organization is immune from disagreements or crisis. This is where the value of public relations comes in as it works proactively by scanning the organization’s environment for potential threats and also conducting research to know the needs of the stakeholders (Adelabu & Oyedeji, 2021). This, in many ways, help organizations to avoid crisis and maintain peace and mutual understanding with their stakeholders. Lack of Communication The students were of the view that the university did not communicate with them on time in most situations where there was a strike. They were of the view that lack of communication kept them in the dark as to when issues would be resolved, and this, in essence, made them go on with their strike. On the other hand, the university notes that it has communicated with the students. The result clearly shows a communication gap between the two parties, which is reflected in the following comments:

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Students have been informed on the University position on this matter and they have been advised accordingly (University management—University Communication) We were not communicated with on time. We felt neglected by the University in a time of need (University student—News24 Online  News 24, 2022) Communication from the University usually comes late at times and this is not good enough (University student—Facebook Post - Facebook, 2022)

Scholars have noted strongly that two-way communication is very important during a crisis such as strikes. While it is essential for organizations to communicate their position or views, it is also vital for organizations to listen to the views of their stakeholders toward solving the issues at hand amicably (Anani-Bossman, 2021a). Fourie and Cant (2017) have also noted the valuable role of public relations in mediating and communicating in troublesome situations to preserve the interests of the organizations and stakeholders. Lack of Meetings for Reconciliation It is important to note that while timely communication is very important during a crisis, having meetings with the affected parties is also very important (Mundy, 2022). This provides an avenue for dialogue, negotiation, and two-way communication, making it possible to resolve issues without delay (Hoffjann, 2021). Some of the responses from the students show that management doesn’t always have meetings with them but only gives instructions or messages relaying the management’s position on issues. Management has taken the difficult decision to suspend the teaching programme on all campuses until further notice. All students are hereby instructed to leave campus and vacate their rooms in all university-owned and leased residences with all their belongings and return home (University management—News24 & university website) We only saw a message early this morning that we must vacate the university premises before 6 pm today. On whose account and where is the money to travel with? This is not fair at all (University student—News24 & Facebook Post)

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We were not called to any meeting and we just got a notice to vacate the university premises. We have not been treated fairly (University student— Facebook Post) This is not the first time the university is doing this, asking us to leave when we don’t have plans or money to go back home (University student—News24)

Nonchalant Attitudes Toward Stakeholders The students believe that the university should treat them better as the main stakeholders and not just look down on them as mere students. They believe that the university is using more top-down communication where the management believes that its views matter more and the students’ views do not matter. The students further believe that the university has a nonchalant attitude toward them as messages are passed on to them at any time and they get kicked out of the hostel and the university at any time. We are not seen as important stakeholders of the university; otherwise, we will not be kicked around and out of the hostel by the university at any time without any consultation. We are being treated unfairly (University student—Facebook Post) It is not always convenient for us to go back home at times, but we just wake up on some days and we hear that we have few hours to pack and leave. This is not good at all (University student—Facebook Post) We get harassed and very uncomfortable when the Police or Private Security Officers are called in to force us out. Seating [sic] down with us in meetings would have helped to solve problems and not evicting us by force (University student—Facebook Post)

It is important to reiterate that organizations must treat their stakeholders with respect and seek their well-being at all times. Stakeholders must feel safe at all times and organizations are responsible for ensuring this. It must be noted that organizations thrive on the goodwill of their stakeholders as they depend on each other, which means that organizations exist because of their stakeholders, and stakeholders also exist because they are attached to an organization. Organizations are, therefore, to look out for the best interest of their stakeholders (Auger, 2021).

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Discussion This study has revealed that various unfavorable issues make students embark on a strike, and if not well contained by the university concerned, situations like this eventually lead to crisis. From the result, the university management claims to communicate with the students when there are conflicts and crises. However, the views of the students showed that more communication effort is needed from the management for problems to be solved and crisis to be abated. The findings of this study revealed that a lack of two-way communication is a problem during a period of crisis. This fundamentally means that communication must not just be top-down but a two-way form that involves both parties and provides for dialogue and negotiations (Osunkunle & Wozniak, 2015). The students also believed that the university does not always engage them in its decision-making process and usually fails to communicate with them on time in most situations where there is a strike. The online comments from the students highlighted a lack of relevant communication between them and the university management, which primarily made them go on with their strike for a long time. Auger (2021) notes that stakeholders form an integral part of any organization and that it is important to see them as one, know their needs, seek to address them, and also communicate with them regularly on issues that affect them. Gbolagunte and Popoola (2004) added that crisis is averted and peaceful mutual understanding exists when stakeholders and organizations understand each other and communicate timeously. Scholars have noted strongly that two-way communication is very important during strikes and crises. While it is important for organizations to communicate their position or views, it is also important for organizations to listen to the views of their stakeholders toward solving the issues at hand amicably (Gbolagunte & Popoola, 2004; Rensburg & Cant, 2003). Anani-Bossman (2021b) has also noted the valuable role of public relations in mediating and communicating in troublesome situations so that the interests of the organizations and stakeholders are preserved. As noted earlier in the literature review, the role of a trained public relations officer in this process cannot be overemphasized as public relation involves a skilled communication of information to the various publics or subsystems in the system with the objective of producing the desired management goals of the institution. The chapter wants to strongly argue that in situations where communication with stakeholders and other stakeholder

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relation duties are left in the hands of the management, messages sent out may not be appropriate, things may get out of hand, and relationships and mutual understanding may suffer. While crisis management is a critical organizational function, which organizations must engage in to avoid serious harm to stakeholders, financial loss for an organization, or a possible end to an organization’s existence, it must be handled by skilled public relations practitioners (Lim, 2016; Fourie & Cant, 2017). Scholars have noted that crisis management, which is normally designed to prevent or lessen the damage that a crisis can inflict on an organization and its stakeholders, must be handled by public relations practitioners as they drive the communication engagements toward solving the crisis (Lim, 2016; Adelabu & Oyedeji, 2021). While timely communication is very important, meeting with the affected parties is also vital. This is because different stakeholder groups require different communication channels, such as phone, social media, dedicated websites, and face-to-face meetings, among others. Students’ comments analyzed in this study have shown a lack of timely meetings between them and the university management during a crisis. It must be noted that meetings between organizations and their stakeholders are very important for solving problems and avoiding a prolonged crisis or protest. Face-to-face meetings provide avenues for dialogue, negotiation, and two-­ way communication, making it possible to deal with issues without delay (Adelabu & Oyedeji, 2021). It is a platform where views are discussed, a compromise reached, and a crisis resolved. Another key thing from this study is the need for organizations and their stakeholders to respect themselves. The respondents (students) noted that the university fails to treat them fairly during a crisis. They noted that students are the main stakeholders at higher institutions and should be treated well and be protected and communicated with appropriately without being looked down upon as mere students. The view here is that the university uses more top-down communication where the management believes that its views matter more than that of the students. The students further believe that the university management is somehow casual in its preparation and dispatch of messages to them, considering the way they get kicked out of the hostel at any time. This study suggests organizations need to consider their stakeholders’ well-being when preparing and sending out messages. This ensures their safety and a mutual understanding between the organization and stakeholders. It also safeguards the image of the organization. The result further highlights that stakeholders

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are to be listened to and protected, and their well-being and safety are to be considered when decisions are taken, and a message is sent out. This, in many ways, helps solve problems and avoid crises. Theoretically, and looking at the views of the stakeholder theory, it becomes very clear that organizations are to pay careful attention to nurturing their relationship with the various stakeholders as they are very important to the survival of any organization (Lim, 2016). It also becomes very clear that universities should allow public relations officers to do the job of crisis management instead of the management just engaging in uncoordinated communication, which affects peace and mutual understanding between an organization and its stakeholders. This chapter has shown clearly that public relations officers are better positioned and well-­ trained to manage stakeholder relationships and should therefore be involved in such duties if organizations such as higher institutions of learning are to handle crises well and avoid any form of loss or threat.

Conclusion There are many challenges facing the South African higher education sector, with occasional tensions and disagreements between university management and their various stakeholders, especially students, which normally lead to crises. Considering that no organization is immune from crisis, it is important to note that when conflicts and disagreements occur, organizations should communicate with their stakeholders and look for ways to solve the problem at hand. Very central to resolving or addressing these issues is the importance of timely communication. However, when appropriate communication fails to take place during a crisis or when communication messages are distorted or handled wrongly, crisis communication is affected. An unfavorable situation could linger on for some time, jeopardizing financial and human resources. The study demonstrates that for any organization to survive any form of crisis, it is necessary to prepare, plan, and communicate well with the affected stakeholders. This chapter also recommends that communication during a crisis should be handled by a well-trained public relations practitioner who is skilled in the art of communicating, negotiating, and good handling of stakeholders toward ensuring mutual understanding and restoring organizational peace.

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Limitation of the Study This study was limited by the sample, which seemed to be very small in that all South African universities and students were not included.

Future Research Direction and Recommendations This current study focused on ensuring effective crisis communication management in institutions of higher learning, using a South African university as a case study and focusing on students’ crises. Future studies could focus on university staff strikes and crises, which also greatly impact the running of higher institutions. It would be good to involve more universities so that more data could be collected and thus allow for generalization. This study has also used qualitative research methods in its data gathering and analysis. Future studies could adopt mixed method, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods to better understand the phenomenon being investigated, more so when more universities and participants are included. This study found that South African public university executives usually struggle to deal with unplanned strikes and crises as they are not well trained in stakeholder relations. In light of this, it is recommended that universities should accord public relations practitioners their rightful place as trained professionals that are able to detect and manage crisis effectively. This means that universities should not just use public relations practitioners to communicate university management decisions to the public, but they must also be given a place in the decision-making structures so that they are able to advise management where necessary, especially when it comes to stakeholder management. For policy implication, it is important for the government and the university management to be proactive and knowledgeable of the demographics of higher institution students and their various needs. This, inherently, calls for continuous research and engagements so that future protests are nipped in the bud before they escalate into a crisis. This would also help to ensure peaceful and smooth coexistence between institutions and their stakeholders in the university space, which, at times, is usually systematically and structurally under attack. These are good suggestions for policymakers and higher education managers toward managing students and their needs. University policies should therefore be revised and formulated in a way to ensure effective crisis management and good stakeholder relations.

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References Adelabu, O.  T., & Oyedeji, K.  A. (2021). Social media and public relations in higher institutions. CRUTECH Journal of Communication, 3(1), 1–8. Anani-Bossman, A. A. (2021a). Role of public relations in corporate reputation management: A study of PR practitioners in selected multinational organizations in Ghana. Corporate Reputation Review, 24, 222–233. https://doi. org/10.1057/s41299-­020-­00105-­1 Anani-Bossman, A.  A. (2021b). An exploration of strategic public relations management in Ghana. Public Relations Inquiry, 10(1), 73–96. https://doi. org/10.1177/2046147X20979292 Auger, G.  A. (2021). Rethinking public relations: Persuasion, democracy and society. Journal of Public Relations Education, 7(1), 220–226. Ayodeji-Falade, M.  B., & Osunkunle, O.  O. (2019). Newspaper coverage of FeesMustFall students’ protests in Eastern Cape universities: A content analysis of Daily Dispatch. Journal of Human Ecology, 68(1–3), 108–117. https://doi. org/10.31901/24566608.2019/68.1-­3.3179 Ayodeji-Falade, M.  B., & Osunkunle, O.  O. (2021). Framing of FeeMustFall students’ protest by Daily Dispatch newspaper and the effect on readers’ perceptions. Heliyon, 7(1), e07782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. heliyon.2021.e07782 Cammaerts, B. (2013). The mediation of insurrectionary symbolic damage: The 2010 U.  K. student protests. International Journal of Press/Politics, XX(X), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612134962 DailyVox. (2022, the 28th of September). Fort Hare crisis deepens over fee increases. DailyVox Online. https://www.thedailyvox.co.za/fortharecrisis-­ deepens-­over-­fee-­increases Du Plooy, G. M. (2009). Communication Research. Techniques, Methods and Applications. Juta. ENCA. (2022, The 28th of September). Fort Hare Students threaten shutdown. ENCA Online. https://www.enca.com/south-­africa/fort-­hare-­students-­ threaten-­shut-­down-­fortharecrisis Facebook. (2022, the 28th of September). #FeeMustFall Posts. www.facebook. com- Facebook Comments on FeeMustFall. Fourie, L., & Cant, M. C. (2017). Public relations: Theory & practice. Juta Legal and Academic Publishers. Freeman, R. E. (2010). A stakeholder approach. Cambridge University Press. Freeman, R. E., Harrison, J. S., & Wicks, A. C. (2007). Managing for Stakeholders. Yale University Press. Freeman, R. E., Wicks, A. C., & Parmar, B. (2004). Stakeholder theory and the corporate objective revisited. Organization Science, 15(3), 364–369. https:// doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1040.0066

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CHAPTER 9

Public Relations and Identity Management Under Authoritarian Leadership: Experiences of Makerere University Managers (1971–1979) Barbra Natifu and Lazarus Nabaho

Higher education (HE) governance—or steering—models have been changing over time, with the dominant historical models being State-­ controlled, Humboldtian, and Anglo-American market-oriented models (Dobbins & Leisyte, 2014; Nabaho et al., 2020). Academic freedom and the pursuit of knowledge were the espoused values of the Humboldtian

We have no known conflict of interest to disclose. B. Natifu (*) Africa One Health University Network, Kampala, Uganda L. Nabaho Department of Government Studies, Uganda Management Institute, Kampala, Uganda e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3_9

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model that emerged from the German higher education space. In the Anglo-American market model, values of market capitalism are advanced, while the State-controlled model provides unfettered latitude to the State to directly shape key aspects of university affairs (Neave & Van Vught, 1994; Saint, 2009). Under the state-controlled model, universities are viewed through the lens of “…instruments at the disposal of the State to meet national priorities” (Nabaho et al., 2020, p. 41). The State, by virtue of owning public universities, expects a degree of loyalty from higher education institutions (HEIs) in return for their support from the government (Saint, 2009). In Uganda, the pre-2000 HE landscape was anchored in the Statecontrolled model as exemplified by events at Makerere University (MAK)—the only university in the country at the time—where the head of State was the chancellor of the university. On July 1,1970, Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, pursuant to the MAK Act 1970, became the first chancellor of the university. Both the presidency and chancellorship of Milton Obote were short-­lived. General Idi Amin, following a successful military coup against the Obote regime and his ascendency to the presidency in March 1971, became the second chancellor of MAK. Amin’s leadership quickly plunged the country and institution into a reign of terror characterized by dictatorship, brutality, violence, socioeconomic and political anarchy, and total breakdown and disregard of democratic principles of governance (Sejjaaka, 2004). This meant that the institution was essentially operating under an environment of political crisis. A plethora of studies on African universities are inadvertently biased toward analyzing the impact of dictatorships on university identity-­shaping components such as academic freedom and autonomy. Nonetheless, identity-­shaping factors such as values, communication, particularly public relations (PR), environment, and leadership styles have been relatively understudied. Furthermore, there is a dearth of studies that interrogate the impact of higher education legal frameworks on Africa’s universities (e.g., Hall & Symes, 2002; Saint et al., 2009; Varghese, 2013). Moreover, studies that specifically examine the impact of dictatorial political and legal environments on university public relations and identity management hardly exist. Saint et  al. (2009, p.  2) note that their search for publicly available studies revealed that only four studies (three of which examined South African contexts) had specifically analyzed the legal frameworks of tertiary education institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, none of these four studies linked their analysis to the relationship between legal

