The role of traditional values and advertising discourse in creation of modern conflict

Abstract

By careful analysis of the content of Archibald Reiss message in his book “Listen, Serbs”, the authors study the significance and role of traditional values of Serbian people – patriotism, courage, hospitality, honesty and respect for opponents, faith and charity, aim to, together with comparative analysis with advertising discourse during the conflicts in ex-Yugoslavia, construct a modern model of crisis com- munication. From the context of the symbolic organization of messages and their hidden meanings, the authors stress the importance of communication control and information management during the conflict, as otherwise the moral panic and chaos arise. Developing McDougall’s instinct theory that determines the behaviour of individuals and entire social groups, the authors remind us that Reiss was the first to real- ize the human mind as a centre of social activity responsible for further development of individuals and nations. Starting from the assumption that the social life is primarily political and preoccupied with the question of redistribution of power, the authors discuss the construction of the security framework within the community, warning it of the problem of unequal access to information. By influencing the modelling of media images of a group or society its propaganda activities is enabled, which is essential during the crisis or emergency situation, as their number will increase in the future.