Public affairs is a catch-all term that includes public policy as well as public administration, both of which are closely related to and draw upon the fields of political science as well as economics.

Public policy discussions are generally and consciously partisan, and we assume that participants in public policy discussion have a specific point of view which they seek to advance in the discussion.

Public affairs, on the other hand, generally claims to be non-partisan. It focuses on methods of public administration, illustrated by historical examples, recording outcomes.

In the broadcasting industry, public affairs refers to programming produced by a news department which focuses on matters of politics and public policy. Such programs are often broadcast only to satisfy regulatory expectations, and hence are scheduled at times when few listeners or viewers are tuned in (or even awake); in U.S. broadcasting, this is known as the "Sunday-morning public affairs ghetto". At some (particularly national) broadcasters, "public affairs" may be a special unit, separate from the news department, dedicated to producing long-form public-affairs programming, as at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation prior to 1992.

Public affairs can be defined as "the management of institutional relations at a profit" (Jeremy Kane, co-founder of EPPA, pan-European public affairs advisers).

Social activism involves popular action and commentary on public affairs.

List of public affairs topics:

• state, government. forms of government
  • republic
  • democracy
  • monarchy
• security
  • crime, criminal justice
  • military
  • civil defense, emergency preparedness, community emergency response teams
• regulation, deregulation
  • public health, pollution, emissions trading
  • industrial policy, investment policy, tax, tariff and trade
• budget
  • taxation
  • socialism
  • technocracy
• management
• public affairs degrees