By reporting on some conflicts but not on others, and by representing conflicts they report on in particular ways, the media strongly influence the dynamics and outcomes of democratisation conflicts, and thus also shape the prospects of success of conflict parties. This paper explores the literature on media and conflict by focusing on the ways in which media frame inter-state and civil wars, institutionalised conflicts and social movements in western democracies, and conflicts in nondemocratic and democratising states. Much of the literature discusses the ways in which western media frame foreign conflicts and domestic election campaigns and policy debates, while there is considerably less focus on domestic conflicts in nonwestern settings, such as those that arise during and after transitions from nondemocratic rule. There are only limited attempts to draw parallels between the media coverage of disparate conflicts. In contrast, this study builds upon research findings in these related areas to draw lessons for empirical research of media framing of the contentious dimension of contemporary democratisation. This study concludes that the political context is the main factor that shapes the media framing of various forms of political conflict. Several dimensions of the political context matter in this respect, such as regime type, international (foreign) or domestic perspective, elite consensus or conflict, policy consensus or uncertainty, policy area, more or less institutionalised nature of the political conflict at stake, and the stage of democratisation. Also, the literature suggests that media framing strongly influences political outcomes and thus fosters or undermines democratic institutions in new democracies. .
Predmet ovog rada je upotreba sekuritizacije pandemije od strane vladajućih političkih elita u cilju dobijanja političkih poena u predizbornoj kampanji u Srbiji 2020. godine, kao i posledice ovog procesa. Samim tim analiza nudi drugačiju perspektivu za sagledavanje manipulacije tokom funkcionerske kampanje korišćenjem analitičkog okvira teorije sekuritizacije, uz dodatak teorije frejminga. Tako će sa analitičkog stanovišta obraditi sve osnovne elemente sekuritizacije pandemije, dok će normativni deo poslužiti za ispitivanje etičnosti, odnosno opravdanosti ove sekuritizacije. Primenom analize diskursa dolazi se do zaključka da je sekuritizacija pandemije bila u funkciji promocije lidera i vladajuće političke partije u Srbiji, a ne stvarne borbe za bezbednost građana. ; The subject of this paper is the use of the securitization of the pandemic by the ruling political elites for the purpose of acquiring political points in the election campaign in Serbia in 2020, as well as the consequences of the process. Thus,the analysis offers a different perspective for observing the manipulation during the campaign of the bureaucrats by using analytical framework of the securitization theory, with the addition of framing theory. In that way, from theanalytical point of view, one will process all the basic elements of the securitization of the pandemic, while the normative part will serve to examine the ethics, respecting the justification of the securitization. By applying the discourseanalysis, a conclusion was reached that securitization of the pandemic was in the function of promoting the leaders and ruling political party in Serbia and not the actual fight for the safety of citizens.
Predmet istraživanja u ovoj disertaciji je plaćena komunikacija na televiziji u parlamentarnim izbornim kampanjama u Srbiji posle 2000. godine. Disertacija pronalazi svoje ishodište u teoriji okvira i socijalnom konstruktivizmu što je inherentno utemeljenje ove teorije. Koristili smo tri metodološka pristupa: (1) kvalitativnu analizu sadržaja u političkom izbornom oglašavanju, (2) analizu okvira i (3) dubinske intervjue sa političkim konsultantima i članovima izbornih štabova. U disertaciji su korišćeni brojni izvori sekundarnih podataka. Period istraživanja je obuhvatio period posle 2000. godine, sve parlamentarne izbore na uzorku onih subjekata koji su prešli cenzus. Nalazi istraživanja pokazuju da posle 2000. dolazi do krupnih promena u političkoj komunikaciji. Političko oglašavanje dobija važnu ulogu u kampanjama, produkcija