“…Whereas some of these invasions are overtly implemented, others are covertly carried out through persuasive strategies such as grant programs, foreign assistance programs, and democracy promotion initiatives (Escobar, 1995). Based on a practical-critical approach that focuses on criticizing the praxis of public relations, in this article I offer an interrogation of the concept of civil society (Craig, 1989;Woodward, 2003). I first review the literature in public relations on civil society and then present a cultural criticism of the concept based on case studies of the Philippines, Chile, and Nicaragua.…”