Bridging the gap: Mapping the relationship between activism and public relations

• This article details the development of activism in public relations literature.
• This article uses a critical-cultural perspective to examine activism.
• This article proposes the cultural-economic model (CEM; Curtin & Gaither, 2005) as a theoretical foundation for conceptualizing activism and public relations.

Traditionally activists have received more attention as external publics than as users of public relations themselves. This article reviews the dominant literature that positions public relations in contrast to activism and suggests theoretical directions for bridging the gap between activism and public relations. This critical essay provides a brief historical outline of activism in public relations literature, identifying gaps and proposing the cultural-economic model (CEM; Curtin & Gaither, 2005) as a way to propel scholarship of activism and public relations forward. This article presents the CEM as a heuristic theoretical framework to examine how activism and public relations are not always antagonists but sometime synonymous.