je ogromna a ulaganja izbornih učesnika drastično uvećana u odnosu na period pre 2000. godine. Političko oglašavanje je gotovo po pravilu služilo za ubeđivanje a malo ili nimalo za informisanje. U disertaciji je autor jasno potvrdio da izloženost političkom oglašavanju i okvirima u njima osnažuje uticaj na biračeve preferencije odnosno na njihovu izbornu odluku. Autor je ukazao i potvrdio sužavanje saznajne odnosno edukativne komponente u kampanjama koja je limitirala kvalitetno informisanu izbornu odluku za većinu birača. Disertacija nije potvrdila da je oglašavanje preuzelo primat nad informativom, već da je kombinacija ogromne produkcije (posebno između 2007 i 2012) i zavisnosti redakcija od "stranačkih kamera", ugrozila pravo birača na kvalitetno informisanu izbornu odluku. Autor je delimično potvrdio da teme koje se pokreću u plaćenom oglašavanju nisu programski usmerene i da se više koriste u cilju ojačavanja imidža kandidata/lidera, a ne promocije javnih politika. ; This thesis examines paid political communication broadcast on television in Serbian parliamentary election campaigns after the year 2000. The thesis is rooted in framing theory and social constructivism, the broader underpinning of this concept. Three methodological approaches were employed: (1) qualitative analysis of the content of political election advertising since 2000; (2) frame analysis; and (3) in-depth interviews with political consultants and campaign managers. The thesis has also relied on numerous secondary sources. For all parliamentary elections after 2000, the paper looks at advertising by political subjects that won sufficient votes to cross the five percent threshold required to enter parliament. The findings show that the year 2000 was a watershed for political communication, with political advertising assuming an important role in election campaigns; political entities dramatically increased their investment, which made the volume of adverts produced grow by an order of magnitude. A major finding of the thesis is that political advertising has nearly always been deployed to persuade, with little or no thought being given to its informative function. The author clearly confirms that exposure to political advertising and the frames contained in it has had a substantial impact on voters' preferences and affected their voting decisions. The author also identifies and confirms how the narrowing of the knowledge or educational component in campaign messaging has restricted the ability of most voters to make informed voting choices. The thesis has not shown that advertising has supplanted news, but rather that the combination of the flood of advertising (especially from 2007 to 2012) and the dependence of television channels on content fed to them by political parties has jeopardised the right of voters to make informed choices. The author has partially confirmed that topics raised in paid advertising are not issue-oriented, but image-oriented, aiming to enhance the public perception of a particular candidate or leader rather than promote policies put forward in political manifestos.
Doktorska disertacija nastoji da objasni rezultate višestranačkih parlamentarnih izbora u Srbiji od 1990. godine do prve mirne smene vlasti 2000. godine sa stanovišta informisanosti publike o izbornim opcijama. U njoj je potvrđena generalna hipoteza da su informativni televizijski programi o izborima za Skupštinu Srbije tokom 1990-tih godina onemogućavali slobodnu i poštenu utakmicu izbornih rivala. Umesto da biračima ponude adekvatne informacije kao osnovu za racionalan izbor, oni su sistematski favorizovali jednog izbornog učesnika u odnosu na druge. U radu se utvrđuju glavne medijske strategije uticaja na mišljenje birača na osnovu empirijske analize televizijske prezentacije izbora u periodu 1990-2000. godina. Kvantitativno-kvalitativna analiza sadržaja obuhvata redovne informativne programe i specijalizovane izborne programe proizvedene tokom kampanje za izbore za Skupštinu Srbije 1990, 1992, 1993, 1997. i 2000. godine. Analiza je fokusirana na utvrđivanje centralne strategije medijske prezentacije izbora u svakom pojedinačnom ciklusu, identifikovanje slike društvene i političke realnosti kao konteksta u koji se smeštaju informacije o