The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to public affairs:

Public affairs – catch-all term that includes public policy

Policy

A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...

 as well as public administration

Public administration

Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....

, both of which are closely related to and draw upon the fields of political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 and economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

.

Essence of public affairs

• Public
  Public
  In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...
  
   – in public relations
  Public relations
  Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
  
   and communication science, the contexts of "public" are:
  • Publics – groups of individuals
  • The public (a.k.a."the general public") – the totality of such groups.
• Affair
  Affair
  Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
  
  s – professional, personal, or public business matters.

Branches of public affairs

• Public policy
  Public policy
  Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
  
   – principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. Public policy is commonly embodied "in constitutions, legislative acts, and judicial decisions."
• Public administration
  Public administration
  Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
  
   – implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work.

General public affairs concepts

• State (polity)
  State (polity)
  A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
  
  , Sovereign state
  Sovereign state
  A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
  
  , government
  Government
  Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
  
  , forms of government
  • republic
    Republic
    A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
    
    
  • democracy
    Democracy
    Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
    
    
  • monarchy
    Monarchy
    A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
    
    
• security
  Security
  Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
  
  
  • crime
    Crime
    Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
    
    , criminal justice
    Criminal justice
    Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
    
    
  • military
    Military
    A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
    
    
  • civil defense
    Civil defense
    Civil defense, civil defence or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation, and recovery...
    
    , emergency preparedness, community emergency response team
    Community Emergency Response Team
    In the United States a community emergency response team can refer to* one of five federal programs promoted under the umbrella organization Citizen Corps, which is funded in part by the Stafford Act;...
    
    s
• regulation
  Regulation
  Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
  
  , deregulation
  Deregulation
  Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
  
  
  • public health
    Public health
    Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
    
    , pollution
    Pollution
    Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
    
    , emissions trading
    Emissions trading
    Emissions trading is a market-based approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants....
    
    
  • industrial policy
    Industrial policy
    The Industrial Policy plan of a nation, sometimes shortened IP, "denotes a nation's declared, official, total strategic effort to influence sectoral development and, thus, national industry portfolio." These interventionist measures comprise "policies that stimulate specific activities and promote...
    
    , investment policy
    Investment policy
    An investment policy is any government regulation or law that encourages or discourages foreign investment in the local economy, e.g. currency exchange limits.- Explanation :...
    
    , tax, tariff and trade
    Tax, tariff and trade
    The tax, tariff and trade laws of a political region, state or trade bloc determine which form of consumption and production tend to be encouraged or discouraged...
    
    
• budget
  Budget
  A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
  
  
  • taxation
  • socialism
    Socialism
    Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
    
    
  • technocracy
    Technocracy (bureaucratic)
    Technocracy is a form of government where technical experts are in control of decision making in their respective fields. Economists, engineers, scientists, health professionals, and those who have knowledge, expertise or skills would compose the governing body...
    
    
• management
  Management
  Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
  
  
• public policy degrees
  Public policy degrees
  Public policy degrees, public administration degrees and public affairs degrees are master and PhD level professional degrees offered by public policy schools...
  
  

External links

About the industry

• Public Affairs Links, an independent overview of the industry in the US and Europe
• The Museum of Public Relations, a look at some of the industry's historical figures
• Using market research for Public Relations, white paper from ICR
• A History of Public Relations, from The Institute for Public Relations

Industry publications

• PR Week , a PR trade weekly with both a US and UK edition
• O'Dwyer's PR Daily, another trade publication, occasionally featuring critical essays and investigative journalism about the industry
• PR News, online and offline publication that also issues PR awards, webinars and guidebooks

Industry associations and institutes

• The Canadian Public Relations Society, Inc., The CPRS works to advance the professional stature of public relations and regulates its practice for the benefit and protection of the public interest.
• Chartered Institute of Public Relations, the UK’s leading public relations industry professional body and the largest public relations institute in Europe
• Council of Public Relations Firms U.S. trade association for public relations firms
• The Global Alliance, an international peak organisation
  Peak organisation
  A peak organisation or peak body in Australia is an association of industries or groups. They are generally established for the purposes of developing standards and processes, or to act on behalf of all members when lobbying government or promoting the interests of the members.In the commercial...
  
  with a mission to enhance the public relations profession and its practitioners throughout the world.
• The Institute for Public Relations is focused on the science beneath the art of public relations
• International Association of Business Communicators, an international association of 15,000 communicators, with many members from the PR profession
• League of American Communications Professionals recognizes and promotes best practices within the communications industry. Resources include a free monthly newsletter; templates and how-to guides available to members; evaluation services; and competitions highlighting the best communications materials and campaigns within the industry.
• Public Relations Institute of Australia, Institute for the public relations profession in Australia.
• Public Relations Institute of New Zealand Institute for the public relations profession in New Zealand, advancing learning, promoting professional development and working towards a greater understanding of public relations in the wider community.
• Public Relations Society of America, a professional association of public relations practitioners
• Public Relations Society of India, a professional body of public relations practitioners in India

Watchdogs and critics

• SourceWatch.org Provides background on PR agencies and practitioners. Focuses mostly on conservative and right-wing PR
• PR Watch, critiques deceptive PR campaigns
• Spinwatch, a page which monitors public relations and propaganda
• CorporateWatch, a critical overview of the public relations and lobbying industry
• Annenberg Political Fact Check A nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer advocate which monitors the factual accuracy of statements by political players