An analysis of communication strategies used by a South African municipality to build and maintain relations with international sister cities

Abstract

Cities are forging powerful international alliances to improve security and prosperity. According to the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG, 2013), approximately 70% of the world’s cities are engaged in some form of international cooperation. This is a global phenomenon described as paradiplomacy (Bontenbal, 2009). The same trend has been seen in South African municipalities. Since 1994, metropolitan municipalities here have increasingly been engaged in paradiplomatic activities, and have collectively entered into more than 130 international sister city agreements (De Villiers, 2009). The cooperative relationships, managed by municipal International Relations (IR) practitioners, are initiated primarily to harness the opportunities of globalisation and economic inter-dependence, and in the interest of socio-economic development (Nganje, 2013). The role of municipal IR practitioners has, therefore, become increasingly important as they have the potential to enhance the global profile and frame the international image of cities through relationship building and information sharing (Fishbone, 2015). It is within this context that this study offers an analysis of communication strategies, used by IR practitioners in a select South African municipality, to build and maintain relationships with international sister cities. The purpose is to contribute towards the advancement of scholarly debate in municipal international relations by examining stakeholder engagement and relationship management in IR practice from a Public Relations (PR) perspective. The study is likely to assist South African municipal managers, and mayors understand the contribution of IR practices, specifically how the application of PR principles can enhance organisational competitiveness and strengthen strategic international relationships. The theoretical frame of the study was derived from the Public Relations Excellence Theory and the two-way symmetrical communication model (Grunig & Hunt, 1984). The research methodology of the study was qualitative. A single case study design was used to gather data, using a combination of document analysis, in-depth interviews and content analysis. The findings of the study show that strategic communication is fundamental to paradiplomatic activity in South Africa, and establishes that municipal IR professionals use a combination of both one way and two-way symmetrical communication (Grunig & Hunt, 1984) to build and maintain relationships with international sister cities. Yet, it remains unclear whether this form of engagement is strategic or as a result of PR theory. IR practitioners’ use of communication to cultivate more beneficial relationships can therefore be enhanced, if the strategic PR function is integrated in the department and knowledge of excellent PR principles is entrenched. Furthermore, this study narrows the gap within professional practice of PR and IR and demonstrate convergence of aspects of the two disciplines, supporting research by Fitzpatrick et al. (2013).