aktivnostima izbornih učesnika, utvrdjivanje glavne teme-dileme izborne kampanje u odnosu na koju se pozicioniraju izborni učesnici i utvrđivanje televizijskih imidža glavnih izbornih rivala. Analizi medijske slike izbora prethodi razmatranje političkog, pravnog i medijskog konteksta u kome su izbori održani. Analiza je potvrdila radne hipoteze da je izborno izveštavanje državne televizije RTS (RTB) od 1990. do 2000. godine podsticalo biračku podršku za vladajuću stranku – Socijalističku partiju Srbije (SPS) ili njenu koaliciju – sistematskom diskriminacijom njenih izbornih rivala; da su specijalizovani izborni programi državne televizije favorizovali interese vladajuće partije SPS ili njene koalicije u odnosu na interese drugih izbornih učesnika i favorizovali interese izbornih učesnika u odnosu na interese birača; i da je redovno TV izveštavanje o aktuelnim neizbornim događajima omogućavalo da izborne poruke jednog izbornog učesnika budu lakše prihvatljive za birače od poruka njegovih izbornih rivala. Način na koji je izveštavanje o izborima kontekstuirano u specifičnu sliku neizbornih događaja identifikovan je kao ključna dugoročna strategija uticaja na birače, zajedno sa medijskim definisanjem smisla izbora u skladu sa interesima jednog izborno učesnika - poželjnog izbornog pobednika. Doktorska disertacija je potvrdila teorijsku hipotezu da kulturološke studije nude pogodnu teorijsku i analitičku osnovu za istraživanje uloge medija u izbornoj komunikaciji u Srbiji tokom 1990-tih godina. ; The doctoral thesis aims to explain the results of multiparty parliamentary elections in Serbia from 1990 until the first peaceful change in power in 2000 from the standpoint of information about election options available to voters. The thesis confirms a general hypothesis that the information TV programs about elections for the Parliament of Serbia during the 1990-ies prevented a free and fair competition of election rivals. Instead of offering adequate information to voters as a basis for a rational choice, TV programs systematically favored one election participant over others. The thesis identifies the main media strategies of influencing the opinion of voters on the basis of empirical analysis of television presentation of elections in the period 1990-2000. The quantitative-qualitative content analysis is applied to regular news programs and specialized electoral broadcasts produced during campaigns for elections for the Parliament of Serbia in 1990, 1992, 1993, 1997 and 2000. The analysis is focused on identifying the central strategy of the media presentation in each election cycle, the picture of social and political reality as a context for the information on activities of election participants, the main issue of the election campaign and TV images of the main election rivals. The analysis of the media picture of the elections is preceded by a review of political, legal and media context in which the elections took place. The analysis confirmed the working hypothesis that the election coverage of the state television RTS (RTB) from 1990 until 2000 mobilized the voters' support for the ruling party – Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) or its coalition – by a systematic discrimination of its election rivals; that the specialized programs of the state television favored the interests of the ruling party SPS or its coalition in comparison to interests of other election contestants as well as the interests of election participants over the interests of voters; and that the regular Serbian television news reporting about non-election events made the messages of one election participant more easily acceptable by voters than the messages of other contestants. The way the coverage of election events was placed into a specific picture of non-election events is identified as the key long-term strategy for influencing the voters' decision, together with the media definition of the meaning of the election which was in accord with the interests of one election participant – the preferred election winner. The thesis confirmed a theoretical hypothesis that cultural studies offer a convenient theoretical and analytical basis for studying the role of the media in election communication in Serbia during the 1990's.