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frameworks, PR and identity construction, and management. Yet, understanding how dominant political crisis environments shape the utilization of public relations and communication for identity management is critical. Since the use of public relations to manage the organization or a leader’s public relationships, image, identity, and reputation become apparent during crises (Coombs, 2011). The limited analysis of how political and legal environments shape institutional identities and PR reveals a glaring knowledge gap in understanding how dictatorial political and legal environments shaped management’s ability to construct and manage identities of universities in Africa. Furthermore, the extant studies have focused more on the State supervision model, which is a post-2000 shift in university governance rather than the State-controlled model. Therefore, studies that are retrospective in nature are limited. Against the above backdrop, we used a grounded theoretical approach and Selznick’s (1957) perspective of leadership and management to explore the lived experiences of top administrative managers of Makerere in Uganda in the period (1970–1979), with a focus on their ability or inability to lead or manage the institution’s identity shaping components such as values, communication, autonomy, and leadership style under an authoritarian regime. The following research questions guided the exploratory journey: RQ1. How did the internal top management of Makerere University construct and manage the institution’s public relations and identity management attributes, such as HEI technical values, communication, and autonomy, during a political and legal environment of authoritarian leadership (1971–1979)? RQ2. How did the legal framework and authoritarian political environment impact on how the institution’s identity was constructed and managed? RQ3. To what extent was the internal top management able to safeguard the technical identity of the institution given an authoritarian political and legal operational environment? RQ4. To what extent did individual leadership styles impact on institutional identity construction and management?

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Literature Review This section unravels the key concepts and presents the cherished values in HE. The theoretical constructs and how they interconnect with each other are then illustrated in the grounded theory conceptual model, which is explained at the end of the methodology section. Public Relations/Communication and Crisis and Identity Management Public relations has succinctly been defined as the management of organizational-­public relationships through communication (Broom & Sha, 2013). The use of communication to manage organizational public relations increasingly becomes relevant during crises. A crisis, according to Coombs and Holladay (2010) is “a serious threat that can disrupt organizational operations and/or has the potential to create negative outcomes,” such as “deaths, injuries, property damage, negative publicity, reputation loss ” (pp.  238–239). Coombs (2011) notes that since “organisations invest a great deal… into building reputations so they want to protect this valuable intangible asset during and after a crisis” (p.  231); of which, image and identity are viewed as key components that constitute a reputation (Doorley & Garcia, 2015). Moreover, “a clear identity” shapes “behaviour, performance and communication” (Doorley & Garcia, 2007, p. 7), which are core components of reputation. Thus, public relations and crisis communication become critical to protecting the organization and its leader’s identity and reputation from damage during and after crises. This makes it a critical function as it is often used to inform and engage publics as well as manage institutional image, identity, and reputation during and after crises, be they political, economic, religious, health, or educational crises as was the case at MAK during 1971–79. Organizational Identity Management From a functionalist perspective, organizational identity is “a set of attributes that an organization ‘has’…which… can be managed to optimize performance” (Wrench & Carter, 2012, p. 359)—as such, identity is taken to be manageable. The attributes of organizational identity that can be managed are (a) strategy, (b) structure, (c) communication, (d) culture, (e) environment, (f) stakeholders, (g) reputation (Balmer, 2001, p. 263),

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(h) resources, and (i) leadership style (Aitken, 2019; Natifu, 2016). The management of these attributes, or lack thereof, shapes how the organization constructs and manages its identity. Identities are largely shaped by the “actions of corporate founders and leaders, by tradition and the environment” (Balmer, 2001, p. 280). The leader’s role in the organization includes “defining values and purpose, embodying purpose in the social structure, infusing meaning into organizational life, and ‘playing the part’ in his/her own personal conduct” (Besharov & Khurana, 2012, p.4). Therefore, organizational leaders not only manage identities, but their actions and values shape organizational identities. In this regard, “individual identities can shape institutional (corporate) identities” (Balmer, 2008, p. 883). Although identity literature shows that organizational leaders do shape organizational identities, the extent to which organizational leaders and administrative managers are able to manage and shape identity-defining attributes such as communication, values, and autonomy during an authoritarian leadership and political context has not been explored in-­ depth in the extant literature. Most identity management studies have examined the concept in stable societies such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, which are largely democratically governed (Balmer & Greyser, 2003). Moreover, the few studies that have  explored the concept of identity management,  from an African University context, have focused on the impact of visual identity components such as (symbols), culture and communication on image and brand performance (see, Waithaka, 2014). Furthermore, most studies have explored the concept using quantitative methodologies (Waithaka, 2014), which leaves a qualitative knowledge gap in understanding how identity management components such as values, communication, and autonomy are constructed and managed by leaders in authoritarian political and legal environmental contexts. Organizational Technical Identity From a technical view of the organization, organizations are seen as “… rational systems whose purpose is to efficiently accomplish established ends” (Besharov & Khurana, 2012, p. 29). Selznick (1957) distinguishes between an organization and an institution and asserts that an organization is focused on achieving, “the technical requirements of the task at hand”/specific objectives while institutions are, “organizations infuse(d)

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with value” (p.17). Therefore, the technical identity, in the context of this chapter, refers to the technical and professional aspects of the university’s identity as guided by core HEI technical values such as (a) academic freedom, (b) institutional autonomy, (c) social responsibility, (d) equitable access, and (e) accountability (Scholars at Risk, 2017). Thus, the study examines the extent to which the top management was able to safeguard the technical identity of the institution. Leadership and Management Perspectives Leadership, as applied in this study, is defined from a Selznick (1957) perspective, where institutional leadership is understood as “the promotion and protection of values” (p. 28). However, Yukl (2013) argues that the dividing line between management and leadership is fluid as today’s corporate manager is also expected to exhibit leadership skills. Nonetheless, management, according to Selznick (1957), is perceived as predominantly concerned with the “technical requirements of the task at hand” (p. 17). According to Selznick (1957), leadership is the infusion, protection, and promotion of values in an institution, while management is focused on controlling the efficient and effective performance of the organization on its technical mission and objectives. Although managers are said to be concerned with the technical function of the organization, however, we examine whether it is possible for internal university managers to act as leaders or managers given an authoritarian political context. A leadership style is a leader’s approach or style of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Various leaders exhibit various leadership styles, including autocratic, charismatic, participative, laissez-­faire, task-oriented, people-oriented, transactional, and transformational. For the purposes of this study, we limit the scope of our analysis to authoritarian leaders and their leadership styles. An authoritarian or autocratic leader dominates and controls all the decisions and actions of followers by giving strict instructions on what to do and how to carry out a task, thereby stifling followers’ creativity and innovativeness (Jayasingam, 2009). Despite its negative traits, authoritarian leadership results in well-­ defined group actions that are usually predictable, reducing frustration in the workgroup. Productivity is usually high, but creativity, self-motivation, and autonomy are reduced (Bednash, 2003).

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Cherished Values of HEIs and the Duty of Leaders to Protect Them Institutions are “organizations infuse(d) with value beyond the technical requirements of the task at hand” (Selznick, 1957, p.  17). Values are “internalized attitudes about what is right and wrong, ethical and unethical, moral, and immoral. Examples include fairness and justice, honesty, freedom, equality, altruism, loyalty, civility (courtesy and politeness), pragmatism and performance orientation (excellence)” (Yukl, 2013, p. 136). These influence “a person’s preferences, perception of problems and choice of behavior” (Yukl, 2013, p. 136). Values vary from organization to organization. The values of Makerere University are allegiance to the institution, integrity, customer responsiveness, professionalism, and diversity. Even then, higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world have core cherished technical values that govern the technical operations: (a) academic freedom, (b) institutional autonomy, (c) social responsibility, (d) equitable access, and (e) accountability (Scholars at Risk, 2017). These values are prized because they allow HEIs—and their primary stakeholders, such as academic staff and students—the fundamental right and freedom to think independently in the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge and truth, which is one of the missions of their existence. Secondly, since these institutions operate within a social context, safeguarding values such as social responsibility, equitable access, and accountability ensures that HEIs are responsive and accountable to society, espouse professional standards, and act ethically and justly regarding who accesses them. The role of institutional leaders is to promote and protect these values (Selznick, 1957, p. 28). However, there is a dearth of knowledge about how these values were upheld or compromised from 1971 to 1979, when an authoritarian national leader governed MAK as chancellor. Therefore, of particular interest to this study’s analysis is the value of institutional autonomy and academic freedom, looking at the extent to which they were managed or failed to be safeguarded by the internal and external institutional leaders at the time. The concept of autonomy advances an underlying call to self-rule, self-determination, or self-­ governance without outside controls and influences. Dworkin (2015) argues that “persons are considered autonomous when decisions and actions are their own, when they are self-determining” (p.11). Autonomy presupposes that individuals, collective entities, groups of people, or

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organizations have the ability to make their own laws and act in accordance with their own internal law(s), as opposed to being under the control of some conquering power be it individual, group, or State that dictates how they should think and act. In the HEI context, limitations of autonomy may occur in the form of outside and latent controls. Saint et al. (2009) note that external controls may be revealed through overt and latent controls that may hinder an HEI’s capacity to govern itself. Overt controls include written laws that affect an institution’s ability to self-govern, powerful academic staff unions, and militant student organizations (p. viii & p. 7). Latent controls are “not explicitly written into law,” but they, nonetheless, “curb the institution’s ability to self-govern” (Saint et al., 2009, p. 7). They include factors such as financial dependence on a particular source of international financial assistance (Saint et al., 2009, p. vii). However, we limit ourselves to examining the use of outside controls, such as written laws used to promote or stifle the exercise of institutional autonomy and management’s ability to construct and manage the institution’s technical identity.

Methodology This section examines the methodology that underpinned the study. Research Design This study employs a qualitative methodology using a grounded theory research approach. Grounded theory is a research approach “designed to develop a theory of social phenomena based on field data collected in the study” (Ary et al., 2010, p. 30). Grounded theory can be used in combination with other methods, such as case studies of which MAK served as a single case study that used multiple sources of evidence (interviews and documents) to examine a “single phenomenon, (such as …an event or even an organization) within its social context” as bound by time and place (Daymon & Holloway, 2011, p. 115). Grounded theory also allows for an inductive analysis of the data through constant comparison between data and theory, where the researcher constructs concepts which “then forms a theory by proposing plausible relationships among the concepts” as illustrated in the conceptual model (Ary et al., 2010, p. 30).

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Sampling Strategy and Data Collection Purposive or theoretical sampling was used to choose respondents based on their relevance and knowledge of the topic under study (Ary et  al., 2010). This strategy was used to select informants based on their relevance to the research aim. Since the study was interested in understanding institutional identity management experiences of top internal management in the context of dictatorship, the selection of informants was drawn from those that had experienced this period (1971–79) and served in a management capacity. The informants comprised the only three former vice-­ chancellors and the dean of students who served as part of the university management team between 1971 and 1979. Nabaho et al. (2018) note that “The qualitative approach considers the quality of the participants and the depth of the interviews to be more important than the number of participants in the study” (p. 5). Thus, the in-depth interview participants were limited to only those who served as members of top management during the selected study period. These included VC1 Frank Kalimuzo, who served between 1970 and 1971. VC 2, who served between 1971 and 1975, and VC 4, who served between 1976 and 1979. VC 3, who served between 1975 and 1976, was inaccessible. VC 5 (1993–2004), Prof. J.PM. Ssebuwufu, was the only post-1979 vice-chancellor included in the study, with a focus on his lived experiences in 1973–1979. Another top management member included in the sample was the dean of students. He was not only a member of the top management but also a lecturer and served the institution from 1974 to 2010. His lived experiences between 1974 and 1979 were found to be valuable. Regarding confidentiality, VC1, Mr. Frank Kalimuzo was not anonymized because information about his “disappearance” in 1971 is already in the public domain and VC5 (Ssebuwufu) is also not anonymized because his manuscript is already in the public domain. VC 2 served the institution two terms in those different time periods (1971–1975 and 1979–1986), as well as VC 4 (1976–1979 and 1990–1993). We were not able to track the whereabouts of VC3, even after a snowball inquiry from his fellow colleagues. Of the three VCs, two VCs (VC2 and VC4) were interviewed, using an interview schedule, in person, except VC 5, who was not in Uganda at the time. We contacted him for an interview, and he chose to share a copy of his then-unpublished autobiographic manuscript, “Managing and Transforming an African University,” which he said documented his

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personal experience and observations of how the institution was governed since the period 1973–2004. Since he provides a detailed firsthand account of his experiences and observation of this time period, he was included in the study to help verify oral accounts with written accounts. The two VCs, 2 and 4, served the institution twice, so we talked to them about their experiences in their two terms of leadership. Still, only data pertaining to this period (1970–1979) are included in this study analysis. The study was also informed by a document analysis of the MAK Act of 1970 as well as the autobiographic manuscript by VC5, as noted above. Daymon and Holloway (2011) note that historical documents such as autobiographies are texts whose “data are more comprehensive than the evidence you might acquire from interviews or questionnaires conducted over a short period, especially if you are focusing on a case study of an organization” (p. 278). Indeed, the manuscript provided details of VC 1, 2, and 4’s personalities, traits, and controversial strategic actions, which were often not shared by the informants in the interviews. Data Analysis The interview data were tape-recorded and transcribed from audio to text format. The text was then analyzed using a systematic coding approach that employed open, axial, and selective coding techniques (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Open coding was done by identifying salient themes and patterns from the data. This was done using “in vivo” and “topic” codes (Daymon & Holloway, 2011, pp.  307–308). With “in vivo codes,” we used direct phrases made by participants. For instance, phrases such as “Amin was against intellectuals” cited by VC4 and “there was no freedom,” cited by both VC4 and DoS1, were coded as “no freedom.” We also used topic codes that we created to describe an idea expressed in the data, such as compliance with the legal framework and de-facto directives. Axial coding was done by constantly comparing the data with its emerging theoretical themes until theoretical saturation was achieved. Several theories were identified (as noted in the literature review), and connections were made from the data to establish the major and minor theoretical relationships looking at causal, contextual, intervening, and consequential factors that explain the experiences of MAK’s leaders in their attempt to manage the institution’s identity in the context of a dictatorial political environment.

