Image Of Enemy Research Articles

Community Narratives in Producing Negative Images: Their Implications to Violent Extremism Recruitment

This study explores how narratives within communities affected by the All-Out war of 2000 contribute to the creation and transmission of enemy images against the government. It examines the role of these stories in fostering a social identity that otherizes the government and discusses the mechanisms of vertical transmission of these images from parents to children. The paper also considers the implications of these narratives for recruitment into violent extremist groups and suggests strategies for reframing stories to mitigate their impact on borrowed trauma.

Mobilisation of Literature: The Construction of Ideology in Soviet ‘Defence’ Magazines

At the turn of the 1930s, a cultural project of defence literature emerged in the USSR, implemented by the Literary Association of the Red Army and Navy (LOKAF) under the supervision of the Political Directorate of the Red Army. The circumstances in which the idea of defence literature emerged were closely related to the historical and political context of the era of the “Great Break”. The authors of defence literature were both professional and amateur writers from the literary circles of the Red Army and the Navy. In their texts, they interpreted and adapted the ideological attitudes of the authorities and offered what they considered to be “politically correct” models of behaviour. Critics of the LOKAF evaluated the ideological correctness of these texts and formulated programme guidelines for writers. The article deals with the works published in the pages of the Zalp and LOKAF magazines in 1930–1932 in order to reveal the connection of the chosen themes with the current domestic and foreign policy agenda, the writers’ reception of ideological clichés about the aggravation of internal and external contradictions, class struggle, wrecking, mastery of technology, etc., as well as the images of Red Army soldiers, party leaders, internal and external enemies created in the works.

THE IMAGE OF THE ENEMY IN THE KAZAN CHRONICLE

The article focuses on the analysis of the enemy image, one of the aspects of the “war as a divine mission” concept, in the Kazan Chronicle. The capture of Kazan required not only political, but also religious, Christian justification. The author of the Kazan Chronicle unfolds a retrospective interpretation of the events of 1552, fitting the successful campaign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible into a broad historical context. However, the goal of the nameless author is not so much to restore the chronology and achieve historical accuracy. More important is the ideological component of the text, in which a reader should see the greatness of the feat of his compatriots, who surpassed the evil, insidious, inhumane enemy. The description of the military conquest should convince that this battle was blessed by God, that it served the good purpose of defending Orthodoxy. The article shows the ambivalence of the enemy image in the Kazan Chronicle. The enemy is hateful and disgusting, but his bravery, courage, and military training inspire respect. The positive characteristics of Kazan citizens, as noted in the article, serve the purpose of showing the greatness of victory over a strong enemy.

Possibilities and limits of political humour in a hybrid regime

This article focuses on the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party (MKKP), which can be defined as a joke party. MKKP uses humour to criticise the corruption flourishing around the governing party Fidesz as well as its simplified and racist form of political communication. However, MKKP’s critical stance extends to Hungarian politicians and the political system in general. This visual ethnographic research focuses on the activities that MKKP organised during national days in Hungary between 2017 and 2022, which included a space launch, a peace march and an alternative national day celebration on 20 August. The events can be defined as parody performances. The field material is complemented by a semi-structured interview with the party activists. MKKP’s humour is critical and revealing in nature, aiming to expose the powerholders’ agenda. However, instead of ridiculing, MKKP’s humour is primarily corrective and supportive. As such, it has the potential to alleviate polarisation. In MKKP’s activism, creativity and cynicism exist in close proximity to one another. Humour also functions as a powerful antidote against simplified populist truths that rely on fearmongering and enemy images. In a hybrid regime, absurd humour can be used to reveal the inherent absurdities of the political reality. MKKP has occasionally succeeded in entering the state-controlled public sphere. During recent years, the party has started to address societal matters more seriously, without abandoning its roots as a humour party.