This paper deals with a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of pre-election TV commercials inthe last two campaigns of 2012 and of 2014 in Serbia. The aim of the research is to deconstruct thestrategy of political parties in the field of gender sensitization from a gender perspective based onthe most important activity of parliamentary democracy – the election cycle, using examples ofpaid political advertising – the pre-election TV clip, for which the parties allocated the most resourcesin the campaign of 2012 and of 2014 in Serbia. The aim is also to analyze the personalexperience of female politicians in order to provide a new and different way of analyzing practicesand strategies of the parties in relation to the visibility of female candidate in the mediaduring the election campaign.The basic method is the critical discourse analysis (CDA) complemented by the method ofcomparing the regular election campaign of 2012 and the early elections of 2014, and the methodof life stories of the candidates (oral history). The CDA puts a special emphasis on various forms of discrimination that result from the abuse of power that continues to lead to the emergence ofsocial inequality and injustice (Dijk 2008).There are three levels at which the (in)visibility of women in the political process can be observed:a) the (lack of) presence of women on the candidate lists in the election campaign, andafter the elections, the (decreased) number of women in the parliament; b) (in)visibility of womenin paid media campaigns and c) (in)visibility of women in the language.Practice: a) On the basis of the "principle of affirmative action", women become more presenton the candidate lists and in the parliament as a result of the introduction of quota into the gendersensitive legislation (all SEE countries – Southeast Europe/Western Balkans). b) Women are stillrarely seen in the pre-election TV clip which is the most effective paid advertising, because it is atraditionally male "space", while women are more active in reach-out field work. c) visibility ofwomen in language is achieved, for example, by the use of the Gender-sensitive language Code.(S. Savić).In this paper the focus is on the sub-paragraphs (a) and (b), with (c) being analyzed in a limitedmanner only as part of the pre-election TV clip slogans analysis.A TV clip is comprised of: the slogan and the body of the clip. The slogan is made of aniconic and a linguistic part. In both campaign slogans there were no gender sensitive slogans,except for one in 2014 (URS's campaign for the female Mayor of Belgrade). The body is made ofthe video format and the content. In both campaigns, in 2012 and in 2014 forms of videos werehybrid types that included: documentary footage from the field, speech of the leader speakingdirectly in camera, animation, short fiction form.The analysis confirmed the basic hypothesis: despite the fact that, according to the legal provisionsa female candidate occupied every third position of the candidate lists in both analyzedelection cycles – they are underrepresented in paid political advertising in the media (TV clip).Individual hypotheses are also confirmed.The icons and the contents of the presentation of Serbia in the election cycle in 2012 and in2014 in the election TV clips were masculinized from the standpoint of power in society that isheld by male party leaders. The basic strategy of all parties who had a paid television campaign,in a form of TV clips, in both observed election cycles was the strategy of exclusion from thepolitical space mediated by the media. So we are here talking about a media, and by that, a widersocial invisibility of women in exercising one of the fundamental rights, the right to participationin decision-making and active participation in the elections. ; Cilj rada je da dekonstruiše strategije političkih partija iz rodne perspective u odnosu natelevizijsko predizborno političko plaćeno oglašavanje u kampanjama 2012. i 2014. u Srbiji.Cilj je takođe da se analizira lično iskustvo političarki da bi se na nov i drugačiji način analizirale prakse i strategije partija u odnosu na vidljivost kandidatkinja u vreme predizborne kampanjeu medijima. Metode korišćene u istraživanju su: kritička analiza medijskog diskursa(jedinica analize je tv spot u celini, verbalna, vizuelna i zvučna komponenta), komparativnametoda i životne priče kandidatkinja. Osnovna hipoteza je da bez obzira na to što su, shodnozakonskim odredbama, na kandidatskim listama, u oba analizirana izborna ciklusa, ženezauzimale svako treće mesto – one su podzastupljene u plaćenom političkom medijskom reklamiranju(TV spotu). Osnovni rezultat je da su medijske plaćene kampanje bile maskulinizirane.U fokusu je samo partijski lider. Kandidatkinje su podzastupljene u oba posmatranaperioda. Partije nisu rodno senzibilisane kada je reč o političkom plaćenom oglašavanju uvreme predizborne kampanje.
