Daniel Drageset

Is Symmetrical Communication in Politics Possible?: a Comparative Study of Communication Practices Among Leading New Zealand and Norwegian Political Public Relations Practitioners Daniel Drageset

How do political public relations practitioners communicate in Norway and New Zealand? And how close is it to the notion of symmetrical communication - the central element of The Excellence Theory, by many considered the benchmark of public relations practice? Norwegian journalist Daniel Drageset has compared the two countries and interviewed three leading practitioners in each country. While Norway and New Zealand share several traits, Drageset contends that the different political systems may make symmetrical communication more conducive in Norway. Practitioners in both countries, however, argued for a mixed-motive approach, where both symmetrical and asymmetrical methods were used.