A Study Of Harold D. Lasswell's Wartime Communication Theory

Harold D. Lasswell, a famous American political scientist, widely known by his 5W formula, content analysis method, and propaganda study, was regarded as one of the "founding fathers" of communication research. But at the same time, Lasswell was neglected. His communication theories had never been studied thoroughly. This paper tries to explain why Lasswell did communication research and how he influenced this field.Lasswell's communication studies can be divided into three parts. The first is his propaganda analysis after World War I. The second is his psychological warfare study during World War II. The third is hhis communist propaganda research in the period of Cold War. The main body of this paper discussed the three questions mentioned above.In Chapter One, we clarify the basic character of Lasswell's communication theories. We point out that they are not split but integrated instead. We are often told by textbooks that Lasswell had made several great contributions to communication research which look as if separated. But we find them all based on war.Chapter Two discusses Lasswell's propaganda analysis and argues that its character is emphasizing the relation between propaganda and democracy. Lasswell saw propaganda as remedy to traditional bourgeoisie democracy and a necessary means of opinion control. Lasswell's propaganda analysis combined mass society theory and Freud's psychoanalysis which were in vogue at his time. But it also shows his policy view. He had paid special attention to the coordination between propaganda agents and policy departments.Chapter Three examines Lasswell's psychological warfare studies. We notice that Lasswell's policy science was formed at the beginning of World War II period when he attended the Rockefeller Communications Seminar. The seminar's memorandum called for communication research used for public policy and urged communication scholars to provide intelligence needed by policy which reflected Lasswell's points.Chapter Four analyzes Lasswell's communist propaganda research. We found that Lasswell's major object was to develop a series of strategy which could restrict and dissolve communist propaganda. This strategy could help US to cope with its chief ideological enemy Soviet. Lasswell's communist propaganda research reveals his persistent hostility to Marxism.Chapter Five tries to treat Lasswell communication studies as a whole through the perspective of his intelligence function theory. Lasswell thinks highly of the role of intelligence because his communication theories were all made during wartime. His surveillance function theory and policy process theory both focus on intelligence. Intelligence function was Lasswell's final cognition to communication in war and the role of himself as social scientist.In the concluding parts, we argue that Lasswell's theory exemplifies the transition of notion about communication from philosophy view to policy view. The former takes communication as the essence of human beings. The later utilize communication through the purpose of control. The policy view dominants the behaviorism communication research and its influence goes on today. This deserves our contemplations.