HAROLD LASSWELL’S CONCEPT AS A THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of Harold Lasswell’s political communication as a theoretical foundation for the interaction between state authority and civil society. The structural elements of H. Lasswell’s classical communication model are examined, and its heuristic potential as well as the possibilities for its application in contemporary political processes are identified. The significance of this concept for analyzing information processes, political influence, and the formation of public opinion is substantiated, along with its capacity to ensure effective dialogue between governmental institutions and the public.
The study pays considerable attention to the examination of the structural elements of communication identified by H. Lasswell. The primary focus is placed on analyzing such key components of communication as the communicator, the message, the channels of information transmission, the audience, and the effect of influence. This is due to the fact that these elements help to determine the analytical boundaries of the mechanisms for studying information influence and political mobilization, and in addition, they contribute to the formation of public opinion in the context of the functioning of a modern democratic society. The role of the state as the initiator of political messages and of civil society as an active recipient and participant in the communication process is analyzed.
Particular attention is devoted to examining such functions of mass communication as the surveillance of the social environment, the coordination of social processes, and the transmission of sociocultural experience, which in H. Lasswell’s works are closely intertwined with the study of the phenomenon of propaganda. The importance of these functions for ensuring the stability of the political system, as well as for maintaining effective feedback between authorities and citizens, is substantiated. It is concluded that H. Lasswell’s model is universal, logically structured, and possesses a practical character. It remains relevant for the study of political communication; however, there is a need to adapt it to the changes observed in the contemporary information society. Such an adaptation of Lasswell’s classical model to present-day realities will contribute to expanding the possibilities for researching political processes and improving the mechanisms of interaction between authorities and the public.