Spinning the World: The Public Relations Industry and American Foreign Relations (Cambridge Studies in US Foreign Relations)

By: Andrew Johnstone

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Synopsis: Spinning the World is the first book to examine the public relations industry's hidden hand of influence on American foreign relations. By working with groups of American citizens, domestic and overseas businesses, and US and foreign governments, PR firms influenced foreign policy debates and shaped how Americans thought about their place in the world in the twentieth century. Since World War I, the relationship between the public relations industry and American foreign relations has been complex and controversial. The century saw recurring debates and investigations into PR's role in creating propaganda, as fears grew that PR might be used to undermine American democracy. Convincing the American people to buy products as consumers was one thing. Persuading them to think differently about the nation's place in the world as citizens was something else altogether. In this book, Andrew Johnstone shows how business interests helped shape the broader national interest, for better or worse.