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The Law: The Executive Branch and Propaganda: The Limits of Legal Restrictions
Author(s) -
KOSAR KEVIN R.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-5705.2005.00277.x
Subject(s) - executive branch , statutory law , political science , law , agency (philosophy) , enforcement , administrative law , separation of powers , law and economics , politics , economics , sociology , social science
Legal restrictions on executive branch agency use of funds for public relations activities and propaganda can be found in statutory law, appropriations law, and federal regulations. Nevertheless, executive agencies frequently expend public funds to promote aggressively the agendas of presidents. The legal restraints against propaganda have proven ineffective for three reasons: first, agencies do not track spending on public relations activities, which makes congressional oversight difficult; second, the line between appropriate public relations activities and propaganda is blurry; and, third, enforcement of the laws against propaganda runs headlong into the separation of powers.