PROPAGANDA IN WAR TIMES: ANALYSIS OF LASSUELLE'S MODEL ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE ARMENIAN-AZERBAN INFORMATION STRUGGLE

Abstract

Propaganda is the most important component of information wars. For centuries, propaganda has been used to strengthen one's own positions, unite a wide circle around a certain goal, discredit the enemy, advance one's own goals as unhindered as possible, and for other purposes. The propaganda factor is especially important in the period preceding military operations and during wars themselves. Large-scale propaganda work was carried out during the First and Second World Wars and the period preceding them. The American propaganda machine did a tremendous job during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. In our days, there were manifestations of propaganda confrontation in 2008 during the Georgian-Russian war, the 2014 Crimean crisis, the 2016 Armenian-Azerbaijani April Four-Day War, the 2020 44-Day War, and currently propaganda is being used in full force in parallel with the Russian-Ukrainian war. Therefore, the study of propaganda mechanisms during wartime has practical significance.

The aim of the article is to analyse the peculiarities of wartime propaganda based on the approaches put forward by one of the major theorists in the field, H. Lasswell, with examples of similar manifestations in the Armenian-Azerbaijani wars. The article provides the most common definitions and characteristics of propaganda, and then refers to the approaches contained in Lasswell's book "Propaganda Mechanisms of the World War". It is noteworthy that although the work was written in the first half of the 20th century, the wartime propaganda mechanisms described in the work are relevant and applicable to this day.