Please cite this article in press as: Fähnrich, B. Integrating concepts of international governmental communication—A framework for further research. Studies in Communication Sciences (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scoms.2013.01.001 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model SCOMS-17; No. of Pages 9 Studies in Communication Sciences xxx (2013) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Studies in Communication Sciences journa l h o me p age: www.elsevier.com/locate/scoms Integrating concepts of international governmental communication—A framework for further research Birte Fähnrich a,b,* a netPOL – Network Political Communication, Austria 1 b Deutsche Universität für Weiterbildung, Berlin University for Professional Studies, Katharinenstraße 17-18, 10711 Berlin, Germany 2 a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 29 August 2012 Accepted 17 January 2013 Keywords: International communication Governmental communication Propaganda Public diplomacy Public relations Nation branding Strategic communication a b s t r a c t The article focuses on interdisciplinary concepts of strategic communication by nation states and gov- ernments directed at foreign publics. Although different concepts describing the field have developed independently, closer consideration reveals that they show many convergences. It is assumed that the differentiation of various concepts is rather a question of theoretical viewpoint but this hardly allows for a specification of the social phenomenon. The paper thus offers an integrated and systematic approach to international communication by integrating the different concepts of strategic governmental communi- cation with international publics. © 2013 Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Indisputably, communication directed at foreign audiences has always been part of foreign affairs. But the strategic use of interna- tional communication by governments for political purpose dates back to the early 20th century when, in World War I, rival parties systematically took on communication for border crossing “profes- sional image cultivation” (Melissen, 2007b, p. 4). 3 Nowadays, nearly every act of foreign policy takes elements of strategic communication into account (Kunczik, 2009, p. 848): American President Kennedy’s well-known 1963 speech in Berlin, the widely media-attended underwater cabinet meeting of the Mal- divian government held in 2009, bilateral exchange programs and international campaigns directed at foreign investment are merely some examples of the use of strategic communication by govern- ments directed at foreign audiences. Against this backdrop, the phenomenon has also been the focus of scientific consideration. Different disciplines have thus developed their own approaches as to which propaganda, public * Correspondence address: Deutsche Universität für Weiterbildung, Berlin Uni- versity for Professional Studies, Katharinenstraße 17-18, 10711 Berlin, Germany. Tel.: +49 030 20 00 306 165; fax: +49 030 20 00 306 296. E-mail address: birte.faehnrich@duw-berlin.de 1 http://www.netpol.at. 2 http://www.duw-berlin.de. 3 For the historical development of strategic communication see also Bentele (2012). diplomacy, public relations and nation branding are regarded as the four most important. Sound analysis of the concepts, however, reveals that it is the theoretical stance that marks the differences among the approaches, not empirically observable facts. To the contrary, the broad convergences allow for a sort of consolidation of concepts and an integration of approaches may be viewed as beneficial. Thus, the central objectives of this paper are to offer a systematic overview of the current state of the art of strategic international communication with foreign publics, and to develop a system of categories to comprehensively describe the field and offer a starting point for prospective research. This contribution is an outcome of a larger research project by the author examining backgrounds, forms and effects of interna- tional communication by nation states in the course of foreign policy. Accordingly, the focus is put on governmental communi- cation with foreign audiences. Nevertheless, the approach might also give a useful impulse for the consideration of other types of international communication (see Fähnrich, 2013). 2. Interdisciplinary approaches – evolution and the current state of the field As outlined above, different disciplines have offered alternate takes on strategic international communication. Whereas the con- cept of propaganda that evolved in the late 19th century in the field of mass psychology shows the longest tradition, political theory raised the concept of public diplomacy in the 1960s. From a com- munication science standpoint, the concept of public relations has 1424-4896/$ – see front matter © 2013 Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scoms.2013.01.001