Government communication about potential policies: Public relations, propaganda or both?

In this article, we discuss some of the arguments for and against government communication about potential public policies. This form of government communication is controversial, as it can be perceived as tax-financed propaganda for the politician or political party that is in power. Our basic argument here, however, is that an administration can communicate about potential policies in an ethical manner that also strengthens the democratic relationship between politicians and citizens by opening up the policy formulation process.