De-westernizing public relations: A comparative and global perspective on the influence of personal and patronage relationships across the world.

This article examines the diversity and pluralism in global public relations (PR) by challenging the dominant Western, particularly Anglo-American, normative models that emphasize symmetrical communication and rationality. It highlights the significance of personal and patronage relationships—such as clientelism in Southern Europe and Latin America, guanxi in China, the personal influence model in India, and the Palaver Tree in sub-Saharan Africa—as central to PR practices in most non-Western societies. These models often involve asymmetrical, relationship-based strategies including gift-giving, banquets, and exchanges of favors, reflecting cultural, political, and economic contexts where government involvement and social hierarchies are prominent. The article argues that Western PR theories inadequately represent these realities and calls for incorporating these diverse practices into academic scholarship to better understand global PR dynamics.