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Regarding identity management components, the following independent theoretical variables were observed, that is, individual leadership style, traits and skills, communication, autonomy, and values. Observed intervening variables were mainly contextual, looking at the political and legal environment contexts. These shaped both the independent and overall dependent variables of institutional identity management. Besides axial coding applied to major categories, selective coding was done by drawing from the observed causal and intervening axial coding themes to develop theoretical propositions and hypotheses that show how the independent, dependent, and intervening theoretical categories are related. The different codes and variables explained above are illustrated in the visual conceptual model in Fig. 9.1. Ethical Considerations All the participants were informed of the purpose of the study, and they gave their consent to use the information shared for academic purposes. However, during the interview, we noticed that one of the informants (VC2) seemed

Fig. 9.1  Illustration of the conceptual model

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to inadvertently display a habit of self-censorship and was not particularly keen on disclosing detailed information about the challenges that he experienced in the period 1972–1975 and 1979–1986. VC2, however, observed that presently communication had greatly improved at the institution compared to the time he served as VC. This informant was not pressed for more information. Protection of informants was achieved through anonymity, where codes were used to protect informants’ names.

Findings and Discussion The findings are presented against the dominant theoretical themes emerging from the data as illustrated in the above conceptual model. Impact of Political Environment on Technical and Institutional Identity Management I mpact of Authoritarian Political Environment on Technical Mission and Values The national political environment of the period 1971–1979 was marked by a dictatorial leadership style. The sitting head of State, who also doubled as the chancellor of the university, exuded personal leadership traits of dictatorship and domination, which affected how MAK was governed and how the university’s institutional identities were shaped and managed. For instance, in 1972, Amin expelled all people of Asian origin from Uganda, causing the university to suffer a massive loss of competent academic staff. This affected the university’s ability to effectively deliver on its technical mission of teaching and research. Ssebuwufu (2017) observes that Amin’s Chancellorship was one of the most disruptive periods the institution had ever suffered. It “contributed to the erosion of its prestige and reputation as a fine academic institution, not only in Africa but also in the whole world” (p. 24). According to DoS1, In 1971 there was a coup. By 1973/74, all foreign lecturers had run out of the country, and even the highly trained Ugandans had left the country. So, during the Amin days, the identity and reputation just went down because when I came back from post-graduate work, I started teaching, and they were calling us economic war lecturers. We had just finished class and you were teaching the people who have come in because there were no ­professors, there was nothing. ….. Everybody had run out… The Vice-Chancellor was killed during that time.

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Thus, with the mass exodus of staff, the findings show that the political environment greatly affected the institution’s capacity to effectively deliver on its technical mission of teaching and research, which affected its then elitist technical identity and overall institutional identity. To this end, the authoritarian operational environment was stronger than internal management’s ability to control the institution’s identity or shape its technical values. This finding challenges the functional view of management’s ability to control either the technical or overall institutional identity given oppressive political and operational environments. Drawing from a PR literature perspective, we see Coombs and Holladay’s (2010) argument of a crisis having “the potential to create negative outcomes…. such as…reputation loss” (pp. 238–239). In this case, the leaders’ actions greatly contributed to the university’s reputation loss, making appreciation of PR relevant to leaders who are at the helm of leading and managing institutional identities and reputations during crises. Impact of Authoritarian Political Environment on Autonomy  ompliance with De Facto Directives Versus Autonomous C Decision-­Making and Exercise of Personal Leadership Traits The findings showed that MAK’s internal top managers, for the most part, had no choice but to comply with de facto directives issued by the dictatorial president of Uganda-cum-chancellor of the university. VC4 captured this management predicament when he explained the impromptu way he received the news of his appointment as vice-chancellor, At about 12:30 p.m., somebody knocked at the door saying...ladies and gentlemen, his Excellency the President is coming to address the University this afternoon. I said no, look, let me go back to my office and change. When I went to the office, I found that everybody had gone to the Main Building and that the president had already come and was addressing the university community. He said, “I want to thank Makerere University for what they have done. I want to thank the expatriates for the good work, the Dean and Vice Chancellor, Prof. VC3 for the good job done, but because we want to make our Medical School the best in the world, I want to ask him to go back to be Dean of the Medical School and to be replaced by VC4.

Although Ade Ajayi et al. (1996) argue that autonomy for a public university means constant renegotiation of positions between the State and

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institution, this informant’s remarks show that such democratic liberties were not possible as an appointment to the position of VC was a spontaneous and non-negotiable presidential directive. Moreover, rejection of the offer left the appointee with a single choice of exiling oneself from one’s country. VC5 also noted that compliance and escape were the only two choices that they had. He writes that during Amin’s regime the, Vice Chancellor…was required to be present at every function the president organized or attended, including the president’s private pursuits…. But those in the know say it was too dangerous to be close to Amin…. But VC4 had very little choice in the matter if any. He had either to resign and possibly run away or stay and hope for the best…He chose to stay and brave it (Ssebuwufu, 2017, p. 74).

To this end, VC4 exudes personal leadership traits of bravery and courage. Similarly, Ssebuwufu (2017)/ VC5 notes that when unfounded allegations of being former president Obote’s collaborator were hulled against the then VC 1 Frank Kalimuzo, he chose to stay. He argued that “he had done nothing wrong to warrant arrest, after all he was not a politician and as such he was not prepared to run away” (p. 69). This choice shows VC1 as having a courageous and conscientious personality with evidence of preference for technical skills and application of individual cognitive skills in a very risky political situation. Unfortunately, his exercise of individual autonomy and cognitive leadership skills led to his untimely “disappearance” without any trace/death. Thus, the personal experiences of these VCs show that they could neither exercise individual autonomy nor institutional autonomy, given the context of the dictatorship they operated in. Taking Selznick’s (1957) definition of administrative management, the informants show that, to a large extent, the dictatorial environment caused MAK’s internal administrative managers to serve as managers, not leaders. This is because they simply followed de facto directives the authoritarian State and institutional leader gave and hardly innovated new ideas or values. Those who took the risk of leading by applying and abiding by their cognitive skills had to pay a very dear price. From a PR perspective, MAK’s internal administrative managers served as technicians and not strategic leaders as they could only comply with directives but not innovate new strategic PR and identity management ideas, yet involvement in strategy and communication decisions is key to identity management (Balmer, 2001).

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Impact of Authoritarian Political Environment on Communication “ No Freedom” of Speech, Self-Censorship as a New Norm In terms of public relations communication and identity management, the findings show that suppression of freedom of speech, efficient spying, direct supervision, and management by the head of State and chancellor of the university, with little regard for formal structures, was the norm rather than the exception. This leadership style led to a communication environment marked with self-censorship and brutally suppressed episodes of two-way communication expressed through student strikes. One of the informants notes that: During 1972, the question of public relations was really not there because people feared writing in newspapers because they could not know what would happen. You might write something which is against the big man, and you would disappear…. So that was a time when there was no freedom of any kind to exercise and speak freely. No, it was not there!

VC4 further notes that Amin’s era “was a challenging period to do public relations. But from the point of view of managing the University, the students would not go on strike. They knew that the army would come in and possibly be very brutal.” DoS1 further reinforces VC4’s observation when he notes that, In the 1970’s we had less strikes because Amin was a dictator. You did not want to attract soldiers by making noise. You could be misunderstood. They might think you do not like the president. He will react very badly, whereas you have a different reason for going on strike.I remember I was a student in the 1970s. Students wanted to go on strike, Amin flooded the place with military police, and we were beaten.

The above two informants point to a situation of self-censorship, which was also encouraged by external stakeholders such as parents. The self-­ censorship was also extended to the student’s leadership. According to VC4, the students refused to have a Student’s Guild because they said it was not democratic. So, we had no Student’s Guild during the late 70s because the students said, no, we will not elect the Guild and the guild president had run away to Oxford University. So that was a time when there was no freedom of any kind to exercise and speak freely

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The findings show that neither the internal top management nor the university’s primary stakeholders, such as students, had any freedom to speak freely. Thus, suppression of free speech affected both individual leaders, stakeholders, and institutional public communication platforms as students failed to organize themselves under their Student Guild leadership. Since the dominant authoritarian political leadership suppressed any chance of free communication, exercising any form of two-way communication ideals was impossible. Therefore, the findings show that two-way PR communication ideals that are critical in consensus building and collective identity management were greatly incapacitated under the authoritarian political context. Due to suppressed freedoms, PR and communication could not be used as a strategic management or leadership function under the oppressive environment. Strategic identity-shaping ideas and dialogic student activities were suppressed and considered a threat to the political leadership. Thus, without freedom of speech, the ability to use PR and communication to initiate strategic identity-shaping ideas and engagements was curtailed. As such, freedom of speech and expression not only guarantees free communication but allows for strategic utilization of the PR function to shape institutional identities and reputations. Direct control of the institution and spying: The findings showed that the available and alleged “efficient” modes of communication during that period were spying, and direct control of the institution was characterized by disregarding formal communication and management structures. Direct management was observed when the chancellor and president did away with formal hierarchical management structures to respond to university needs directly. VC4 notes that, On the other hand, during Amin's time if the University had a need, let us say, foreign exchange, Amin would say to me, “you, the Minister of Education and Minister of Finance, go and meet at Cape Town Villa at 11.00 a.m. There will be a meeting of cabinet. I want you to bring your recommendation to cabinet …” Say we needed so much money and in ­dollar terms. He would discuss it and tell the Ministry of Finance that you must give that money to the University. So, in a way, there was a mode of management. It was direct from the president to the Vice Chancellor, and you had to really walk a tightrope not to annoy him but as long as you did not annoy him, he was very cooperative as far as the University was concerned.

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In terms of efficient communication, VC4 notes that the first thing Amin did was to “introduce the mobile telephone because when he came to Makerere for graduation, the first thing the Post Office had to do, was to install a telephone there and his telephone number was known to everybody, and you could telephone him anywhere, and he was very effective on that.”. The spy network, which was effected through what the informant described as an efficient telephone system, was, on the other hand, an efficient means of stifling critical voices. Spying and sharing of intelligence information with the political leader, aside from being a sign of regime insecurity, were also an attempt at controlling the flow of information and safeguarding the personal identity and reputation of the political leader, a practice that is typical of dictatorships. VC4 points to the fact that cooperation, sharing intelligence information directly with the president and learning not to annoy the president was the judicious and precautious thing to do given the circumstances. He writes, In 1978, I think people…had started to attack or make preparations to attack (the ruling government) and they always used the University as the starting point. So, they would bring propaganda, pieces of paper saying we are going to kill Amin …I got hold of that office literature, took it to the Ministry of Education and said this is what I have. Brigadier X, who was the Minister of Education, trembled. He called in the Head of Research and gave him the literature. The Head of Research also trembled, and they took the material to the president. The president immediately called my telephone at home and my wife told him that I had not yet returned home. Unfortunately, I was in the office…and he called me … and he said, “Let me tell you when you get such writing, do not take it to the Ministry of Education, don’t take it to State Research bring it to me because I am the conqueror of the British Empire. I don’t want those people to know what’s happening”. Then I said, yes, your Excellency. I have to do that…I have given you some pictures about the political context in which we were ­working but the political context is such that you had to be appointed by the president. You had to obey his requirements.

The above findings show that, during a crisis, public relations and communication are critical to protecting not just the institution’s identity, image, and reputation but also all the leader’s reputation from damage during and after a crisis. By saying, “Let me tell you when you get such writing, do not take it to the Ministry of Education, don’t take it to State

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Research, bring it to me because I am the conqueror of the British Empire,” the chancellor, and president, was trying to control communication flows in order to safeguard his external personal identity and reputation. As cited by VC4, the fact that university leadership was forced to obey the president’s requirements shows that “the combination of technical and institutional pressures can lead even well-intentioned institutional leaders to concede to external demands that threaten an organization’s character” (Besharov & Khurana, 2012, p. 23). The external institutional pressures forced VC 4 to comply with the demands of relaying intelligence information directly to the then authoritarian leader. Thus, VC4’s experience of identity management was one of compliance with government directives with no exercise of individual or institutional autonomy. Impact of Legal Environment on Identity Construction and Management  ompliance to Authoritarian Legal Framework C In 1970–1979, MAK was an institution governed by a legal framework that allowed for strong and direct government control of the institution. Section 7(2) and 9(5) of the MAK Act stated that “The Vice-Chancellor shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of Uganda on such terms and conditions and for such period as the President may determine.” VC5 shared the same observation when he noted the tradition of having the ruling head of State as the automatic chancellor of the university. However, some argued that such a structure would ensure that “the University stood to receive sympathetic attention when it came to allocation of resources,” by the government. Nonetheless, it ultimately led to “direct political interference in the affairs of the university and the erosion of the long cherished academic freedom” (p. 22). Moreover, the Minister of Education had the power to appoint any person to be a professor or a director of an institute of the university, regardless of their competence. Section 12 (2) states that, The Minister may, after consultations as he deems necessary, appoint any person to be a professor or a Director of an Institute of the University or to hold any other office equivalent to such a post (Section 12 (2) of MAK Act, 1970).

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By leaving the appointment of a professor, vice-chancellor, or director of an institute predominantly in the hands of the president (chancellor) and the minister of Education, the pre-2000 state-controlled higher education legal regime served as an overt tool that was used to limit the institution’s autonomy in professional technical decision-making and exercise of HEI values such as academic freedom. The 1970 MAK Act militated against the realization of the institution’s technical values such as institutional autonomy and academic freedom, as the professionals themselves were left out of the staff appointment decision-­making process, and academic appointments were solely left at the mercy of State actors and their interests. Furthermore, when asked if he had any chance to exercise autonomy in professional decision-making and implementation, VC4 notes that “Yes, we had our professional values, but you had to make them understandable to the powers that be. You had to cooperate with them to be able to implement them.” Thus, the findings show that the despotic legal provisions infused in the then legal framework compromised internal top management’s ability to espouse professional technical HEI values of independent thought, academic freedom, and institutional autonomy. Impact of the Chancellor’s individual Leadership Style, Traits, and Actions “ Amin Was Against Intellectuals….” The period 1971–1979 was the era of direct steering of HE by the State as provided for by the MAK Act of 1970. This governance structure gave way to a semi-literate man serving as chancellor of the institution. This put the lives of many academics at risk due to his personal insecurities and narcissistic individual leadership traits. Yukl (2013) notes that leaders with narcissistic leadership traits have a “strong need for esteem (e.g., prestige, status, attention, admiration, adulation), a strong personalized need for power, low emotional maturity and low integrity” (p.  143). VC5 notes that, although the chancellor enjoyed rubbing shoulders with the academic fraternity, “he relished the fact that he could appoint and dismiss a Vice Chancellor at will…one could detect in him a deep-seated hatred and mistrust for the educated [people]…. The murder and disappearance of several prominent academics at the time is linked to this mistrust”

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(Ssebuwufu, 2017, p. 24). VC4 also points to the same observation when he says: Well, during Amin’s time, people were going wild. We would be glad to run away from Uganda because, from the security point of view, the impression was that Amin was against intellectuals, the Civil Service, Universities…That, as you know, was a very difficult time. Kalimuzo was the first Vice Chancellor of Makerere University. He disappeared in 1971, and up to now, we don’t know where he is. Possibly he was killed...

