Summary:

Kari Alenius, ”Friendship” as an element of war propaganda.

In this article, I discuss how and why the notion of ”friendship” has been used as part of military propaganda. The focus here is on the major wars of the 20th century, though similar basic elements of making propaganda can be seen throughout history regardless of the size, time and cultural environment of the wars. In addition, the most important motives and psychological points of departure have remained quite unchanged.

The need for propaganda becomes more prominent at the time of wars and other crises. In wars, propagandists have three main target groups: 1) own troops and civilians, 2) enemy troops and civilians, 3) neutral parties. Specific propaganda must be prepared for each target group, stressing the various sub-factors in a slightly different manner. In any case the general aim is to strengthen the morale of one’s own troops and civilians, undermine the morale of enemy troops and civilians, and have neutral parties support one’s military efforts (or at least prevent them from supporting enemy efforts).

The notion of ”friendship” is of use in propaganda to all the target groups. On the one hand, one can stress the friendship between one’s own troops and allies, which strengthens the sense of duty essential in view of morale and keeps up faith in the sufficiency of one’s resources. On the other hand, enemy troops can be persuaded to surrender by referring to friendship.