Social Conflict and Public Relations

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issues of Societies aims to explore the role of public relations theory and practice in managing responses to social conflicts as well as rapid social change in the 21^st century societies. Social conflict is conflict in society between at least two individuals and/or collectives (social groupings, organizations) based on real differences between these groups in terms of needs, interests, social recognition, social power, access to resources, and significant social values. Communication skills developed by public relations seem vital to resolving conflicts in organizations, public policy practices, and society as a whole; thinking about the role public relations plays in resolving social conflicts seems to be a crucial need. Integrating communicative principles is a challenging task for public relations professionals in today’s societies struggling with conflicts emerging due to societal changes and tensions due to the environmental problems of contemporary reality.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit societies, states, firms, and individuals. The COVID-19 situation has the potential to cause conflicts at work as well as between an organization and its stakeholders. Stakeholders want facts and credible leaders as well as trustworthy spokespersons. Regular, straightforward dialogue about the situation gives owners and managers the opportunity to reassure people, to provide a sense of perspective, and to resolve conflicts. The crisis has shown that communication is more important than ever before. So, the role of communication developed by public relations seems vital in the curent situation as well as after the pandemic. Communication can cause conflict, be a sympton of conflict, or be an effective method to deal with conflict situations.

The recent model of public relations centers mostly on two-way symmetrical communication and mutually beneficial relationships. Although public relations is perceived as activities typical for organizations, considering it from a sociological perspective may highlight its function in society in general. In this Special Issue, we welcome articles discussing the potential of public relations efforts and suggesting some approaches for resolving social conflicts during and after the pandemic.

The Special Issue welcomes theoretical, empirical, as well as practice-related contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics: (i) the analysis of public relations theory and practice supporting conflict resolution in organizations, communities, and society; (ii) issues of conflict management, conflict resolution, negotiation strategies, and tactics as they apply to the practice of public relations; and (iii) public relations as a functional social system that helps to manage the response to social conflicts and rapid social changes, including pandemic consequences for society and organisations. This Special Issue is interested in further knowledge about how public relations may contribute to our understanding of social conflict resolution process. In addition, the current pandemic has revealed a new role of public relations in addressing the organization’s sudden and unexpected conflicts.

Dr. Anna Adamus-Matuszyńska
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• public relations
• social conflict
• conflict resolution
• social changes