Reicher and Hopkins (2001) note that leaders who are insecure are more likely to seek conflict with other groups. Thus, the authoritarian chancellor’s individual leadership style, narcissistic personality traits, and despotic actions worked in combination to compromise the institution’s technical HEI values and identity. They also stifled freedom of speech, independent thought, communication, and institutional autonomy, which are key to institutional, technical identity construction and management. S uppression of Criticism, Disregarding Standards, and Imposition of Personal Values The chancellor defied the then elitist existing HEI standards and values such as access based on merit. Through his own illegitimate actions, he implicitly imposed new controversial values on the institution. According to VC4, In 1976, Amin brought in his son Taban and students rose up because he did not have the qualifications to enter the University but they brought him in and the students wanted to stage a riot and I think the army came, they took some members of staff and I think a student was killed outside campus and other students removed their shoes and walked on foot to go to Makindye where the student had come from to bury him [sic].

Similarly, Ssebuwufu (2017) documents “the brutal suppression of a student rebellion in March 1976 after a law student, Paul Serwanga, was shot dead by an army captain who had an interest in his girlfriend. Students took to the streets of Kampala demanding…the resignation of the Chancellor and his government…The army retaliated with unprecedented brutality.” (p. 25). Soldiers forced students …, “to crawl and walk on their knees for long distances. Many severely beaten students had to be hospitalized” (p. 25).

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These findings show that the institutional leader’s (chancellor) personal authoritarian leadership style caused him to engineer new values that were contrary to the then-existing elitist institutional values of HE access based on performance. The chancellor also brutally suppressed criticism of his actions, confirming Bednash’s (2003) characterization of authoritarian leaders as prone to coercion and punishing criticisms. It also shows that it is not just leaders that protect and defend the values of an institution, but stakeholders too can attempt to defend institutional and ethical values, but authoritarian contexts and leadership traits may frustrate stakeholder efforts. In addition, the findings show that a leader’s personal values and individual leadership style and traits may not necessarily reflect the institution’s technical values and resistance to their imposed values and leadership style may lead an authoritarian leader to use coercion to get others to comply to their illegitimate and imposed personal values and standards. I ntroducing Policies that Stifled Technical HEI Values Ssebuwufu (2017) writes that “In an attempt to stem the never-ending exodus of Ugandans, Idi Amin abruptly introduced a policy which required whoever wanted to travel outside the country to seek clearance from the president’s office…Unless it was really inevitable for one to travel, most academics at Makerere chose to forget about international conferences” (pp. 73–74). This shows that unlawful policies or decrees introduced by the president and chancellor hindered the promotion of HEI values such as academic freedom. It further illustrates a direct relationship between personal leadership style, traits, and decrees thereof and their implicit impact on the legal environment. In this case, we have leadership styles and traits negatively affecting national policies and higher education values of academic freedom. Hence, adding to Besharov and Khurana’s (2012) findings, this study argues that it is not just technical demands that erode institutional values, but controversial legal framework pronouncements along with an authoritarian leader’s actions and traits expressed through imposed personal leadership values, styles, traits, skills, insecurities, and policies too do erode technical institutional values.

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The Extent to Which Internal Top Management Served as Leaders as Opposed to Administrative Managers S ingle Incidence of Institutional Leadership Although unquestioning obedience to the president’s orders was the predominant norm, interview data showed an instance when one of the internal managers displayed overwhelming individual traits of bravery and leadership in making independent decisions on behalf of the institution. This was, however, only possible in 1979, during wartime. VC4 noted that: when the war came, end of 1978-79, people in the Ministry of Education like Brigadier X evaporated (run away) and we were in tough times. I could not send away students during the period of war and tell them to go to Mbarara as the guerillas were coming from that area. So, I had to keep the University open. There was a lot of bombing on Makerere hill, but the students and I had to keep together to see how to get the University going. I sent the university buses around to go and look for poultry farmers to secure us food because there was a lot of bombing. I said to them I would give you a promissory note. You give us your chicken. When the war is over, if I survive, the University will always be there; even if I do not survive, you bring this promissory note to the University and you will be paid what we owe you. People were very cooperative. We gathered chicken from all over the place, and students were very well fed on chicken almost throughout the war. So that was one way of managing during the time of crisis.

Thus, to this extent, this internal manager acted as a leader during the crisis period. He also exhibited a charismatic leadership style, courage, and conscientious leadership traits. As Selznick (1957) argues, leadership is a kind of work done to meet the needs of a social situation. Since this administrator was able to make autonomous decisions to meet the needs of a crisis, he was no longer just a manager but a leader. However, his ability to make these leadership decisions was only possible during the crisis, when the firm grip of authoritarian control was experiencing its own share of regime shake-up from external guerrilla war forces. Thus, except for this single incident, Makerere’s internal top managers mostly served as administrative managers and implementers of the chancellor/president’s will. Therefore, for the most part, most of the VCs approached identity management from the position of self-censorship, compliance to authoritarian government leader’s decrees and then a despotic guiding legal framework. Those who exercised individual autonomy often paid a high price. Thus, the variation in

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identity management approaches only occurred when the environment allowed for the exercise of innovative and responsive leadership ideas, values, and actions, as was the case with VC 4.

Conclusion and Implications This chapter provides a detailed description for understanding public relations and identity management in an authoritarian institutional context governed by an authoritarian institutional leader. Although public relations is very critical to the institution and institutional leader’s ability to manage and shape identities and reputations during crisis, the internal top management’s ability to manage or lead in shaping the institution’s identity was greatly hindered by authoritarian environment that stifled freedom of speech, a fundamental value of communication. Thus, the leaders and institution’s stakeholders resorted to self-censorship to protect their lives. However, the chancellor was able to use the spy network forms of communication to manage his personal identity, external image, and reputation at the expense of great institutional reputation damage. The study has also shown that MAK’s internal managers were predominantly implementers of the government’s political leaders’ will but not leaders. This is because of the existing legal and authoritarian political environment which curtailed their ability to freely communicate, exercise their autonomy, engineer new values, or promote and protect the existing technical HEI values. Consequently, the imposed individual personal standards, values, traits, and actions of the President and Chancellor led to an imposed identity. The imposed identity reflected the dominant leader’s values (e.g., direct micromanagement, impunity, and disregard of established university admission standards at the time), which was not necessarily in alignment with established technical HEI values nor the collective professional values of the institution’s stakeholders and management. Furthermore, this chapter demonstrates that it is not just technical demands that erode institutional values but also the legal frameworks, individual actions, personal values, leadership traits, skills, or lack thereof, as well as leadership styles and approaches of authoritarian leaders, too, do erode technical institutional values. From a governance perspective, the chapter demonstrates that legal frameworks are key to identity construction and management as they define the parameters of what internal institutional managers can and cannot do. Legal frameworks embedded with excessive State control provisions can be instruments that hinder internal management’s ability to construct and

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manage the institution’s technical and institutional identity. Oppressive legal frameworks suppress individual management’s autonomy and its attempts to promote and protect HEI values such as academic freedom and institutional autonomy as well as the efficient management of the internal and external public image, identity, and reputation of the institution. This chapter further underscores that the ideals of autonomy in HEI as the ability to constantly negotiate positions between the State and institution, advanced by Ade Ajayi et al. (1996), are only possible in democratic contexts, as negotiation presupposes a context of open and dialogic communication, which is often elusive in an authoritarian context. It illustrates the pitfalls of authoritarian leadership styles and State-dominated legal framework provisions and the negative impact they may have on internal top management’s ability to protect and promote technical identity values. Furthermore, this chapter points to implications to university governance and policymaking as it shows the risks of instituting legal policy reforms and recommendations that allow for total State control of the institution in technical HEI matters such as the appointment of VCs, deans, and academic staff (See, Nabaho, 2019). A cooperative governance or conditional autonomy model proposed by Hall and Symes (2002) may limit carte blanche State interference on technical identity construction and governance of university affairs. From a PR and organizational communication management perspective, this chapter demonstrates that freedom of speech and expression is very crucial to the construction, management, promotion, and protection of organizational technical identity values, identity, and reputation. Finally, taking Selznick’s (1957) leadership theoretical perspective, the chapter shows that without the enjoyment of democratic principles of governance, it is very difficult for institutional managers to rise to the level of leaders as the authoritarian leadership style hinders their ability to innovate new values or promote and protect existing technical and institutional values.

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leadership-­in-­fostering-­organisational-­Aitken/07e6d8bd4f4b413319aa15457 96524aba97a5bf9 Ary, D., Jacobs, L.  C., Sorensen, C., & Razavieh, A. (2010). Introduction to research in education (8th ed.). Cengage Learning. Balmer, J. M. T. (2001). Corporate identity, corporate branding, and corporate marketing: Seeing through the fog, Special Edition on Corporate Identity. European Journal of Marketing, 35(3/4), 248–291. Balmer, J. M. T. (2008). Identity-based views of the corporation: Insights from corporate identity, organizational identity, social identity, visual identity, corporate brand identity and corporate image. European Journal of Marketing, 42(9/10), 879–906. Balmer, J. M. T., & Greyser, S. A. (2003). Managing the multiple identities of the corporation. In J. M. T. Balmer & S. A. Greyser (Eds.), Revealing the corporation: Perspectives on identity, image, reputation, corporate branding, and corporate level marketing (pp.  15–29). Routledge. https://doi. org/10.1108/03090560110694763/full/html Bednash, G. (2003). Developing leadership: Leadership is leading, Chapter 3: A New Approach to Leadership and Management, Unit 1, 46–65. https:// studylib.net/doc/8695187/developing-­l eadership%2D%2D-­j ointmaster-­of-­health-­profession Besharov, M. L., & Khurana, R. (2012). Leading amidst competing technical and institutional demands: Revisiting Selznick’s Conception of Leadership (Working Paper, No.13-04). Harvard Business School. Broom, G. M., & Sha, B.-L. (2013). Cutlip & Center’s effective public relations (11th ed.). Pearson. Coombs, W. T. (2011). Political public relations and crisis communication: A public relations perspective. In J. Stromback & S. Kiousis (Eds.), Political public relations: Principles and application (pp. 214–234). Routledge. Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. J. (2010). PR strategy and application: Managing influence. Wiley-Blackwell. Daymon, C., & Holloway, I. (2011). Qualitative research methods in public relations and marketing communication (2nd ed.). Routledge. Dobbins, M., & Leisyte, L. (2014). Analyzing the transformation of higher education governance in Bulgaria and Lithuania. Public Management Review, 16(7), 987–1010. Doorley, J., & Garcia, H. F. (2007). Reputation Management: The key to successful public relations and corporate communication. Routledge. Doorley, J., & Garcia, H. F. (2015). Reputation Management: The key to successful public relations and corporate communication (3rd edn.). Routledge. https:// doi.org/10.4324/9781315879987

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Dworkin, G. (2015). The nature of autonomy. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, NordSTEP 2015, 1, 28479. https://doi.org/10.3402/ nstep.v1.28479. Hall, M., & Symes, A. (2002). Cooperative governance or conditional autonomy? Principles for Governance of South African Higher Education. In Good governance in higher education: Reflections on cooperative governance in South African Higher Education, Kagisano Higher Education Aeries (2) 5–30, Council on Higher Education. Jayasingam, S. (2009). Leadership style and perception of effectiveness: Enlightening Malaysian managers. Asian Social Sciences, 5(2), 54–65. Nabaho, L. (2019). Shared governance in public universities in Uganda: Current concerns and directions for reform. International Journal of African Higher Education, 5(1), 45–65. Nabaho, L., Oonyu, J., & Aguti, J.  N. (2018). Academic perceptions of good teaching: Assessing the degree of parity with student evaluation of teaching questionnaires. Africa Education Review, 16, 95. https://doi.org/10.108 0/18146627.2017.1390395 Nabaho, L., Turyasingura, W., Kiiza, A. K., Andama, F., & Beinebyabo, A. (2020). Quality assurance of higher education governance and management: An exploration of the minimum imperative for the envisioned African common higher education space. Higher Learning Research Communications, 10(2), 38–52. https://doi.org/10.18870/hlrc.v10i2.1183 Natifu, B. (2016). PR and identity management issues, an autoethnography of a Ugandan university. Asia-Pacific Public Relations Journal, 17(1), 4–22. Neave, G., & Van Vught, F. A. (1994). Government and higher education relationships across three continents. Pergamon Press. Reicher, S., & Hopkins, N. (2001). Self and nation: Categorization, contestation and mobilization. Sage Publications Ltd.. Saint, W. (2009). Guiding universities: Governance and management arrangements around the globe. Human Development Network, World Bank. Saint, W., Lao, C., & Materu, P. (2009). Legal frameworks for tertiary education in Sub-Saharan Africa: The quest for institutional responsiveness (World Bank Working Paper No.175), i-43. Scholars at Risk. (2017). Promoting higher education values: A guide for discussion, 1–28. Sejjaaka, S. (2004). A Political and Economic History of Uganda, 1962–2002. In F. Bird & S. W. Herman (Eds.), International businesses and the challenges of poverty in the developing world. London: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/ 10.1057/9780230522503_6. Selznick, P. (1957). Leadership in administration: A sociological interpretation. Harper & Row.