Methodological principles of forming the "image of the enemy" in the minds of ukrainian servicemen during the russian-ukrainian war

The relevance of the study is due to the development of scientific and practical knowledge regarding the moral and psychological aspects of war, one of which is the sociopsychological phenomenon "the image of the enemy" as a component of the social consciousness of war participants. Its formation depends on the readiness of Ukrainian servicemen to destroy the enemy and the appropriate moral and psychological state in general to perform combat tasks. The purpose of the article is to determine the theoretical and methodological principles of identifying the formation of the "enemy image" in the minds of Ukrainian servicemen in the process of communication and its formation if necessary.In the research process, general scientific methods were used: analysis, synthesis, comparison, and generalization. And special methods: model of neurological levels of R. Dilts for determining markers in communication and logical levels of the formation of the "image of the enemy" in the minds of Ukrainian servicemen, as well as for the formation of the "image of the enemy" if necessary. The method of interpretation is used to reveal the meaning of the statements of military personnel. The interdisciplinary approach made it possible to combine the development of a few humanitarian sciences, namely: philosophies of war, social psychology, social communications, and neurolinguistic programming.The main results of the study consist in the identification of markers in communication and logical levels of formation of the "image of the enemy" in the minds of Ukrainian servicemen during the Russian-Ukrainian war. According to R. Dilts' pyramid of logical levels, which are manifested in communication at the following levels: environment, behavior, strategies, values, and identity. And at the mission level, the "image of the enemy" acquires its final formation and completion. In addition, a toolkit has been developed for officers in internal communication work to identify the logical levels of formation of the "image of the enemy" in the minds of servicemen and its correction or formation in the process of communication. The materials of the article are of practical value for the military administration that organizes and manages internal communication work in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and for officers who conduct it with their personnel. The theoretical significance of the conducted research lies in the expansion of the humanitarian discourse of military science based on an interdisciplinary approach, which made it possible to involve effective methods, principles, and approaches of other humanitarian sciences to solve the actual tasks of military science.

THE IMAGE OF THE ENEMY IN SOVIET PROPAGANDA DURING THE TURNING POINT OF THE STRUGGLE AGAINST FASCISM (June 1942 – August 1943)

The article examines the problems of the enemy image evolution during the turning point of the struggle of the Soviet people against fascism. The most important aspects of the ideological struggle between Germany and the Soviet Union in June 1942 – August 1943 are studied. The reasons for the transformation of the enemy’s image are substantiated based on the analysis of the wartime events that took place. The relevance of this issue is determined primarily by the importance of preserving the memory of the Great Patriotic War, in which knowledge about the enemy played a decisive role. This victorious experience can help to counteract the resurgence of the Nazi ideas in the modern world. Thanks to deep and comprehensive studying the mechanism of military patriotic propaganda and the introducing new technologies into it, the tasks of preserving identity and developing our society were solved. Currently, these historical processes will help to broaden the horizons and develop moral and patriotic values in modern youth. The purpose of the article is to consider the transformation of the enemy image the during the radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War in June 1942 – August 1943 in order to identify the most characteristic features of its depiction in various materials of Soviet patriotic propaganda. Materials and methods. The methodological basis of this research is both general scientific and special historical principles and methods of cognition, including the principles of historicism, objectivity and consistency, as well as a set of methods that made it possible to conduct a comprehensive analysis of archival and other research sources, including historical-genetic, historical-typological, historical-systemic and others. The work is based on archival documents and periodical materials. Study results. The most important circumstances of this period are noted, which played a decisive role in the development of the enemy image in the Soviet propaganda. The article presents the most characteristic features of the enemy’s image created by the Soviet propaganda. The article examines the changes in German propaganda among the population of the occupied territories. A comparative analysis of the activities performed by propagandists of the Nazi Germany and the USSR is carried out. The author provides examples of creating the enemy image based on the study of documentary sources, embodied in works of literature and art. The metaphorical image of the enemy reflected in the Soviet propaganda is revealed based on the study of archival materials and periodicals. At this, the importance of naturalistic description of the crimes committed by the fascists against the civilian population of the occupied territories is assessed in order to present the true face of the invaders and mobilize the society to fight the enemy. The issues of the legitimacy of the power of the warring parties are revealed. Conclusions. During this crucial period of the Great Patriotic War, significant changes are taking place in the image of the enemy. The original image of an inhuman, bestial enemy enslaving more and more lands, after the defeats suffered by the German army, is transformed into a caricature of a defeated cowardly enemy. The enemy is still strong, cruel and insidious, but the image of the defeated enemy is becoming dominant in the works of the Soviet propaganda and in public mind. The inevitability of victory becomes the dominant leitmotif in the Soviet propaganda and the enemy in the images created by propaganda should cause a feeling of disgust. Naturalization of the submitting the information about crimes committed by fascists and their accomplices becomes an important factor. It is referred to the development of a counter-propaganda system that convinces people that an inhuman enemy who kills women and children cannot be trusted. The images created in Soviet propaganda works achieved their goal and were firmly rooted in the public consciousness.