With the emergence of television, pre-election campaigns in US shifted its focus from the content and the platform to the image of candidates who became well-packaged products. The biggest election turnout in US occurred exactly at the time of the emergence of this media; however, the percentages of voters' turnout plummeted in the nineties. Enhanced by the attributes of television as a media, the focus on "how" rather than on "what" did not achieve absolute results, and voters responded to the invasion of political image producers with voting abstinence. The latest chapter in pre- election campaigning is the Internet. With its properties and the rapid expansion of the users' net, the new media offers different conditions of communication with voters and is becoming a powerful - and so far, insufficiently utilised - weapon in the hands of pre-election strategists. (SOI : SOEU: S. 191)
The author analyses the genesis and the scenarios of the Kosovo crisis resolution, as well as the possible political reverberations of the NATO military intervention. The premise is that the Kosovo crisis is only a continuation of the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, that Kosovo has for centuries been a separate entity largely populated by Albanians, that the policy of Serbian nationalism has permanently discriminated against the Albanian population and that prior to the recent air strikes against Yugoslavia Serbia had systematically led an ethnic-cleansing campaign on Kosovo. Although the author recognises that the support for the NATO military action can hardly be found in the tenets of the UN Charter, he argues that it can nevertheless be justified by international law. He points out that NATO's military campaign enjoyed a broad support of the people of NATO member countries, but that it has made a rift in the European left. The new left was in the forefront of the action, while the old, dogmatic and sectarian left, found itself in the ranks of its most vocal opponents. The author claims that Milosevic, with his overall politics, and particularly his policy on Kosovo, had propelled the West into an action it could not extricate itself from. He concludes that the consequences of Belgrade's defeat will be: 1. The collapse of Milosevic' regime (the beginning of his end); 2. The final incapacitation of Milosevic' politics to create new conflicts; 3. The protectorate over Kosovo and its autonomy, with a factual independence from Serbia; 4 The independence of Montenegro; 5. Reinforcing the Dayton policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina (eliminating centrifugal tendencies); 6. The organised participation of the West in the transitional processes in this region (The Pact on the Stability of Southeast Europe); 7. Bolstering the democratic and weakening the undemocratic tendencies in the region. (SOI : S. 14)
NATO's military action in Yugoslavia is a pivotal event that is going to leave an indelible impact on the further direction of international relations. The author first analyses the underlying causes of the campaign, among which were: the international community's resolve to finally punish Milosevic', be instrumental in eliminating his regime, drive out Russian interests from the Balkans, espouse a positive stance towards Muslim countries and, finally, the internal political American reason: the desire to strengthen President Clinton's position. This action has also had a manifold significance for the new world order since it poses the questions of the world order's content and nature, its leadership and norms in a new light. In the process of establishing of the new post-cold-war relations, various tendencies that will pave the way to the new millennium will clash. On the one hand, there will be the exclusive approach based on force and interests, and on the other, the desire to establish the relations in which human rights will be the fundamental criterion for assessing the suitability of a country for a full membership in the newly unified international community. (SOI : S. 24)
Са политичким преокретом 2000. године у Србији отпочео је истовемено и процес идеолошког преобликовања јавних простора. Међу најпроминентнијим видовима оваквог деловања је именовање или преименовање урбаног простора, првенствено улица и тргова, те бављење постојећим споменицима и меморијалима, као и градња и планирање нових. Овакви су случајеви посебно били уочљиви у Београду. Њима су се у неколико наврата супротставиле одређене политичке партије, те неполитичке групе које су организовале уличне акције 'против-именовања' београдских улица, те кампање против новопланираних јавних споменика. Односи моћи и идентитетске политике у овим случајевима биће коментарисани у овом раду. Пропратиће се праксе неколико уметничких и политичких скупина које су спровеле акције и перформансе незваничног преименовања улица, или су пак дискутовале и противиле се подизању новопредложених споменика. (Пре)именовањем одређених градских простора, хегемонске политичке коалиције покушавају да конституишу сигнификантна симболичка места, док, са друге стране, опозиционе противакције покушавају да преузму та иста места и да их реинтерпретирају. У овом ће се раду покушати да прикажу и анализирају поједине идеолошке политике и званични дискурси сећања, те поједине уметничке и политичке контраполитике и опозиционе праксе алтернативне комеморације ; With the onset of political overturn in Serbia in 2000, the process of the ideological reconfiguration of public places was simultaneously being put in motion. One of the most promi- nent means of this endeavor was naming and renaming of urban space, primarily of streets and squares, but also treatment of existing memorial sites and monuments and commissioning and erection of new ones. These undertakings were especially prominent in Serbia's capital Belgrade. Such processes were opposed several times by certain political parties and groups which organized street-actions of counter-naming of Belgrade's thoroughfares and campaigns against newly designated public monuments, and power-play and identity politics of such proceedings will be commented on here. This paper will discuss practices of several artistic and political groups which carried out unofficial street-renaming actions and performances, or discussed and opposed proposed new memorials. By (re)naming certain urban spaces, hegemonic political coalitions are trying to construct significant symbolic places, while oppositional counter-actions are seeking to overtake those same places and reinterpret them. This paper will attempt to sum up and inquire into the ideological politics of official memory discourses and artistic and political counter-politics and actions of opposition or alternative commemoration.