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CHAPTER 10

Mixing Business with Politics: A Framing Analysis of Sir Sam Jonah’s “Down the Up Escalator” Activist CEO Speech of April 22, 2021 Eric Kwame Adae and Godwin Etse Sikanku

Traditionally, corporations maintained a focus on investors and have been driven by financial profitability (see, e.g., Friedman, 1970). Thus, a multiple-­stakeholder orientation has been relatively less marked (Adae, 2020). However, we are witnessing a sustainability transition (Delmas We have no conflict of interest to disclose. E. K. Adae (*) School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Drake University, Des Moines, IA, USA e-mail: [email protected] G. E. Sikanku Faculty of Journalism and Media Studies, University of Media, Arts and Communication-Ghana Institute of Journalism (UniMAC-GIJ), Dzorwulu, Ghana e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3_10

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et  al., 2019) and rising responsible management practices (Adae et  al., 2021), marked by an increased melding of the terrains of business and politics (Global Strategy Group, 2016). Trendwatchers also argue that we are caught up in the throes of some remarkable shifts in the fields of strategic communications, management, and leadership (Chatterji & Toffel, 2018). An indication of this is a shift from the overbearing pursuit of the corporate strategic self-interest toward multiple stakeholder perspectives and service to others (rather than self-service) (Elkins et al., 2018). Recently, an association of business leaders reimagined the social purpose of the corporation (see The Business Roundtable, 2019) when they pledged their commitment to being accountable to at least five stakeholder groups, including customers, employees, suppliers, social communities, and shareholders. Relatedly, various corporate agents are involved in diverse social resistance campaigns (Dodd & Supa, 2014). Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA) is conceptualized in terms of corporations and their CEOs taking open stances on greater good issues that may be unrelated to the operations/ profitability of their companies (Dodd & Supa, 2015). Some say that such shifts are motivated by such notions as Public Relations for Social Responsibility (Pompper, 2021) and inclusive capital ideologies, such as the Triple Bottom Line, brand responsibility, sustainability, eleemosynary-­ ignited corporate social responsibility, and responsible management (Adae, 2021a). Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have, in particular, been weighing in on such common good issues as race relations, once thought to be the preserve of politicians, non-governmental organizations, interest groups, and similar civil society organizations (Chatterji & Toffel, 2015). Nowadays, CEOs are drivers of social change, brandishing protest placards, pressing politicians and other powerful people in society, and threatening economic sanctions (Laband, 2016). Such actions is generally described in what has become known as CEO activism. CEO activism describes situations where heads of profit-seeking corporations speak out publicly on issues largely unrelated to the ability of their organizations to achieve their strategic financial goals (Chatterji, 2016). CEO Sociopolitical Activism is defined as “a business leader’s personal and public expression of a stance on some matter of current social or political debate, with the primary aims of visibly weighing in on the issue and influencing opinions in the espoused direction”

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(Hambrick & Wowak, 2021, p. 34). On the African continent, notable CEO activists include Tony Elumelu of UBA, Senyo Hosi of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Patience Akyianu of Hollard Insurance, and Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante of the Ghana Film Authority (Adae, 2020).

The Current Study CEO activism is a relatively less studied phenomenon, although corporate social advocacy is generally beginning to attract significant scholarly interest (Chatterji & Toffel, 2015). While some scholars imagine the phenomenon gaining traction as a global public relations and business practice, current CEO activism scholarship is crowded by White men CEO voices in America (Adae, 2021a). The field is also dominated by modernist perspectives that privilege consensus and the pursuit of corporate financial profitability (Adae, 2021b). There is a dearth of studies that focus on CEO activism within non-­ Western contexts (Adae, 2021b). Especially, very limited scholarly research analyzes the external-facing communication campaign texts produced by activist CEOs (Adae, 2020). Thus, this study seeks to help invigorate the CEO activism literature by adopting a unique focus on the African context and the application of framing theory to closely examine a selected communication text of a global business leader issued as part of an activist campaign. At the heart of this study is what may be considered to be a deeply polarizing public address made on April 22, 2021, at a Rotary International thought leadership series event in Ghana by Ghanaian business magnate Sam Jonah KBE titled: “Down the Up Escalator: Reflections on Ghana’s Future by a Senior Citizen.” Sir Sam Jonah was CEO of Anglogold Ashanti and is currently the Executive Chairman of Jonah Capital and Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast in Ghana.

Literature Review CEO Activism, a Genre of Corporate Social Advocacy Modern Public relations is being repositioned for promoting sustainability and social responsibility by moving beyond rhetoric and in the direction of affirming actions toward diversity, equity, inclusivity, and social justice

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(Pompper, 2021). The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) sees public relations in its modern definition as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics” (PRSA, 2012). This reasserts an ethical basis for the field by highlighting the community-preserving functions and responsibilities of corporations and their agents (Tilson, 2009). Consequently, Holtzhausen (2000) entreats corporate executives, including public relations practitioners, to take activist stances within their organizations (but also outside them) and “serve as the conscience of the organization, and give voice to those without power” (Holtzhausen & Voto, 2002, p. 60). Given that corporations, business executives, and brands have agentic power for social change (Hillman et  al., 2004), CSA may be driven by various corporate agents (Adae, 2020). CEO activism is a brand of CSA that emerges when leaders of corporations publicly advocate sociocultural and environmental causes that may be divorced from the strategic intents of their corporations (Chatterji & Toffel, 2015). Most (84%) CSA campaigns are driven directly by CEOs (Weber Shandwick, 2017), and “public stances regarding controversial social-political issues by executive leaders of major organizations (termed corporate social advocacy…) seem to be increasingly commonplace” (Dodd & Supa, 2014, p. 1). Some CEOs are motivated by the desire for positive social change and religious beliefs (Chatterji, 2016), personal inclinations (Chatterji & Toffel, 2015), corporate values (Chatterji & Toffel, 2018), and a redefined social role of the corporation (Gaines-Ross, 2017). CEO activism is also driven by moves to establish a solid brand identity while realizing other strategic business ends (Eilert & Nappier Cherup, 2020). Other motivations include the desire to promote diversity, equity, and inclusivity, even while giving force to some ideological inclinations (Nalick et  al., 2016). On the African continent, CEO activism motivations have been found to include Afrocentric philosophies of social responsibility and sustainability (Adae, 2021a). While predominantly reported in Western (American) contexts, CEO activism is scarcely limited to specific areas (Hambrick & Wowak, 2021), with cases reported in diverse sociocultural contexts (see, e.g., Branicki et al., 2021; Toffel et al., 2017). Such campaigns cover a wide spectrum of polarizing sociopolitical and environmental matters (Haider-Markel & Meier, 1996). Some CEO activism issue clusters include sociocultural, political, legal, economic, business/workplace, and environmental activism (Adae, 2021b).

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Framing Theory and Leadership Rhetoric Framing analysis seeks to systematically organize and thematically interrogate communication texts to identify and present the core issues discussed (Fairhurst & Sarr, 1996). Framing is important to how leaders relate to their audiences because it concerns message selection, issue emphasis, and the presentation of ideas or perspectives. Framing is evident when speakers talk about “what exists, what happens, and what matters” (Gitlin, 1980, p. 6). For Entman, “to frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation and/or treatment recommendation” (1993, p. 52). Public speeches are a prime avenue for framing because they offer speechmakers the opportunity to present issues, offer their own interpretations, foreground particular narratives, and shape public perception. Ghana has had a relatively stable democracy, compared to other African countries, since the early 1990s. Yet, the country still faces substantive social and developmental challenges. Within the public sphere, public figures such as CEOs and other leaders offer their thoughts on various issues in Ghanaian society. Sir Sam Jonah’s speech was one such situation. In his April 22, 2021, public address titled: “Down the Up Escalator: Reflections on Ghana’s Future by a Senior Citizen,” Sam Jonah KBE sought to portray his version of facets of the Ghanaian reality and proffer certain viewpoints on the contemporary state of the society. In doing so, Sir Sam Jonah selects issues he deems relevant, offering his diagnosis on societal problems, causal factors, and recommendations for addressing the identified issues. Framing theory is a useful lens for analyzing this speech because we learn not only about what is selected but, invariably, what is not selected. It helps us understand what the major contemporary socioeconomic, political, and cultural issues are since frames also work to deflect attention from other issues. Conger (1991, p. 32) states that “frames are essentially snapshots that leaders take…” in constructing prevailing issues relevant to them. This perspective conceptualizes framing as helpful in enabling leaders to project their ideas into the public sphere, make arguments, and project their values. This view aligns with Tuchman’s (1978) argument that framing helps to “organize everyday reality” (p. 193), and Durham’s (1998, p. 102) position on frames as a “social narrative.”

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Generally, in advocating their vision and thoughts about society, leaders employ framing techniques to reify their vision for society. Framing techniques can also facilitate interpreting and synthesizing information targeted at specific publics (Durham, 1998). This is achieved through the examination of framing devices—the specific tools selected for framing messages. Frames form part of the culture and guide how elites construct information and engage in corporate social advocacy. Thus, as a CEO, Sir Sam Jonah properly fits this bill. Mchakulu (2011) found that parliamentarians in Malawi employed powerful frames to shape public discourse, including major frames such as the democratic frame, traditional values, value association, and value disassociation. Also, metaphors and keywords were the major framing devices employed. McDougal (2013) found two distinct forms of framing in President Barack Obama’s speeches: structural/institutional and personal/ individual frames. While both frames were generally present in President Obama’s speeches, compared to speeches made to the Latina and Asian American communities, he tended to frequently moralize African Americans. The study described this as racially relative moral castigation, where President Obama assumed a moral stance when speaking with African Americans than when his audience was Asian Americans, Native Americans, or the Latino community (McDougal, 2013). Sikanku (2013) investigated Africanity in eight of President Obama’s speeches and identified four distinct Afrocentric frames: roots, communalism, the African outside the trope of crisis, and exceptionalism. Young and Pemberton (2017) investigated the use of framing devices in speeches delivered by a sample of university presidents and found that the major framing devices used included positive spin, agenda-setting, communicated predicaments, and the notion of possible futures. Debras and L'Hôte (2015) analyzed speeches delivered at political party conferences of the Labor Party in the United Kingdom and noted that metaphors such as the government as a strict but inclusive character, politics is a journey, and the nation is a person were some of the overriding frames. Other emergent frames revolved around the themes of unity, consensus, and anti-class, which sought to portray the party as promoting inclusiveness. Communication has been identified as one of the central aspects of leadership, and deemed as discursive leadership by some scholars, while others cast it in terms of leadership communication (Young & Pemberton, 2017). Such discourses include speeches, interviews, or other forms of

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persuasive communication, especially those employed as part of CEO activism campaigns. Framing by leaders involves carefully selecting and using words, images, and meanings to present their vision and viewpoints or mobilize followers (Shapiro & Ward, 1998). Leadership, therefore, involves good framing skills to affirm or challenge the status quo (Morgan, 2004). This is what Sir Sam Jonah sought to achieve by discussing or challenging existing thoughts and occurrences within Ghanaian society. Previous researchers agree that the study of framing devices provides a sound theoretical framework for studying public relations and communication management strategies and tactics, including the contents of speeches by social elites (Sikanku, 2013). Research Questions Three research questions guided the study: RQ1: What were the major frames used by Sir Sam Jonah in his speech? RQ2: What framing devices were employed in deploying these frames? RQ3: How can the emergent frames and framing devices inform the speechmaking function of public relations professionals?

Methods This study involved textual analysis (Fairclough, 2003) to help unearth the dominant frames used by Sir Sam Jonah in his “Down the Up Escalator” speech that was delivered on April 22, 2021, as part of a thought leadership series organized by the Rotary International in Ghana. Framing Theory-Guided Textual Analysis Textual analysis is an approach by which researchers gather and interpret information about the world (Daymon & Holloway, 2002). It involves the careful analysis of talk and text, with the view to uncovering how concepts are shaped by the communication process (Fairclough, 2003). Textual analysis is much more than a textual description or a shallow/ obvious reflection of events and categories existing in the social world. It entails transcending the manifest/overt texts in order to decipher the latent/covert meanings provided by various layers of the cultural context (McKee, 2003). We followed a theory-guided approach and employed Reese’s et  al. (2001) framing analysis format to carefully group and thematically

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interrogate the content of the speech. Our analysis was also shaped by Entman’s (1993) expositions on framing devices, as well as the context within which they appear (see e.g., Gamson & Modigliani, 1989). We analyzed the selected public speech in order to unearth the covert meanings Sir Sam Jonah ascribes to current issues and events in Ghana, the connections, narratives, and the core essence of these issues. This involves reading and re-reading texts for their deeper or latent meanings while accounting for relevant contexts and contextual factors, historical permutations, and any underlying interpretations, as has been the case in previous research (see, e.g., Sikanku, 2019). Justification for Speech Selection The use of a single text as data for qualitative social scientific analysis is well justified in the literature (e.g., Lindlof & Taylor, 2017). First, because qualitative research is concerned with depth and context, it is usual for qualitative scholars to focus on a single text or speech as the unit of analysis in order to delve deeper and bring contextual enlightenment to a particular communication text (Lindlof, 2002). Such in-depth and introspective dissection or analysis may not be fully possible when several speeches are used. Boddy (2016) has duly noted that this is an area “reviewers clearly need guidance in…” (pp. 426–427). The verdict from the qualitative rhetoric tradition points to the fact that single-text studies or focusing on a single case can provide deeper insights and allow for a more detailed analysis, drilling to the core and dissecting words, sentences, and the bare essentials of the text in a very penetrating manner (Lincoln & Guba, 2000; Sikanku, 2020). For instance, Boddy (2016) writes that focusing on a single text allows for a “new, deep and nuanced understanding of previously unexplored phenomena” (p. 428). Clearly, the case of CEO activism is a new area and particularly so when it comes to investigations of how this phenomenon is unfolding on the continent of Africa. Therefore, a speech by an African CEO on sociopolitical and environmental issues fits this scholarly scenario where there is a need to delve deeper, gain insights, discover unknowns, deepen understanding, and uncover contextual meanings. Several studies (e.g., Abuya, 2012; Biria & Mohammadi, 2012; Chen, 2018; Taping et al., 2017) have employed this approach of a case study of one communication text to analyze stand-alone speeches, thereby providing intellectual support for our approach.

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Data Analytic Technique We started by constructing a theoretical framework to guide the analysis. We then sourced our primary data by obtaining the original version of the speech. An initial reading of the text followed this to familiarize ourselves with the speech, using framing theory as an entry point. The re-reading focused on identifying the key frames and the noticeable framing devices. This phase also sought to omit unnecessary elements, even while taking careful note of emerging ideas, frames, or narratives. Keywords, underlying messages, quotes, ideologies, values, and other framing techniques were duly noted. The interpretive process involved even closer readings of the speech and a deeper analysis of emergent frames. It also involved careful comparisons, connections to literature, and contextual linkages, considering the Ghanaian context (Lindlof, 2002). The framing devices combined with ideological underpinnings and sociopolitical and historical contexts facilitated the interpretive process and laid bare covert meanings (Entman, 1993). The final stage involved summarizing and drawing conclusions from the frames ascertained.

