The Handbook of Public Sector Communication

5Politics and Policy: Relationships and Functions Within Public Sector Communication

Leanne Glenny

Introduction

Public sector communication serves two masters—the elected officials and the public—supporting and implementing the political will, while facilitating citizens' access to and participation in government. It operates in a highly political environment, and yet is required to avoid partisan political influence. As a bureaucratic function its separation from that political influence has always been, and remains, a significant challenge for public servants in western, liberal democratic administrations. This is exacerbated for communication staff as they sit at the intersection of the politicians, policy makers, bureaucrats, and the nation's citizens. This chapter draws specific attention to the relationship between public sector communication, politics, and the political output of policy‐making and implementation.

The position of public sector communication in the discussion of politics and policy is complex as it sits across various disciplines. Historically, the writings on public administration and policy position the communication function in a supporting role, while the public relations discipline advocates for a much broader responsibility. Discussions of political communication and political marketing often fail to make a clear distinction between communication for electoral versus governance purposes. More recent efforts to distinguish the specific function of ...