Prospective Islamic Theologians and Islamic religious teachers in Germany: between fundamentalism and reform orientation

ABSTRACT This study represents the first German-wide investigation of Islamic theology and religious education students. We examined how these prospective multipliers approach Islam in a reform-oriented manner. It was also asked whether study motivation, representation by Islamic associations, segregation, value orientations, enemy images, as well as fundamentalism and Islamism determine reform orientation. An online questionnaire was completed by N = 252 students representative for gender. The newly developed Reform Orientation Scale was proved reliable and valid. Reform orientation was positively predicted by the motivation to impart European-shaped Islam and a value orientation towards gender equality, and negatively predicted by representation by DİTİB, social segregation, enemy images, and fundamentalism. The findings emphasise the need for reflections on representation by Islamic associations and anti-Western and anti-Semitic enemy images.

Metaphor Power in the US-China Trade War Discourse

The article studies the role of metaphor in modeling the enemy image in the US-China trade war discourse. Based on the metaphor power theory, speech impact of metaphors on cognitive, semantic and communicative levels is described. The cognitive level of metaphor power is manifested in the metaphors of different intensity, namely conventional and noval, semantic metaphor power is manifested in the metaphors that differ in semantics and language form, namely orientational, ontological and structural, and, finally, communicative metaphor power is associated with the metaphor’s position in the text structure. All the three levels of metaphor power can be identified quantitatively by metaphor power indices (MII – intensity index, MfTI – index of functional typology, MStI – index of the text structure). Indices are interpreted on the data of previously conducted case studies, which allows us to determine the degree of metaphor power. Proposed methodology also includes identification of the most typical metaphorical models that make it possible to describe direction and content of discursive conceptualization. News texts corpora representing the trade war have been studied, showing Chinese discourse being more influential with indicators of intensity and functional typology indices reflecting the emotionality and transformational nature of the metaphors used, while metaphors in American articles seem to be more aimed at rational and identification impact. The main target concepts in the studied texts were “trade war” as a new reality of bilateral relations between countries and the actors of these relations, the US and the PRC. In the trade war discourse, the image of trade war is created as a “fierce geopolitical battle” (China) or “inevitable economic confrontation” (USA). Metaphors are also used to make changes to the evaluative component of the concepts CHINA (as a thief and a fraudster in American discourse) and USA (as a gendarme with a baton in Chinese discourse) in order to form a certain attitude and cause-and-effect relationships in their audience.Keywords

Croatian Homeland War Memorial Museums – Exhibiting Urbicides and Concentration Camps

AbstractRecently opened memorial museums and exhibitions in Croatia museumize the “Homeland War” of 1991 to 1995. This article examines the four major institutions, the Museum of the Homeland War in Karlovac as well as three sites in Vukovar: The Memorial Center for the Homeland War, the Memorial Hospital and the Ovčara Memorial Home. This first systematic site analysis compares 1) the overall narratives; 2) how enemy images from World War II are reactivated to demonize “the other”; 3) how women are represented in these war exhibitions; and 4) the topics that are left out. I argue that while there is still no national museum that includes war developments in all of the country, the two big institutions, the Museum in Karlovac and the Center in Vukovar, focus on the “defenders,” as the Croatian fighters are called – while in Karlovac strikingly marginalizing and at the Center completely omitting civilians. War here means (male) soldiers and weapons, while the other two institutions portray individual victims without discussing their biographies. In all sites, Serbs are depicted with reference to World War II: as Chetniks, running “concentration camps” who committed either “urbicide and culturocide” or a “holocaust” against Croats.