Findings and Discussion We found that four major frames were embedded in the analyzed speech by Sir Sam Jonah. These frames included the governance frame, the silence frame, the assault on democracy frame, and the solutions frame. Several framing devices were employed in this speech, including figures of speech (rhetorical questions, metaphors, repetitions, and epigrams), stock phrases, coinages, idiomatic expressions, and colloquialisms. The following sections discuss the various frames and the attendant framing devices. The Governance Frame We found that a core category and dominant issue in Sir Jonah’s speech was the state of governance in Ghana. The meaning he ascribes to it is one of problematic governance or weak governance systems. One might wonder if his concerns are generally with the present government or the system. It emerged that it is an admixture of both. The speech pattern is one that repeatedly rails against the democratic governance structure in Ghana. His concern targets the very core of Ghana’s democratic systems:

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But the very nature of our democratic setup is our undoing … In fact, the two seem to derive their strengths from that of the Executive, thus weakening [the] checks and balances. Any party that comes to power has absolute power to do whatever they want. The 1992 Constitution [of Ghana] is the basis for the current democratic dispensation. It created a monstrous executive which looms large over the other arms of the governance structure, and for 28 years, we have failed to make any meaningful changes to strengthen our democracy. Actually, what we have [in Ghana] is an “Executocracy,” not a democracy.

From a framing perspective (Gamson & Lasch, 1983; Sikanku, 2013), we realize that Sir Jonah uses the catchphrase or coinage “Executocracy” to symbolize the overbearing nature and influence of the presidency in Ghana. This is consistent with previous research regarding CEOs and framing where leaders are seen as the main drivers of public discourse and a broader vision through their ability to “frame” situations using powerful language and devices (see Fairhurst, 2011). The problem Sir Jonah stresses here is the dysfunctional nature of governance. He blames the very nature of the constitutional setup, and his moral evaluation is that of a dominant but weak executive. He also used the keyword “rubber stamp” to indicate the acquiescence of the legislature and the executive arm of government. Keywords have been noted in the framing literature as contributing to the meaning-­ making effect of a communicative text. He notes that: The President is supposed to appoint the majority of his ministers from Parliament. … that makes Parliament a rubber stamp, because no MP in the ruling party will be able to stand up and demand accountability from the Executive—they are all scrambling for positions!

He is therefore calling into question the moral authority of Ghana’s Parliament to hold the Executive in check. The Judiciary is painted in the same brush strokes: The Judiciary is no different. The President has a determining role in the appointment of all the judges of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice. This festers the perception that the situation compromises the impartiality and independence of the Judiciary. … the citizenry believes that the Judiciary is not impartial with 85% of Ghanaians in a recent Afrobarometer survey perceiving the Judiciary as corrupt and ineffective.

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A major understanding of framing provided by Fairhurst and Sarr (1996, p. 3) is that “…when we share our frames with others (the process of framing), we manage meaning because we assert that our interpretations should be taken as real over other possible interpretations.” Careful consideration of Sir Jonah’s speech reveals that under the governance frame, he has some serious concerns about the Judiciary in Ghana. Such utterances, made in public and publicized in the media, indicate that the speaker’s interpretations about how the judiciary functions and, invariably, through the speech, his framing of the situation could be taken over other possible interpretations due to his public persona and celebrity status. That is why framing is seen as a fundamental communication skill for CEOs and persuasion in general (Fairhurst, 2011). Apparently, Sir Jonah’s view of Ghana’s governance structures is downbeat, as indicated by his comments about rising cases of endemic corruption, crony capitalism, and state capture: But corruption pervades all aspects of our governance system. [A] Few years ago, a prominent member of Parliament said publicly that parliamentarians take bribes to pass bills that favour their sponsors … if a fish comes out from [the] water to tell us that the crocodile has one eye, who are we to doubt it? Incidentally, the said MP is now the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Alban Bagbin.

He uses a proverb to establish the veracity of his statement. This contributes to solidifying this frame in the minds of the audience. He also uses the idiom or stock phrase (“lip service”) within a rhetorical question to elaborate his point: Our governments pay lip service to anti-corruption but do little substantially to cure the canker. Which of the major corruption issues has been conclusively dealt with since the fourth Republic began? No country can develop without dealing decisively with corruption.

A necessary dimension of the governance frame includes a moral evaluation: “too much religiosity without morality; pastors displaying uncouth behaviour by stepping on pregnant women and slapping congregants; people showing how money can be made without hard work.” This is a vivid description of the waning social fiber in Ghana and constitutes a major aspect of the present frame. He lampoons the religious

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leaders and the citizens too. The first (governance) frame illustrates Entman’s (1993) view of framing as a moral evaluation or causal interpretation of an issue. The keywords, rhetorical selections, and arguments presented here all contribute to playing up certain perspectives regarding governance (or the lack thereof) in Ghana—which has emerged as a major frame. The Silence Frame Researchers studying framing normally look out for dominant narratives and the rationale behind specific messages (Oliveira & Murphy, 2009; Sikanku, 2020). To do this, framing analysis situates frames in context by paying attention to historical, cultural, and political dimensions and other antecedents (Young & Pemberton, 2017). We found that an overarching frame present in the speech is his concern for the culture of silence and citizens not speaking up about societal ills. As a country whose democratic record has received global plaudits, Sir Jonah feels that open inquiry and the freewheeling expression of opinion in Ghana are severely curtailed. Since the prevailing values form part of the framing analysis, we can say that ideologically, Sir Jonah is a proponent of democracy and, specifically, free speech. Framing is about social narratives and how leaders proactively assert their diagnosis of societal problems (Benoit, 2001). In his silence frame, Sir Sam Jonah postulates his reality of a docile Ghanaian society in which citizens are reluctant to speak up: … what is baffling is that those who used to have voices on these things seem to have lost their voices. People speak on issues based on who is in power. Is our deafening silence suggesting that we are no longer concerned about issues that we complained about not too long ago, particularly when those issues persist …?

He identifies these issues as attacks on journalists and curtailing media freedom, murders, corruption, and harassment of individuals advocating against corruption. In framing theory, the extent of emphasis placed on an issue depicts the dominant frames, what is important to the speaker, and how they socially construct reality. Sir Jonah continually emphasized the seeming silence from expected gatekeepers in society:

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In the past, when all had failed, academia was the last vanguard. We all remember the role that the Legon Observer played. Under the hallowed cloak of academic freedom, men and women of conscience could write and speak words that penetrated the halls of power. It appears to me that in recent times in our fourth Republican dispensation, the courage to stand up for the truth and the determination to uphold the common good is lost. In our dark moments as a nation, it is concerning that the voices of the intellectuals are receding into oblivion.

Entman’s (1993) view of framing, which serves as one of the entry points for data analysis, includes diagnosing concerns in society by drilling down to the heart of an issue. The central issue of his speech is the idea that opinion leaders and the citizens, in general, are not vocal enough about the major problems facing Ghana. He attributes this to the reluctance and timidity of public figures to speak truth to power. He also cites the “fear of recrimination” by authorities and the “unleashing of attack dogs” as part of the reason for this silence. Framing devices employed in this frame include stock phrases and arguments. A stock phrase is a phrase frequently used by a group of people with specific meanings and understanding, such as “culture of silence.” The culture of silence is a major phrase in Ghana that means the government imposing restrictions and clamping down on free speech through several actions and institutional state apparatuses. This phrase has political and historical antecedents. It was introduced by Professor Adu Boahen, a history professor who later on became a presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party to describe the period of speech suppression under the military regime of Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings. Sir Jonah admits that the enforcement of silence is not done through legal or military power but through “convenience, parochialism, hypocrisy, and lack of conviction” not by officeholders but by the opinion leaders in society. The keyword “attack dog” is used negatively to show how persons functioning on behalf of the government tend to unleash (not physical attacks), but verbal attacks on persons purported to be criticizing the government, particularly on social media. He also employs rhetorical questions to heighten the depth of his concern. This rhetorical question (“where are the Adu Boahens and P.A.V.  Ansahs?”), placed within context has historical antecedents and refers to Professor Adu Boahen and other key figures who spoke against public office holders, even during Ghana’s military era in the 1970s/1980s.

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Sir Jonah’s larger point as a CEO activist is simply to paint the image of a country that is struggling. This point is made clear as he states: “And the silence over it is numbing as it gives the impression that it is okay, and it is to be expected. No, it is not to be expected.” In relating this to the literature, there is a nod to the strategic use of words, devices such as stock phrases, the role of values, and ideological inclinations in setting forth narratives of persuasion or argument. By recognizing sociocultural and historical contexts in textual analysis (see Carragee & Roefs, 2004; Fordjour & Sikanku, 2022), it is apparent that through the power of frames and advocacy techniques, Sir Jonah is seeking to persuade Ghanaians that what is happening is not usual; that a “culture of silence” is not welcome in a democracy, and must be expeditiously addressed. The Assault on Democracy Frame This frame addressed various issues Sir Jonah felt were hampering Ghana’s democratic socioeconomic development. This is a multi-dimensional frame: increasing polarization, partisanship, political violence, and indiscipline. Among the reasons the speaker ascribes to this frame is the invasion of Ghana’s Parliament by the Ghana Armed Forces during the inauguration of new members of Parliament in early January 2021. This is consistent with the literature on framing in which problems are diagnosed as part of communicative efforts (see Entman, 1993). Framing is thus powerfully used through the discretion of the speaker to represent ideas and create core narratives (Li & Dasborough, 2020). For context, due to misunderstandings between the two aisles of Ghana’s Parliament, the situation degenerated into chaos and the military had to step in to maintain order. Sir Jonah delves deeper into this event, framing it as a sign of a problematic democracy or “the biggest assault on our democracy” as he puts it. As an ideological proponent of deliberative democracy, Sir Jonah sees this military disruption of Ghana’s Parliament as an invasion and a slur on Ghana’s democracy: We also witnessed arguably the biggest assault on our democracy since the beginning of the Fourth Republic when on the eve of the swearing-in of the President at a time when there were no ministers, and crucially there was no Minister of Defense, armed soldiers, …, officers from an institution that works by command, invaded our Parliament and up till date, no serious

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answers have been provided. This could have had grave consequences and for the future of our country, the least the country deserves is a public inquiry. Have we become so numb to these things? (Rhetorical question)

With the debate still raging over whether the intervention of the military was necessary or not, Sir Jonah constructs this intervention as a wrongful act using a rhetorical question to offer his moral evaluation of the situation. We also realize there is a repetition of the word numb, earlier used in the silence frame when he stated “the silence is … numbing.” Therefore, through the use of repetition, the ideological belief in democracy, the value of deliberation, and rhetorical questions, he is able to frame his arguments concerning not just the docile nature of the present-day Ghanaian society, but actions he perceives as undermining democracy. Communication is hardly just an expression of language but an act that works to persuade while giving meaning to events. To do this, he cites yet another example to support his frame of assault on democracy: We have just finished another election, the eighth in the series since the beginning of our fourth Republican democratic experiment. As usual, the accolades came in from all corners of the world, and we took them with pride. What we failed to tell the world is that some people lost their lives in the course of the election. No election is as important as to warrant the loss of even one life.

Elections are supposed to be the hallmark of many democracies and are not expected to lead to fatalities. These emerging contours of elections in Ghana, where lives are lost, in the speaker’s opinion, are a blot on the country’s democracy. The assault on democracy frame is therefore manifested by such occurrences of violence. The centrality of the assault on democracy frame is that certain actions within Ghanaian society seem to undermine its democratic culture. Another indicator of this frame involves what he termed polarization and partisanship in the media: Independent media practice seems to have faded and journalism has become a conveyor belt for political propaganda, insults, and acrimony. What is the status of the role of the media in holding the Executive, Judiciary, and legislature accountable as the fourth estate of the realm? Is it enough to just report issues? Where are the investigations? Where are the facts? These are hard questions that the media must ask and re-assess its role in reshaping our country’s future.

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Thus, the problem is attributed to the ownership of media houses by politicians which often leads to the lack of objectivity and loss of media independence. Notwithstanding the global plaudits that Ghana has earned for her democratic practice, the data from Sir Jonah’s text indicate serious concerns regarding the media. This is consistent with the literature on CEO activism and sections of framing studies in which leaders are seen as key agents in driving positive social change and bringing attention to burning issues (Briscoe et al., 2014). The Solutions Frame Sir Jonah employs rhetorical questions to call to attention some pertinent issues in Ghana. He does this yet again in his effort to proffer solutions to the nation’s problems. This constitutes the solutions frame. He uses the phrase voice over the hill and religious references to call on Ghanaians to tap into age-old wisdom: where do we go from here? If we were to listen to the voice of the over-the-­ hill, the over-70s who have seen it all, what would be their advice for the future of this country? Well, this is the advice of the over-the-hill crowd who have been of service and are very confident that a word to the wise is enough. As the Bible says, those who have ears, let them hear.

Lakoff (2004) spoke about the use of arguments, narratives, and persuasive language to tactically construct issues in a way that supports an argument. This includes demonstrating the alternative or solutions. The present frame and the framing approach are therefore consistent with previous postulations on leadership framing (e.g., Li & Dashborough, 2020). By making decisions to select certain solutions and facilitate certain preferred solutions, Sir Jonah succeeds in framing the treatment recommendations (Entman, 1993) or solutions that should be ascribed to the problems previously identified in his speech. The first solution he proffers is a fundamental change to Ghana’s constitution: We must commit to review[ing] the experiment with the aim of strengthening accountability and ensuring that democracy delivers real development to the people. Democracy is meaningless unless it is capable of improving the living standards of the people and providing decent living conditions for at least the very poor in our society. To achieve this, the constitution must change.

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He calls for a total overhaul of the Ghanaian economy. In this area, he states that the people should be put at the center of Ghana’s economic revival agenda. A major concern for him is the dominant foreign ownership of most big businesses in Ghana. He uses the word choice (“bumiputra” meaning sons of the soil in Malay) and depictions (the Malaysian and South African scenario) to frame his solution, calling on the government to learn from Malaysia and South Africa: I pray we will learn from the experiences of Malaysia and South Africa. In Malaysia, the promotion of what they called “bumiputra” (Malay sons of the soil) policies as an attempt to empower local businesses in an affirmative manner led to massive corruption and cronyism.

These constitute the treatment recommendation of Sir Jonah. Equally significant is his reference to making Ghana an attractive investment destination in order to boost the economy. He alluded to a beauty pageant to buttress his point: “Investment promotion is like a beauty pageant. The reward goes to the country which is adjudged to be the most attractive as an investment destination.” In framing theory, such descriptions help to shape reality by embedding these references in the speech to create images, make sense of current national issues, and communicate powerfully with the public. The third dimension of his solutions frame is a call for greater industrialization. He critiqued the government’s One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative, saying it was flawed in terms of addressing the nation’s industrialization needs. He calls for greater government involvement in building factories, and uses historical references within a rhetorical question to refer to state-sponsored industries built under the inaugural presidency of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah: The state took it upon itself to drive industrialisation and build the foundation for take-off. According to some records, over 100 factories were built across the regions and producing almost everything we needed at the time. Today, we still export mainly primary commodities and import finished products for consumption.