Hladni rat je predstavljao rat ideologija bez presedana u istoriji. Nijedan drugi rat, ni pre ni posle ovog višedecenijskog hladnog sukoba između Sjedinjenih Američkih Država i Saveza Sovjetskih Socijalističkih Republika, nije bio rat koji se vodio u tolikoj meri u sferi meke moći kao Hladni rat. Odsustvo neposrednog oružanog sukoba između Sjedinjenih Američkih Država i Sovjetskog Saveza učinilo je da se Hladni rat odvija kao takmičenje u sferi ekonomije, tehnologije i nauke, kao trka u nuklearnom i konvencionalnom naoružanju i kao svemirsko nadmetanje. Pored takmičenja u sferi tvrde moći, Sjedinjene Američke Države i Sovjetski Savez vodili su intenzivnu bitku u oblasti meke moći. Ovo je bio sukob između američke liberalno-demokratske ideologije i sovjetske marksističke ideologije. Svaka od ove dve zemlje težila je tome da ubedi građane one druge zemlje da je njen društveni i ekonomski sistem idealan i da je bolji i pravedniji od sistema njenog glavnog suparnika. Uzrok propasti Sovjetskog Saveza i komunizma u istočnoj Evropi nikada sa sgurnošću neće moći da bude određen. Okolnosti koje su dovele do raspada Sovjetskog Saveza, pada Berlinskog zida 1989. godine i urušavanja komunizma u Evropi ne mogu se svesti na skup vojnih, političkih, ekonomskih i društvenih činilaca koji su, nezavisno jedni od drugih, doveli do tektonskih promena u međunarodnim odnosima. Svi ovi činioci zajedno, isprepletani u kompleksnu mrežu poluga, učinili su da se Sovjetski Savez uruši i da Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama prepusti ulogu pobednika u Hladnom ratu. Pritom, Amerika nije bila samo vojni i ekonomski pobednik. Amerika je iz Hladnog rata izašla kao moralni i ideološki pobednik. Hladni rat predstavlja temu izuzetno velikog broja radova, ali mali broj tih radova se bavi analizom američko-sovjetskog sukoba u sferi meke moći. Stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja i rada rasvetljavanje, objašnjene i tumačenje poluga meke moći koje su Sjedinjene Američke Države institucionalizovale, pokrenule i upotrebile u ideološkoj borbi protiv Sovjetskog Saveza u vreme Hladnog rata. Međutim, Sjedinjene Američke Države nisu od svog nastanka u drugoj polovini 18. veka do Hladnog rata osmišljeno primenjivale svoju meku moć. Do Hladnog rata upotreba poluga meke moći bila praksa kojom su se Sjedinjene Američke Države bavile isključivo u vreme učešća u oružanim sukobima. Tek sa Hladnim ratom u Americi se javlja potreba za namenskom i osmišljenom upotrebom poluga meke moći. Odmah nakon Drugog svetskog rata Sovjetski Savez je počeo da vrši uticaj na druge zemlje šireći marksističku ideologiju i komunističke ideje. Osim širenja marksističke ideologije Sovjetski Savez je vodio i dobro osmišljenu kampanju protiv Sjedinjenih Američkih Država i američkog načina života. Američka administracija je kao odgovor na sovjetsku spoljnu politiku u periodu od 1946. do 1950. godine stvorila politiku obuzdavanja Sovjetskog Saveza i sovjetskog uticaja u svetu svim sredstvima. Ovo je podrazumevalo kako upotrebu poluga tvrde moći tako i primenu poluga meke moći. U to vreme u američkom društvu postojao je konsenzus o upotrebi političkih, vojnih i ekonomskih oruđa u borbi protiv Sovjetskog Saveza, ali je upotreba poluga meke moći bila predmet duge javne rasprave. Jedna od izuzetno važnih poluga meke moći su državni programi informisanja, odnosno ono što se u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama smatra propagandom, a propaganda se od nastanka Sjedinjenih Američkih Država do danas smatra nečasnom delatnošću autokratskih režima. Sjedinjene Američke Države su u periodu neposredno nakon Drugog svetskog rata sprovele zakonske, institucionalne i strukturalne promene koje su omogućile trajno ustanovljavanje poluga meke moći zarad širenja američkih vrednosti, ideja i kulture i zarad ideološke borbe protiv Sovjetskog Saveza i sovjetske marksističke ideologije. Zakoni doneti u to vreme su na snazi i danas i pružaju okvir za mnogobrojne programe i aktivnosti na polju primene poluga