THE FIRST SWALLOWS IN THE DIFFICULT WORLD OF LEARNING GR

Abstract

The reviewed work is a valuable and vast textbook on GR in our domestic literature. This methodological material is especially valuable because it includes both theoretical and methodological parts, as well as a section of concrete empirical and practically applied developments, which allows linking theory and practice, as well as considering many subjects at the micro- and macrolevels of scientific research. It is also important that domestic and foreign authors took part in the creation of the updated textbook, which made it possible to fill the work with a number of fresh materials and in-depth cases from practicing foreign specialists. However, some inaccuracies can be noted in some fragments of the text. In particular, they affect the definition of the GR subject field itself, defining the GR sphere as a “kind of PR”, although both constructs fall within the boundaries of the broader PA (public affairs) sphere. Moreover, it is possible to disagree with the general differentiation of the basic categories of “GR” and “lobbying” (and the resulting distinctions of the functions of “GR specialists” and “lobbyists”), as well as the differentiation of the concepts of “lobbyism” and “lobbying”. In this manual, it is not always possible to achieve a state of interdisciplinary synthesis, since specialists in communication theory and political scientists who participated in the creation of this textbook present different approaches to the consideration of lobbying. Despite some disagreement with the position of the authors in several of the issues raised, the reviewed work will definitely contribute to the development of the industry, as well as to the process of university training of GR-specialists of a new generation.

Keywords:

lobbying, lobbyism, government relations, public relations, public affairs