The use of historical connections and linkages as a framing device is normally known as roots within the framing literature (e.g., Dimitrova & Lee, 2009). He once again latches onto this framing device when he

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makes reference to Dr. Kwegir Aggrey, one of the major historical figures in Ghana, quoting the statesman who had once said that Ghanaian education should educate the heads, hands, and hearts of our youth. In his opinion, the current state of education is too theoretical and had to be transformed into more technical and vocational. The cause of this, he notes, is the obsession with degrees. From a framing perspective, we observe in the analysis that a popular catchphrase or quote “certified unemployables” is used to frame this situation. This immediately leaves a memorable label and sets the tone for public discussion, shaping public thought and opinion on the subject. The solutions frame ends with the use of framing devices such as rhetorical questions, colloquialisms, and stock phrases. The rhetorical question was: are we preparing our graduates for the new skills sets needed for the future?” a reference to the need to produce skill-based graduates. The colloquialism is “who go say the truth?”, contained in the music of contemporary Ghanaian artiste Michael Adangba, refers to the need to speak truth to power. The stock phrase is “work and happiness,” a popular historical phrase in Ghana referring to an era where Ghanaian patriotism sparked an effort to work and the joy of nation-building. Overall, our work is consistent with the literature on framing, the use of speeches as a communicative, public relations tool, and the centrality of language and speech devices (Young & Pemberton, 2017) as used by leaders to frame contentious issues, call attention to or diagnose problems (Entman, 1993), suggest solutions (Sikanku, 2013), while advocating, constructing, labeling and representing issues (e.g., Gamson & Modigliani, 1989; Reese, 2001).

Conclusion This study unearthed four major frames from Sir Sam Jonah’s speech: (a) the governance frame, (b) the silence frame, (c) the assault on democracy frame, and (d) the solutions frame (see Fig. 10.1 below). The silence frame was concerned with what Sir Jonah saw as the reluctance of opinion leaders to speak against the ills going on out of fear of government highhandedness or flak. He attributes this as well to either hypocrisy on the part of most Ghanaian elites, fear of victimization, or suggests that their actions are based on political leanings. He specifically calls out the media and academia as being complicit or too silent in their criticism of government shortcomings. The framing devices used include

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Fig. 10.1  Major Activist CEO Speech Frames. Source: Authors. (The motif is based on the ancient Ghanaian Adinkra symbol, Bese Saka, which is emblematic of affluence, power, abundance, unity, and togetherness. It is used here to underscore the ability of corporate leaders to leverage their wealth, power, and influence to drive unity, progress, and prosperity for the greater good, particularly through social resistance campaigns)

stock phrases (culture of silence), rhetorical questions (where are the Adu Boahenes and PV Ansahs?), and metaphors (attack dogs). In this frame, he subscribes to the ideology of free expression, participatory democracy, and holding the government accountable. The governance frame relates to various concerns he saw about the governance structure of Ghana. He sees the Executive as overbearing, Parliament as weak, and the Judiciary as politicized. In terms of framing devices, he actually coins the catchphrase “executocracy” to characterize the dominance of the Executive over the other arms of government. This was certainly one of the grand narratives of the speech—the idea that the system created an over-centralized form of governance where the Executive wielded enormous power in the country’s governmental structure. Another framing device used to signal the same problem of executive control is the keyword “rubber stamp” in reference to what he sees as Parliament’s subservient status in relation to the Executive. He maintains that Parliament is weak in terms of its oversight responsibility over the Executive since it tends to frequently acquiesce or overwhelmingly approve executive demands.

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The narrative on the decline in democracy is very much an issue of concern in the speech. The assault on democracy frame was characterized by increasing polarization, partisanship, political violence, and indiscipline. These issues were brought together to construct the frame of what Sir Jonah referred to as an “assault on democracy.” Here, he expresses his discontent regarding deaths that occurred as a result of election-related brutality and the increasing nature of violence in Ghana’s democracy. He specifically refers to the heated altercation between the two major political parties in Ghana on the day of their inauguration which led to the military’s intervention on the floor of Parliament, calling this a bad image for Ghana’s democracy. Placed in context, it can obviously be noticed that Sir Jonah’s discontent is related to Ghana’s dark history regarding coup d’états. The image of the military entangling in a major democratic institution such as Parliament subverts, in his narrative representation, the democratic profile of the country. The last frame is the solutions frame, where Sir Jonah offers some suggestions for addressing the issues he raised in his speech. This includes fundamental changes to the constitution, restructuring of the economy, increasing industrialization, local ownership of businesses, attracting investments, and an overhaul of the education system based on skills rather than theory. He uses quotes as a framing device when he references a major historical figure Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey’s words on education, that is, the total education of heads, hearts and hands. He also used the catchphrase of “certified unemployables” to describe the current state of Ghana’s college graduates. These four major frames employed by Sir Sam Jonah in his speech are presented in Fig. 10.1 below: This study contributes to the literature on global perspectives on CSA and CEO activism by deepening our understanding of the public framing of national issues by Global South CEO activists such as Sir Sam Jonah under the current Ghanaian political dispensation. The framing lens helps to account for historical, cultural, and political contexts while offering an opportunity for examining a communicative event from the language constructionist approach of unearthing frames. This study contributes to nascent concepts and perspectives, including responsible management in emerging markets (Adae et  al., 2021), the African School of Thought in Public Relations, and Afrocentric philosophies on sustainability (Pompper & Adae, 2022) by setting forth a typology of frames and framing devices employed in engaging in CSA (Dodd

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& Supa, 2014, 2015) and CEO activism (Adae, 2020, 2021a, 2021b). At the theoretical level, other scholars may examine the presence of such frames in the public statements of activist CEOs in various contexts.

Practical Implications for PR Professionals and Communication Managers A successful speech uses framing devices not only to transmit information to audiences but to do so in an emphatic, contextual, and persuasive way. At the practical level, CEO activists and their public relations managers could explore ways of building such frames and the framing devices into their public pronouncements made as part of various social resistance efforts. This study examined framing devices which have also been unearthed and analyzed. Activist CEOs and PR professionals can become more purposeful and intentional in building such devices in the external facing speeches made as part of resistance campaigns. Particularly, the rich variety of framing devices is instructive in suggesting to CEO activists and their campaign managers the wide possibilities existing for enriching their messages. Public relations professionals can access four major frames and numerous framing devices, which they can add to their speechwriting repertoire, especially when crafting executive speeches. The four frames contributed can shape key messaging strategies at every phase of a PR campaign–from campaign formation, and implementation, to evaluation. Activist CEOs, executives, and speechmaking elites can use or build on the major frames and framing devices in speechmaking.

Suggestions for Future Research Future research can apply quantitative methods to analyze similar external-­ facing public speeches by CEO activists offered over time. Some scholars may also undertake comparative analyses of the relative effectiveness of the specific frames we have identified in this study. Others may also examine the conditions under which each frame’s effectiveness is either heightened or curtailed. A close reading of the literature on CEO activism reveals a gender-blind spot. Studies may consider the gender underbelly of CEO activism, examining various communication texts used by men CEO activists versus those of their women counterparts.

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Pompper, D., & Adae, E. K. (2022). Public relations and sustainability across the african continent: Using Afro-Centric philosophies to remember what’s been ‘forgotten or lost’. In D.  Pompper, K.  Place, & C.  K. Weaver (Eds.), The Routledge companion to public relations. Routledge. Public Relations Association of America (PRSA). (2012). A modern definition of public relations. http://prdefinition.prsa.org/index.php/2012/03/01/ new-­definition-­of-­public-­relations/ Reese, S. D., Gandy, O. H., Jr., & Grant, A. E. (Eds.). (2001). Framing public life: Perspectives on media and our understanding of the social world. Routledge. Shapiro, E. J., & Ward, S. A. (1998). Leadership and framing: An Oregon case study. Journal of the Northwest Communication Association, 26(1). Sikanku, E. (2020). A framing analysis of Barack Obama’s Afrocentric representation in the New York Times and Daily Nation. Legon Journal for International Affairs and Diplomacy, 10(2), 1–31. Sikanku, G.  E. (2013). Barack Obama’s identity construction and international media representations during the 2008 presidential election: A discursive and comparative framing analysis [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Iowa]. https://www.proquest.com/openview/670d6289ac72a3b8e2e7ed786c328f 3b/1?cbl=18750&pq-­origsite=gscholar Sikanku, G. E. (2019). Global political campaign communication: Framing analysis of Elizabeth Warren and John Mahama’s presidential primary announcement videos. Ghana Social Science, 16(2), 84–114. Taping, M. G., Juniardi, Y., & Utomo, D. W. (2017). Rhetorical devices in Hillary Clinton’s concession speech. Journal of English Language Studies, 2(2). Tilson, D. (2009). Current research in public relations: A critique and questioning of global trends. African Communication Research, 2(3), 367–396. Toffel, M. W., Chatterji, A. K., & Kelley, J. (2017, March). CEO activism (A). Harvard Business School Case, 617–001. (Revised June 2019) https://www. hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52500 Tuchman, G. (1978). The news net. Social Research, 253–276. Weber Shandwick. (2017). CEO Activism in 2017: High Noon in the C-Suite. https://www.webershandwick.com/uploads/news/files/ceo-­a ctivism-­ in-­2017-­high-­noon-­in-­the-­c-­suite.pdf. Young, I. G., & Pemberton, C. L. A. (2017). Exploring the use and application of framing devices in college/university president speeches. Journal of Leadership Studies, 11(1), 75–88. https://doi.org/10.1002/jls.21497

CHAPTER 11

Future of Public Relations in Africa: A Case for Rethinking Inquiry and Practice Isaac A. Blankson

and Albert A. Anani-Bossman

Globally, the public relations industry has seen tremendous advancements in recent years. Until a few decades ago, public relations was primarily carried out in traditional forms via face-to-face and phone calls with the media, with a press release being the sole means to reach the outside world. Fast forward to today, the landscape has changed radically. A 2013 Research by the International Communications Consultancy Organization (ICCO) showed public relations was developing at a rate of about 10% per year in developed economies and up to 20% per year in fast-emerging economies (ICCO, 2013). A more recent Public Relations Global Market We have no known conflict of interest to disclose. I. A. Blankson (*) African University College of Communications, Accra, Ghana e-mail: [email protected] A. A. Anani-Bossman Department of Public Relations, University of Media, Arts and Communication, UniMAC-GIJ, Accra, Ghana e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3_11

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Report conducted by Business Research Company (2022) shows that the global public relations industry was worth $63.8 billion in 2018. The report forecast that the industry would grow from $92.55 billion in 2021 to $102.80 billion in 2022, growing at an 11.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Similarly, the global public relations market is expected to grow at a rate of 9.8% through 2026. Public relations grew from $92.55 billion in 2021 to $100.73 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8%. The public relations market is expected to grow to $127.47 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 6.1% (Business Research Company, 2022). As a profession, the body of knowledge in public relations also continues to evolve. Public relations continues to establish itself as a profession and a management function. This is mainly a result of the adoption of the digital medium, which has led to a paradigm shift in how public relations is practiced across the globe. Attempts at theory-building in public relations have continued to show promise since the 1970s when the first conceptualization began (Sriramesh, 2004). Globalization and the evolution of Web 2.0 and social media have accelerated the convergence of technology, culture, economy, and politics worldwide (Kelleher, 2021). The strong influence of globalization, the evolution of Web 2.0, and social media have provided the needed stimuli for developing public relations practice and pedagogy worldwide. The growth of the industry is further reflected in the development of public relations scholarship, especially in the United States, Europe, and, to some extent, Asia (e.g., Duhe, 2014; Jain et al., 2014; Ju et al., 2021; Ki & Ye, 2014; Ye & Ki, 2012). An observed bias in empirical research in public relations in favor of the U.S. and European countries led to calls for more empirical research from other cultures, particularly Africa, Asia, and Latin America (e.g., Sriramesh, 2004, 2009; Sriramesh & Verčič, 2002). Unfortunately, since these calls were made in the early 2000s, very little by way of response has come from Africa. On the contrary, Asia, in particular, has produced several studies detailing the practice in the region (e.g., IPR, 2021; Macnamara et al., 2018). Pedagogically, little has been achieved from the perspectives and worldviews of practitioners in Africa. Notwithstanding the size and growth of the continent, scholars continue to acknowledge the paucity of knowledge and understanding of public relations in Africa (Kiambi & Nadler, 2012; Ngondo, 2019; Wu & Baah-Boakye, 2009). Empirical research on the practice of public relations in Africa is scarce (Sriramesh, 2009). The effect is that the body of knowledge on what has been conceptualized as “global”

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public relations has largely been restricted to the West and, to some extent, a few Asian countries (Sriramesh, 2009). This has hindered public relations scholarship and practice. Given these, this concluding chapter attempts to address two questions: Is there a future for public relations practice in Africa? If there is, what should the future of public relations on the continent be? Before addressing these questions, it is imperative to outline a few facts about African public relations as established by empirical evidence. This will allow us to put the questions being asked in the right perspective.

What We Know About Public Relations in Africa Scholars agree on the following: –– Globally, the body of knowledge on public relations has seen massive growth over the last three decades, thanks to globalization and the evolution of digital technologies. However, most have focused on North America, Europe, and Asia and little on or from Africa. –– Public relations has been practiced actively in Africa for over half a century and continues to develop, thanks to globalization and digital evolution. Nonetheless, scholarship on the nature of growth is limited. –– Despite Africa’s rich history of public relations, there is lack of public relations pedagogy mainly due to the lack of empirical studies. –– Many African countries remain unrepresented in the public relations conversation. Even though public relations is growing in Africa, only a handful of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have been studied. –– Despite its contribution to public relations, Africa has been underrepresented in public relations scholarship. –– African public relations continue to be dominated by Western approaches. Most concepts, theories, and practices currently applied in African public relations originate from the West. –– Research on the impact of technology, particularly social media on public relations practice, is either limited or nonexistent in Africa. The existing few have noted that practitioners on the continent underutilize technology and social and digital media (see e.g.,

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Adae, 2021; Akpabio, 2009; Ngondo, 2019; Kiambi & Nadler, 2012; Skinner, 2013). –– Although public relations in Africa has been active for more than a half-century (Skinner, 2013), research on the practice on the continent has mostly been “sparse and fragmented, a large proportion of it carried out on specific aspects of [the] practice in specific countries” (Skinner & Mersham, 2009, p. 284). Despite this statement being made more than a decade ago, its relevance can still be seen. The consequences of this paucity are many, particularly the overreliance of African public relations educators on western style and contextualized curricula and materials devoid of the local African context. The deficit in empirical works has had negative implications for Africa’s public relations profession. For instance, it makes the continent’s contributions to knowledge and the practice relatively unacknowledged. It also makes academics and practitioners appear to be ignorant of contemporary theories, research, and practice in the field (Akpabio, 2009). Additionally, they are insufficient in generating a thorough body of knowledge that allows for theorizing, conceptualizing, and practicing within the local context. Moreover, much of the practice on the continent is examined through the lenses of Western philosophies and pedagogies that do not reflect Africa’s socioeconomic, political, and cultural contexts. In a nutshell, the gap limits the continent’s ability to “fulfill its responsibility towards the global public relations society as well as other developing countries” (Van Heerden & Rensburg, 2005, p. 69). Despite the rich history of public relations, African public relations pedagogy is underrepresented or not visible to the rest of the world. With the exception of South Africa, which has been engaged in the promotion of the body of knowledge on Africa due to its relatively mature public relations industry, only a handful of scholarship has been done in a few African countries, albeit sparse, fragmented, and on a small number of countries. Notable examples include Uganda (Natifu, 2014), Egypt (Farouk, 2014), Zimbabwe (Ngondo, 2019; Ngondo & Klyueva, 2020), Kenya (Kiambi & Nadler, 2012), Ghana (Blankson, 2004, 2008; Anani-Bossman, 2021, 2022; Thompson, 2018), Nigeria (Ukonu et  al., 2018), and Gabon (Oksiutycz & Enombo, 2011).