ИНДИЯ В ВОЕННОЙ ПРОПАГАНДЕ ПАКИСТАНА: ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ ОБРАЗА ВРАГА

The relations between Pakistan and India have always been hostile. The disagreements between them had a significant impact on the formation of the images of these countries. Pakistani leaders’ perception of India is an example of the enemy image concept. The constant attribution to India of hostile intentions towards Pakistan is the evidence of it. In addition, the religious factor that was basic for the creation of Pakistan, contributed to the division of Muslims and Hindus into “friends” and “foes” and, as a result, added to the opposition between Pakistanis and Indians in the main. The generals who had ruled Pakistan directly for almost 30 years contributed to the creation of the enemy image of India. General Muhammad Ayub Khan was the first to start using the idea of an “aggressive neighbor” in order to unite the Pakistanis. The journals of the Pakistan army, as well as the political autobiographies of the military leaders, indicate that the development of the enemy image of the neighboring state was gradual: the generations of Pakistani officers perceived India differently. However, the tendency to demonize India can be seen as growing within every generation. The image of the neighboring country has a direct impact on the policy of Pakistan towards that country.

The associative field of the concept “enemy” in modern Russian linguistic consciousness

The purpose of this study is to reveal the structure of the associative field of the ENEMY concept in the Russian linguistic consciousness and to find out the factors causing its transformation. The object of the study is the results of associative experiments presented in the "Slavic Associative Dictionary" and in the "Russian Regional Associative Database. 2008-2015". The subject of the study is the basic cognitive features that form the associative-verbal model of the concept "enemy" in the modern linguistic consciousness of Russians. The results of the comparative analysis of the researched associative fields in general testify to the stability of the associative-verbal model of the concept of ENEMY in the Russian linguistic consciousness of the first decades of the 21st century. The list of high-frequency reactions to the stimulus of враг is mostly unchanged (друг, недруг, враг народа, злой, мой, ненависть, etc.). The enemy's qualitative, action and acting characteristics, as well as his emotional and general negative assessment, remain stable. The connection between the concepts ENEMY and WAR is relevant. However, the circle of reactions that point to the subject of enmity changes: next to the topic of Germany (немец, Гитлер, Германия, фашизм), the reactions of Америка, США, Запад are noted. Reactions нации, страны, государства appear among the names of the objects targeted by enmity. Reactions indicating the location of the enemy express the idea of his proximity, which is associated with a sense of danger and threat. The appearance of such reactions indicates the gradual actualization in the Russian linguistic consciousness of the image of an external enemy, which can be associated not only with people of other nationalities, but also with individual states or their associations. Such changes are obviously caused by extralinguistic factors, in particular, the strengthening of political tensions on the part of Russia in the early 2000s against neighboring states and Western countries, which was accompanied by the active formation of the image of an external enemy in the Russian media space. The transformation of the associative field of the ENEMY concept in Russian linguistic culture demonstrates socio-cultural conditioning, discursiveness and dynamism of language consciousness.

"ASIAN ENEMY": THE IMAGE OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN THE AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN PROPAGANDA OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Abstract
 The purpose of this article is to examine peculiarities of the formation of the image of the Russian Empire as an enemy in Austro-Hungarian propaganda during the First World War.
 Methodology. General scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization) were used to collect information and analyze it. Methods of visual anthropology, history of propaganda were used. The analysis of the received information made it possible to recreate the wartime processes using the method of reconstruction.
 The scientific novelty is that for the first time, on the basis of the collected materials, the peculiarities of Austro-Hungarian propaganda in creating the image of the enemy from the Russian Empire during the First World War were analyzed, the aspects of creating the image of the internal enemy were noted, and conclusions were drawn about the results of the propaganda of the Habsburg Empire.
 Conclusions. Austro-Hungarian propaganda used the image of a "threat from the east". It has been established that already in 1914, military personnel on the front lines and the population in the rear formed certain attitudes towards Russia. Propaganda has fulfilled its task of forming the image of the enemy. The process of creating specialized institutions that were engaged in propaganda in the Habsburg Empire, the use of such means as caricatures and films is considered. The image of the external enemy was supplemented by an internal enemy. The Jewish, Polish and Ukrainian population of the border areas became such an enemy for Austria-Hungary. The higher military command of the Habsburgs tried to shift the responsibility for the defeats of the first stage of the war on these national minorities. On the domestic information front, visual propaganda was represented by posters, postcards, and films. The state of modern research on the issue is highlighted and the prospects for further research are outlined.

