Social theories for strategic communication

Social theory provides strategic communication with a basic understanding of the societal role of the practice, and its ethical and political consequences. This chapter draws out some key conclusions based on a wide reading of social theory approaches. First of all, building on social theory means recognizing both negative and positive influences of the practice. A whole range of different perspectives is on offer describing how society works, and communication has increasingly been placed at the center of such analyses. Drawing on such perspectives, legitimacy and reflection are singled out as key concepts for strategic communication, and issues of power and language are highlighted. Finally, social theory invites a whole range of empirical methods to study strategic communication, most of them recognizing insights from the communicative turn.