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As we reflect on these facts or observations, it becomes imperative to ponder on the future of public relations as a profession and academic endeavor in Africa.

Is There a Future for Public Relations in Africa? Notwithstanding the above challenges, scholars agree that public relations in Africa has a promising future. In fact, it is growing, becoming more competitive by the day, and increasingly viewed as a must-have function by organizations. Various reports demonstrate the industry’s continued growth on the continent (e.gs. Boulos, 2016; de Villiers, 2016; Kiambi & Nadler, 2012; Forbes Africa, 2019; Ngondo, 2019). These reports demonstrate that the field—as a practice and a research interest—is growing at a noticeable pace on the continent, and global trends are influencing the field’s professionalism and its national and continent-wide significance. Countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana have experienced significant promise. South Africa, in particular, has a relatively mature public relations industry and is regarded as the largest public relations market on the continent (Rensburg, 2009, 2014). Demographics on Africa also support the claim that public relations in Africa has tremendous future prospects. The United Nations estimates that Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70% of Sub-­ Saharan Africa under 30. Such a huge number of young people is an opportunity for the continent’s growth (Adejumoh, 2022). According to The Economist (2020), Africa’s total population is expected to reach nearly 2.5 billion by 2050. The continent will also be home to the world’s largest under-25 workforce, opening the door to immense opportunities for growth and development. Public relations in Africa has a future also because of the continent’s extensive marketing potential, which has made the continent attractive to multinational organizations. Reports upon reports have forecasted positive growth for Africa. For instance, McKinsey Global Institute (2016) projects Africa’s collective GDP to reach $5.6 trillion by 2025, while household consumption is expected to reach $2.1 trillion by the same year. More promising is the observation that six of the top 10 fastest-­ growing economies in the world are in Africa. Countries like Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and Ethiopia are expected to remain in the top 10 by 2050. Additionally, the creation, in 2018, of the world’s largest free-trade area, the African Continental Free Trade Area

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(AfCTA), serves as a great opportunity for African countries to boost the continent’s long-term growth. Indeed, Africans have worked to recapture the narrative in recent years, emphasizing their countries’ tremendous development as well as the continent’s high potential as a means of attracting investment and enhancing regional and global engagement (World Economic Forum, 2019). Scholars again agree that Africa’s level of development, as well as the corresponding interest and investment from local and global organizations and businesses, will undeniably raise the demand for high-quality public relations and communications management on the continent. The recent rush by global agencies (e.g., Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Edelman, Ogilvy, GlobalCom PR Network, and Burson-Marsteller) and multinational businesses (e.g., Toyota, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and KFC) to establish offices or set up manufacturing plants in various African countries offer tremendous hope for advancement and growth in the public relations profession. Finally, it has been argued that public relations practice and its academic infrastructure are generally well developed on the continent (Rensburg, 2014; Skinner, 2013) despite the lack of well-structured and established systems (Rensburg, 2007). The literature (e.g., Kiambi, 2014; Mawerera, 2014; Thompson, 2018; Ukonu et al., 2018) documents the history of formal public relations in many African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya to the British Colonial Administration. For these and other reasons, this paper contends that there is a future for public relations in Africa. What, then should that future be or look like?

What Is the Outlook of the Future of Public Relations in Africa? For the continent’s public relations scholarship and practice to receive global visibility and a voice in public relations discourse, there is a need for research that spans a broader range of African countries and contexts. Such scholarship should divulge Africa’s diverse sociocultural viewpoints, which will enhance public relations scholarship and practice. This is specifically the reason why a volume of scholarship such as this, focusing on Africa, is important. Thus, it is hopeful that this book, Public Relations Management in Africa: The Practical, the Conceptual and the Empirical,

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and its preceding volume, Public Relations Management in Africa: Organisational Impact, in their entirety, set out to address the gap in public relations pedagogy in Africa. Although they are the starting point for gathering an overarching body of knowledge of public relations from an African perspective, they provide an empirical examination of the relationship between public relations and Africa’s different sociocultural environments and contexts. The volumes aim to address not just the practice but also the pedagogy of the profession. They are a positive guide to the development of the critically needed body of knowledge on African public relations. Nonetheless, there is a need for more research that examines a broader range of African countries and contexts. Indeed if the continent is to realize its potential as “a greenfield for research,” as characterized by Rensburg (2007, p. 38), more needs to be done in terms of empirical research. There should be pathways through which Africa can crystallize its presence and inform theory and practice in the global public relations industry. Empirical research should focus on investigating perspectives of public relations on the continent and within its cultural, global, and technological milieus. Scholars should examine current pedagogical modules and research directions in public relations and identify emerging issues driving the practice in Africa. Research contributions from various African countries could provide valuable insights into how public relations contribute to organizational effectiveness in Africa. Scholars should explore how contemporary technologies such as social media, artificial intelligence, and other emerging media are shaping public relations practice in Africa and in specific countries. Additionally, there should be conscious efforts by African scholars to share perspectives on the practice on the continent. As already pointed out, most of the concepts, theories, and practices currently applied in African public relations originate from the West, which mostly do not reflect Africa’s socioeconomic, political, and cultural contexts. Through conceptual discussions and empirical analyses, Africa can gradually come out of the shadows of the Western world by building a body of knowledge that reflects the nature of public relations on the continent. To achieve this, research must examine critical variables that define the changing nature of the African environment and how they impact public relations on the continent. It must address essential issues needed for public relations scholarship and practice on the continent to gain the needed recognition. African scholars must endeavor to develop frameworks based on variables that proclaim African agency and draw upon African

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philosophical approaches that underpin African business practices as the corpus of our current knowledge, pedagogy, and research in public relations management. This is in line with the call by Rensburg (2007) for African scholars and practitioners to scrutinize the state of theory, research, and practice of communication management in Africa with Afro-optimism. They must determine not only how the field can make a contribution to development and empowerment in Africa but also how Africa can contribute to the field and body of knowledge of communication management on the global stage….The composition of the social fabric and the value system of Africa is still far too different from that of the developed world (Rensburg, 2007: 38).

The need for an African framework or model that reflects the African worldview or philosophies has been promulgated by scholars for years (e.g., see Mersham et al., 2011). Many suggestions have been discussed regarding what an African public relations framework should consist of. Mersham et al. (2011), for instance, indicated essential variables that must characterize an African public relations framework, including the influence of communalism, a developmental focus, facilitation of social change, innovations in communication media and technology, and establishing a mutuality of interest (pp. 201–202). Similarly, Dlamini (2016) suggested developing an African public relations framework premised on the African philosophy of Ubuntu, that is, engagement, consultation, mutual benefit, decision-making, and feedback. A framework based on the African worldview not only looks at the role of the public relations professional in facilitating change and achieving development goals, but it also frames “communication practices as activism” (Tindall & Holtzhausen, 2012, pp. 373). The future of public relations practice will only blossom in Africa when practitioners brace up for the task of acquitting themselves from the western trends, case studies, philosophies, ideologies, and theories that are currently shaping the industry. Educators, researchers, and practitioners must take cognizance of the trends that will shape the profession in the nearest future and respond appropriately and timely to them. These include, among others, technological advancements (especially in the digital realm and AI), changing consumerism (e.g., changes in consumption

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patterns due to shifts in demographic compositions and changes in consumer behavior), activism/advocacy (mainly for social and environmental causes), changes in media consumption patterns (as a result of information available and accessibility via digital platforms and tools such as smartphones), globalization and proliferation of global businesses, and attention to culture and reorientation to the practice of publications.

Conclusion In conclusion, it is important to caution that despite these opportunities, there are challenges that could forestall the realization of the future potential of public relations management in Africa. These include never-ending conflicts, labor market restrictions, power outages, rising income inequalities, poor communication infrastructure, and the persistence of the digital divide despite the gradual growth of information and communication technology, among others (PwC, 2015). Given the relevance and application of public relations to socioeconomic development, it is time for African scholars to move from the debate of developing African-oriented concepts and practices in public relations to actually building them if Africa is to catch up with other parts of the world. Basically, we must explore and practice public relations from an African perspective. We must examine and apply variables that define the changing nature of the African environment, as well as the systematic awareness of the interdependencies and connections and their impact on public relations on the continent. The public relations industry in Africa must not be relegated to the background on the premise that it is not future-fit. It must begin with a thought and with scholars and practitioners having conversations and questioning current models, concepts, theories, and practices that are based on western ideologies and practices. We must start to rethink the African public relations industry along with the possibilities of what is coming in the future. It is hard to deny that public relations in Africa needs to be in a constant state of transformation in order to flourish. As Africa keeps progressing, especially with the rise of technology, globalization, and economic growth, it is clear that both positive and negative developments will impact the way public relations is researched and practiced on the continent.

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Index

A Africa, 1–23, 245–253 African community, 55, 59, 60 African context, 2–6, 9 Afrocentric, 222, 224, 238 Asymmetric, 160, 162 Authoritarian leadership, 191–214 B Behavior change, 104, 106–109, 113, 114, 116–118 Benchmarking, 31–49 Body of knowledge, 2, 21, 22, 246–248, 251, 252 Bridging, 147 Buffering, 147 C CEO activism, 220–222, 225, 226, 234, 238, 239

Collectivism, 5, 8 Communication, 125–132, 134–138, 192–195, 201, 202, 204–208, 210, 213, 214 Communication strategies, 81, 84, 88–92, 98 Content analysis, 179, 180 Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA), 220–222, 224, 238 Covid-19, 103–119 Crisis communication, 104, 106–114, 118, 169–187 Cultural dimension, 5 D Dar es Salaam, 131 Democracy frame, 227, 232–234, 236, 238 Development, 246, 249–253 Dictatorship, 192, 199, 202, 204, 207 Digital technology, 22

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. A. Anani-Bossman et al. (eds.), Public Relations Management in Africa Volume 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32751-3

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INDEX

E Egypt, 10–12, 21 Empowerment, 32, 33, 37, 146, 160 Environmental scanning, 147, 155–156, 161, 163 Ethiopia, 53–72 Evaluative research, 161 Excellence Theory, 31–49, 68, 69, 145, 146, 154, 155, 158 Excellent public relations, 33–37, 41–43, 46 F FeesMustFall, 170 Framework, 143–164, 192, 193, 200, 208–209, 211–214, 251, 252 Framing theory, 221, 223–225, 227, 230, 235 Future, 245–253 G Ghana, 9, 12–15, 17, 19, 20, 221, 223, 225–238 Globalization, 2, 3, 6, 12, 22 Governance frame, 227–230, 236, 237 Government public relations, 32–33, 41, 45, 47 Grounded theory, 194, 198 H Health campaign, 103–119 Health communication, 104–106, 108–109, 112–114, 118 Higher education (HE), 191, 192, 194, 209, 211 Higher education institution (HEIs), 143–164

I Identity management, 191–214 Indigenous communication, 55, 57, 58, 60, 72, 73 Infodemic, 104, 107, 112–113, 118 Institutions of higher learning, 169–187 Interfaith harmony, 79–98 Islam, 80, 82, 83, 91, 92 Islamic extremism, 79–81, 92 Islamophobia, 79, 80 J Jonah, Sir Sam, 219–239 Judiya model, 85, 90, 91, 97 K Kenya, 14, 19, 20 L Leadership style, 192, 193, 195, 196, 201, 202, 205, 209–214 M Makerere University, 191–214 Management function, 34–35, 37, 42, 47–48 Managerial role, 157–158, 163 Media, 32, 33, 35, 37, 39 Media landscape, 5–6, 12 Models, 32, 34, 37, 44–46 Models of public relations, 55, 68–70, 73 N Namibia, 36, 38, 41, 45, 46, 49 Nigeria, 11–14, 19, 20 North Africa, 81

 INDEX 

P Palaver tree, 59, 60 Political environment, 193, 200, 202–208, 213 Professionalism, 11, 17–21, 23 Public relations (PR), 191–214 management, 252 models, 13–15 roles, 13, 15–17 Publics, 31–49 Public service, 31–49 R Radicalization, 79–98 Relationship management, 79–98 Rethinking inquiry, 245–253 Risk communication, 104, 106, 108–111, 118 S Silence frame, 227, 230–233, 236 Social change, 220, 222, 234 Social media, 104–106, 108, 112–114, 118 Social media (networks), 125–139 Sociopolitical activism, 220 Solution frame, 227, 234–236, 238 South Africa, 12, 13, 15, 19, 20, 110–119, 170, 172 Stakeholder engagements, 38 Stakeholder management theory, 172, 175–179 Strategic management, 36, 37, 39, 42, 44, 47, 146–149, 152, 153, 155, 160, 164 Students, 169–176, 178–187

261

Sudan, 79–98 Sustainability, 144, 163 Sycamore tree, 58–60 Symmetrical, 149, 158–160, 162, 164 Symmetrical communication, 35, 38 T Tanzania, 125–139 Technical identity, 193, 195–196, 198, 203, 210, 214 Technician role, 157–158 Terrorism, 80, 81, 85–89, 91, 98 Textual analysis, 225–226 Theory, 247, 248, 251–253 Traditional media, 126, 128, 129, 133, 134, 136–138 Two-way asymmetrical, 32, 37, 38 Two-way communication, 147, 158–160, 162, 174, 182, 184, 185 Two-way symmetrical, 127 U Ubuntu, 7–10, 14, 22, 252 Uganda, 4, 9, 15, 19, 192, 193, 199, 202, 208, 210 University, 169–187 W Worldview, 7, 8, 10, 14, 22 Z Zimbabwe, 13, 15, 19