Challenging the World” – The Persian wars as a mirror of deliberate ideologies

The globalized world is more and more affected by ideological conflicts. An example from the ancient world is set to represent causes and background of conflicts, not only by the example of idologies (besides the usual aspects of the intention of gaining power and economic advantages), but also or especially with the aspect on the creation of enemy images. Despite recent research, the complexity of such conflicts is still ignored. This contribution about the (Greek-)Persian wars will clarify that they were by no means conflicts of clearly defined borders as democracy against despotism, east against west or Asia against Europe as often assumed and interpreted.

Ways to Create a Negative Image of Russia in Georgia's Political Discourse

The importance of this study due to the direct linkage of such issues to the priority directions of development of modern anthropocentric and functionally oriented linguistics that contributes to scientific interest in the study of language and issues of speech influence on the consciousness of individuals, including the explicit form of exposure. This article discusses some ways of creating the image of Russia in political discourse of modern Georgia in interstate conflict that is actively used in information war and implemented by the use of the tactic of creating an enemy image, which appears to be the highest form of discrediting Russia's image. The paper highlights the features of the functioning of language tools used in the technology of demonization of the enemy, taking into account factors such as the situation of communication, its characteristics. Proper use of methods of speech influence, their expressive capabilities helps to achieve the desired result. This study is relevant for specialists engaged in the study of discourse, national and linguistic and cultural features of political discourse, as well as for those interested in ways to create negative images of the likely enemy of the mass addressee.

Methods for designing strategic narratives in the description of the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian war in documentaries


 
 
 The article discusses methods of designing strategic narratives in teledocumentaries created by various production teams and distributed through the YouTube platform. The authors underline the important role of teledocumentaries in creating an emotional and intellectual response to geopolitical topics among television viewers and attempt to analyse six documentaries focusing on the current war in Ukraine. The aim of the research was to determine key narrative patterns that are presented by production teams from various countries in the context of the armed aggression of the Russian forces in Ukraine. From this research, we can outline three main narrative templates: identity issues (“Us” vs. “Them”), temporal cognition and feeling of “stopping the time”, the image of enemy inter-twined with death, unforgiveness and fear.
 
 

Як виглядає ворог? Уявлення українців про ворога після повномасштабного вторгнення Росії

The article highlights the process of constructing the image of the enemy in Ukrainians after the beginning of the full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022. Even though the war has been going on for 2014 years, the full-scale invasion changed the image of the enemy: now it becomes specific from the general image of Russia, and the Russian people are added to the list of enemy subjects, in addition to the government and the army. Based on in-depth interviews conducted immediately after the beginning of the invasion, the main characteristics of the enemy image construction among Ukrainian citizens are analyzed. What kind of enemy can be reflected through the description of personal characteristics of the enemy and emotions that arise towards him. The central element in the perception of the enemy image is that the government, the military, and the population appear as not very powerful but, at the same time, dangerous enemies. Emotionally, two emotions are predominant in Ukrainians’ perception of the enemy: hatred and disgust, which translates into a vision of future relations with Russia. The psychological processes of stereotyping the enemy, mirroring, dehumanization, and selective perception are present in forming the enemy image in the respondents. In addition, a psychological balance shows that the worse the enemy, the better “we” are, and the enemy itself is dangerous but one that can be overcome and defeated.

