Odlučni i nasmijani (vizualni aspekti političke propagande za izbora u Hrvatskoj: 1990. -1997.)
Assertive and Smiling (Visual Aspects of Political Propaganda during Elections in Croatia: 1990 - 1997)

Summary/Abstract: The author analyses visual messages by political parties in Croatia during election campaigns in 1990, 1992, 1995 and 1997. The research into election campaigns is a paradigmatic example of the research into the influence of mass media on the shaping of public opinion and attitudes. They are essentially determined by social and political contexts in which they take place. Regarding the campaigns which are the subject of this paper, one must above all take into consideration changes in the international community, and specifically the context of transition in Croatia; economic, social and political crisis which preceded political changes in Croatia; political relations and development of opposition parties; context of war; characteristics and dynamics of pre-election campaign and the influence of mass media. The analysis points to a significant role played by national symbols in all five campaigns but also to their uneven presence in the propaganda of bigger parties. It also displays procedures of use, interpretation and symbolization of the national in Croatia after 1990, starting from an assumption suggested by relevant literature that interpretation and understanding of a national symbolic system, i. e. different uses and interpretation of symbols in different settings, represent one way of understanding the identity of groups and individuals within a nation (nation-state).

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