ABSTRACT
In international politics, explanation plays a particularly important part because much of the behavior is verbal in form; purposes are made articulate and policies are carried out with due regard to the announcements of other states. The findings from political science showed that the decision-making process itself–exactly that which the communications sought to influence–is not a matter of masses, but rather of groups. Discriminating foreign communicator seeks not only to influence directly foreign policy decision-makers but also opinion-makers, who in turn influence the decision-makers within their own environmental context. The German Democratic Republic’s increased recognition of the nature and importance of the fourth tool of foreign policy is clear in the new statute of the Foreign Ministry. In the old statute, the cultural activities that are part of an international political communications program were coordinated and controlled by a Commission for Cultural Relations Abroad, which was appointed by the Council of Ministers.