Linguistic Means of Constructing ‘Enemy Number One’ in the US Cold War Cinema

The study examines how the US Cold War cinema employed linguistic means to construct images of the USSR and American communists. The research relevance is determined by: the need to study the techniques of creating the enemy image as one of the crucial issues in international relations; and the importance of the topic amidst the aggravation of Russia- US relations. The study aims at analysing the usage of linguistic means in such practices of constructing/deconstructing the images of ‘enemy number one’ as dehumanisation of the enemy, its normalisation, domestication, and rehumanisation. The research novelty lies in the fact that, for the first time, the language as a resource for constructing enemy images in the Cold War films is analysed. The material for the study makes American films of the 1940s-1960s, in which contaminated speech for depicting Soviet characters is extensively used. Particular attention is paid to the means of creating speech portraits of Soviet characters. The research methods used are descriptive, linguistic, and sociolinguistic methods, and discourse analysis. The authors conclude that linguistic means (primarily linguistic competences and accent) were instrumental for creating enemy images in the cinematic Cold War. Linguistic otherness served as a means of emphasising second-rate culture, which in turn was intended to mark political foreignness. Linguistic means helped fulfil functions of the enemy image: showing its otherness; depriving it of the linguistic abilities as an essential attribute of humanity, helping dehumanise it; emphasizing its civilisational inferiority; and making the enemy comical. Finally, attention is drawn to the fact that the cinematic image of ‘enemy number one’ contributed to the hierarchisation of languages; everything Russian was associated with communism and therefore perceived as inferior and hostile.

Dyspozycyjny wizerunek Rosji jako wroga w nagłośnieniu incydentu w Cieśninie Kerczeńskiej (2018) przez polskie media

This paper aims to analyze how the Polish media constructed a dispositional enemy image of Russia during the Kerch Strait Incident. Eighty-seven materials from four daily newspapers and two TV news programs were analyzed using the content analysis method with elements of framing analysis and comparative analysis. The results show that the anti-Russian perspective of the coverage was the result of negative stereotypes and prejudices, and Polish journalists demonized Russia’s actions by referring to historical events and the negative consequences of the Russo–Ukrainian dispute for Poland, such as the military threat from Russia.

The Use and Abuse of History

This research attempts to explore the dynamic relationships between writing the ancient history of Iraq and political discourse, focusing on academic publications in Iraq between 2003 and 2014. These publications created images of the enemy through transhistorical narratives, providing "evidence from the past" to justify aggression against certain communities and neighbouring countries. The study uses Stein's definition of enemy images and Ofer Zur's model of creating enemy images to examine the role of Iraqi historiography in shaping political discourse. The research argues that the peaceful coexistence between Iraqi communities depends not only on political actors but also on the response of the academic community to power. By addressing distorted historical images of "Others," Iraqi historians can play a role in promoting peaceful coexistence between communities. The study highlights the importance of challenging politically motivated enemification of certain communities, which lack evidence from history. The research reveals a strong connection between the representations of the Persian, Jews, and Christians by the Baʿthist regime and those found in Iraqi academic publications after the regime's collapse. The study highlights the need for Iraqi historians to re-examine their relationship with power and to avoid disseminating politically motivated narratives that distort historical facts. Thus, this research emphasizes the importance of examining the role of historical narratives in shaping political discourse and promoting peaceful coexistence between communities. Iraqi historians have a crucial role to play in challenging distorted historical images of "Others" and promoting a more accurate and inclusive understanding of history.

Террористическая угроза как фактор пропагандистского обеспечения квазиавторитарного политического транзита в западных демократиях на рубеже XX–XXI веков

The article reveals the information and propaganda technologies used at the end of the XX century and in the second decade of the XXI century by the US political elite to justify foreign military expansion into Eurasia (Af-ghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yugoslavia, deployment of a network of military bases in the Central Asian repub-lics). The reason, but not the cause of restriction of civil liberties, according to the author, has become the threat of the international terrorist organization “Al-Qaeda” (outlawed in Russia) which has carried out a series of acts of terrorism against the objects and citizens of the USA in 1998–2001. International terrorism has served as a major shaping of the global “enemy image” that a fraction of a percent of a US military operation outside of a state has to be revoked. Subsequently, such information technology was used in connection with the emer-gence of the “Islamic State” organization (banned in Russia) to justify American intervention in the affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic in order to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. Using the systematic method, historical-genetic method and the method of analyzing local situations (case–study), the author comes to the conclusion that the political regimes of Western democracies, primarily the United States, transited at the turn of the centu-ry to quasi-authoritarian regimes that were looking for a political pretext for deploying aggression in the new colonial redistribution of the world. Such an occasion was terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda, and then by IS/ISIS.