Propaganda Technique in the World War

by Harold D. Lasswell

2013 Reprint of 1938 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Harold Lasswell (1902-1978) was a prominent scholar in the area of propaganda research. He focused on conducting both quantitative and qualitative analyses of propaganda, understanding the content of propaganda, and discovering the effect of propaganda on the mass audience. Lasswell is credited with creating the mass communication procedure of content analysis. Lasswell maintained that a content analysis should take into account the frequency with which certain symbols appear in a message, the direction in which the symbols try to persuade the audience's opinion, and the intensity of the symbols used. By understanding the content of the message, Lasswell sought to achieve the goal of understanding the "stream of influence that runs from control to content and from content to audience." Lasswell's most well-known content analyses were an examination of the propaganda content during World War One and Two. In "Propaganda Technique in the World War,' Lasswell examined propaganda techniques through a content analysis, and came to some striking conclusions. Lasswell was similar to Ellul, in that he showed that the content of war propaganda had to be pervasive in all aspects of the citizen's life in order to be effective. Furthermore, Lasswell sought to demonstrate that as more people were reached by this propaganda, the war effort would become more effective. Aside from understanding the content of propaganda, Lasswell was also interested in how propaganda could shape public opinion. This dealt primarily with understanding the effects of the media. Lasswell was particularly interested in examining the effects of the media in creating public opinion within a democratic system.

Genres: Psychology, History, Nonfiction, Politics, World War I, Military History

244 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1971

Reviews

[Sir Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

In "Propaganda techniques in World War I" by Lasswell, the author explores the use of propaganda for both foreign and domestic politics during the World War I era. The book covers specific historical events from France, Germany, and the U.S. and delves into the political theories behind propaganda.

However, the writing style of the book may not be for everyone, as it focuses heavily on history and can be quite dry at times. I found myself skipping large portions of the historical sections in favor of the author's theories on propaganda.

The chapters are organized around different political theories related to propaganda, and the ones that stood out to me were "Propaganda Organization" and "War guilt and war gains." The former highlights the importance of controlling opinion in a society, while the latter explores how propaganda can be used to make it appear as though an enemy is responsible for starting a war.


Overall, I would recommend this book to those who have a specific interest in the history of propaganda. However, if you're not particularly analytical or interested in history, you may find the book difficult to get through i myself skipped large portions of the history because it felt repetitive and i was just interested in the political theories and that a large portion could have been summarized easily.

[Den _ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книга издана в 1927 г.
..."Суммарно основанные на исследовании Лассуэлла рекомендации для обеспечения успеха военной пропаганды могут быть
представлены следующим образом:
1) необходимо возложить вину на врага за развязывание войны;
2) нужно добиваться национального единства, делая упор на общую историю и божественное покровительство и провозглашая неизбежность победы;
3) требуется четко декларировать цели войны, апеллируя к таким культурно обусловленным идеалам, как свобода, мир или безопасность;
4) важно распространять примеры, доказывающие порочность врага и укрепляющие веру в то, что именно он несет ответственность за войну;
5) неблагоприятные новости следует представлять исходящей от врага ложью, чтобы избежать разобщенности и пораженческих настроений;
6) следует рассказывать страшные истории, которые выставляют врага в дурном свете, его дегуманизируют и, таким образом, оправдывают насильственные действия."

[AskHistorians]

Another influential volume, this time from a leading American scholar of "behavioralism" and public relations. He and Edward L. Bernays (Propaganda, 1928) offer roughly contemporaneous (though very differently focused) theorizations of propaganda and its practice, and the two volumes can be read usefully as companion pieces.

[Steven Jaeger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book that could have only been written in a rather brief window of time. It is rare to read something about WWI that doesn't make tons of references to or implications about the impact on WWII. Significant information has come out since this was written about additional propaganda from the time period, and with more distance from the events it is easier to analyze said propaganda without also being victim to its effects. Much of the propaganda was ultimately recorded as "fact" by the victors to cover their tracks, and this book doesn't address any of that since it was written too close to the events. It does, however, view propaganda from an academic perspective and does not approach the subject as inherently evil, despite the modern connotations.

This probably isn't for casual readers, but if you have a strong interest in this specific subject or this general field of study (WWI/WWII) it is an interesting book to explore, especially considering when it was written.

[Bích Phương · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sách đã được dịch ra tiếng việt với tựa Kỹ thuật tuyên truyền trong thế chiến. Sau khi đọc xong thì cảm thấy hoang mang trong cuộc đời. Vì nhìn đâu cũng thấy tuyên truyền. Rốt cuộc thì trên đời này làm gì có gì gọi là khách quan. Kẻ thắng là người làm nên lịch sử. Nhưng làm dân nghèo thấp cổ bé họng thì ở bên thắng hay bên bại đều khổ như nhau!

[Patrick Gilner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic, and still more useful and clear than many more recent studies. Some conclusions about the veracity of atrocities (especially by the Germans) are naturally dated and not simply the product of allied propaganda, so use in conjunction with more recent studies from 1990s-present.