ABSTRACT
Emerging actors are increasingly turning to public relations in order to interact with and influence international publics. The politically sensitive issue of engaging in the contentious act of understanding what exactly is meant by the politically loaded concept of “failed state,” before moving to the two case studies which were chosen for the chapter, on the basis of representing different approaches by what some argue are failed states, the approach and intended outcomes are quite different. The case of Zimbabwe demonstrates the use of global public relations to influence and persuade international audiences to embark upon tourism in the country and to stimulate foreign direct investment in a country that has been affected by economic difficulty. The approach is to use the power of attraction by the use of communication. The other country case is North Korea, in particular the use of nuclear weapons as a means to engage the intended audience with the use of potential threat in order to ensure the survival of the country’s leadership and as a means of projecting a greater presence and bargaining power that permits North Korea to be an active player in international talks with the United States.