meke moći po celom svetu. ; The Cold War was a war without precedent in the history. No war before this prolonged cold conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union was waged that much in the realm of soft power as the Cold War. In the absence of an immediate armed conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Cold War was conducted as a competition in the areas of economy, technology and science, nuclear and conventional weapons, as well as the space race. Besides the competition in the realm of hard power, the United States and the Soviet Union pursued an intensive battle in the realm of soft power. This was a conflict between the American ideology of a liberal democracy and the Soviet Marxist ideology. Each of the two attempted to persuade the citizens of the other country that its social and economic practice was an ideal one, better and more just than the other one. The source of the collapse of the Soviet Union and communism in Eastern Europe will never be fully determined. The circumstances that brought about the break-up of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the fall down of communism in Europe cannot be summarized as an aggregation of military, political, economic and social factors that independently from each other led to the colossal changes in the world order. All of these factors, entangled together in a complex net, caused the implosion of the Soviet Union which left the United States as the winner in the Cold War. Yet, the United States was not only a military and economic victor, it resurfaced as a moral and ideological champion, as well. The Cold Was has been a theme of numerous papers but only a handful of these papers tackled the American-Soviet conflict in the realm of soft power. Thus, the objective of this research and dissertation is to shed the light, explain and construe the instruments of soft power that the United States institutionalized, put into motion and deployed in the ideological battle against Soviet Union in the Cold War. However, since its birth in the 18th century until the Cold War, the United States had not wielded its soft power strategically. Up to the Cold War, the soft power instruments were used exclusively during the times when the United States was involved in an armed conflict. Only in the Cold War, the need for intentional and thoughtful use of soft power instruments emerged. Soon after the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union got set off to exert its influence by diffusing its Marxist ideology and communist values. In addition to spreading its ideology, the Soviet Union led a well-planned campaign against the United States and the American way of life. From 1946 to 1950, in response to the Soviet policy towards the United States, the American administration coined the policy of containment of the Soviet Union and the Soviet influence in the world. The policy of containment included both the use of the instruments of hard power and of soft power. At that time, there was a consensus in the American society on the use of political, military and economic means in fighting the Soviet Union, while the use of soft power instruments was a subject of a prolonged public discourse. Government information programs, perceived as propaganda in the United States, have always been a very important soft power instrument, and propaganda has been considered by Americans to be a dishonest activity of autocratic governments. In the period right after the Second World War, the United States implemented legislative, institutional and structural changes that allowed for permanent establishment of the soft power instruments. These foreign policy instruments made it possible for the United States government to diffuse American values, ideas and culture and to wage an ideological war against the Soviet Union and its Marxist principles. The acts adopted at that time are in place nowadays, and provide a legal framework for numerous programs and activities in the realm of soft power.