Clientelism, Economic Structure, and Public Relations in Southern ...
Clientelism, Economic Structure, and Public Relations in Southern ...
Clientelism, Economic Structure, and Public Relations in Southern ...
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García – <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Relations</strong> Journal – Vol. 7, No. 2, 2013 – 230<br />
tradition, religion, <strong>and</strong> myth attributed to clientelistic societies (Günes-Ayata, 1994). The symmetrical<br />
model also assumes that a philosophy of equality between organizations <strong>and</strong> publics is possible. In<br />
contrast, a clientelistic perspective sees the world as unequal, where clients develop strategies to fight<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st those <strong>in</strong>equalities. In other words, clientelism “privatizes public relations” (p. 24), makes the<br />
practice at times an exclusive bus<strong>in</strong>ess between politicians <strong>and</strong> organizations. At its best, clientelism<br />
creates equality between organizations with merits <strong>and</strong> organizations without them <strong>in</strong> their<br />
relationships with their publics.<br />
Ethnocentric biases also affect a traditional overlook of the economic conditions needed for the<br />
development of symmetrical public relations. The Anglo public relations model “assumes an economic<br />
structure based on a decentralized free market economy” (Zaharna, 2001, p. 61). The ma<strong>in</strong> problem is<br />
that not all democracies <strong>and</strong> free market economies are the same. In the 2010 Index of <strong>Economic</strong><br />
Freedom by The Heritage Foundation, a rank<strong>in</strong>g that measures the degree of state <strong>in</strong>tervention, four<br />
Anglo countries ranked <strong>in</strong> the top 11 positions: Australia (3), New Zeal<strong>and</strong> (4), the United States (8),<br />
<strong>and</strong> the United K<strong>in</strong>gdom (11). In contrast, European Mediterranean countries fall way beh<strong>in</strong>d: Spa<strong>in</strong><br />
(36), Portugal (62), Greece (73), <strong>and</strong> Italy (74). With a high degree of political <strong>in</strong>tervention, a lack of<br />
private capital, small domestic markets, <strong>and</strong> competition <strong>in</strong> low added value sectors, many <strong>Southern</strong><br />
European organizations often f<strong>in</strong>d it more effective (<strong>and</strong> realistic) to receive support from the state<br />
(through government contracts <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>direct subsidies) than to build symmetrical relationships with<br />
their publics.<br />
Practical Implications<br />
Some practical tips for foreign public relations executives, agency heads, <strong>and</strong> managers of<br />
public relations who are directly <strong>in</strong>volved or manag<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational public relations campaigns <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Southern</strong> European countries should <strong>in</strong>clude the follow<strong>in</strong>g:<br />
<br />
Us<strong>in</strong>g a corporate or public relations manager who is a native or who has a deep underst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
not only of the importance of personal relationships, but also about the l<strong>in</strong>k between the