Keywords
image
mass media
imageology
war
strategic communications
How to Cite
Abstract
The article examines the transformation of political image in the context of military conflict. The political image is seen as a multi-level socio-psychological construct that is formed in the mass consciousness under the influence of both rational judgments and emotional associations, and is consolidated through the media, social networks, and personal observations. The purpose of the article is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of strategies for shaping and promoting political image from 2022 to 2024 in the context of a full-scale war. Objectives: to outline theoretical approaches to understanding political image; to analyze the conditions in which political image was formed during the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine in 2022–2024; to analyze the key positive aspects of political image formation and identify critical mistakes and weaknesses of communication strategies that could negatively affect the image of the head of state and institutions of Ukraine in general; to formulate generalized conclusions about the effectiveness of strategic communications in shaping political image in the context of a full-scale war. Particular attention is paid to the role of strategic communications as a means of forming a state-centered narrative in times of war, when information, semantic, and cognitive warfare are no less important than military operations. Using the case of V. Zelenskyy as an example, the article analyzes the strengths of his media image – adaptability, personalization, empathy, effective digital communication – as well as critical challenges: excessive personalization of the state position, communication mistakes in times of crisis. It is concluded that in the current conditions of war and global change, the political image of a leader is not only an element of political advertising, but also an instrument of national mobilization, international support and societal resilience. The generalized experience of Ukraine can be useful for countries that find themselves in a state of external aggression and need an effective communication strategy.
References
1. Detector Media. (2022, March 3). “Zhyttia peremozhe smert, a svit – temriavu”: Time rozmistyv na obkladyntsi prapor Ukrainy ta tsytatu Zelenskoho [“Life will defeat death, and light – darkness”: Time features Ukrainian flag and Zelenskyi’s quote]. https://cutt.ly/3rgi34oq (in Ukrainian)
2. Glavcom. (2022, October 11). “Vy spravdi nichoho ne zrozumily?” Zelenskyi zvernuvsia do rosiian pislia udariv po enerhomerezhi [“Did you really understand nothing?” Zelenskyi addresses Russians after attacks on the power grid]. https://cutt.ly/Urgi3jxy (in Ukrainian)
3. Goldman, E. (2007, October 6). Strategic communication: A tool for asymmetric warfare. Small Wars Journal. https://cutt.ly/drgsxqQE (in Ukrainian)
4. Horbulin, V. (2014). “Hibrydna viina” yak kliuchovyi instrument rosiiskoi heostratehii revanshu [“Hybrid war” as a key instrument of Russia’s revenge geostrategy]. Stratehichni priorytety, (4), 5–12. (in Ukrainian)
5. Horbulin, V., & Badrak, V. (2024). Rosiiska viina proty Ukrainy. Yak nareshti rozirvaty chotyrokhsotrichne zamknene kolo [The Russian war against Ukraine: How to finally break the 400-year vicious cycle]. Kyiv: Brait Buks. (in Ukrainian)
6. Institute of Mass Information. (2023). V onlain-media ye periekys u bik pozytyvnykh otsinok na koryst prezidentskoi vertykali vlady – doslidzhennia IMI [Online media are skewed toward positive evaluations of the presidential vertical – IMI study]. https://cutt.ly/krgi8gDU (in Ukrainian)
7. Kapchuk, N., Shuliak, A., Yuskiv, B., Fedoniuk, S., & Shuliak, N. (2023). Stratehichni komunikatsii YeS: Protydiia destruktyvnym vplyvam [Strategic communications of the EU: Counteraction to destructive influences]. Lutsk: Vezha-Druk. (in Ukrainian)
8. KIIS. (n.d.). Dynamika doviry Prezydentu V. Zelenskomu v 2019–2025 rokakh [Dynamics of trust in President V. Zelenskyi, 2019–2025]. https://cutt.ly/Crgi9Gc4 (in Ukrainian)
9. PAP. (2022). Andrzej Duda politykiem roku 2022 [Andrzej Duda politician of the year 2022]. https://cutt.ly/Qrgi91IK (in Polish)
10. Sillanpää, A. (2015, November 13). Strategic communications and need for societal narratives. In The Riga Conference. https://cutt.ly/BrgsxhPU
11. Soloviova, Yu. Ye., & Hrushchenko, A. V. (2023). Promotsiia imidzhu Ukrainy periodu povnomasshtabnoho vtorhnennia: aspekty ta media-instrumentarii [Promotion of Ukraine’s image during the full-scale invasion: Aspects and media tools]. Vcheni zapysky TNU imeni V. I. Vernadskoho. Seriia: Filolohiia. Zhurnalistyka, 34(4), 325–329. https://doi.org/10.32782/2710-4656/2023.4/55 (in Ukrainian)
12. Sviderska, O. (2022). Rol kulturnykh kodiv u konstruktyvanni politychnoi diisnosti v konteksti informatsiino-kohnityvnoi viiny [The role of cultural codes in constructing political reality in the context of information-cognitive warfare]. Visnyk Lvivskoho Universytetu. Seriia filosofsko-politychni studii, (43), 306–313. https://doi.org/10.30970/PPS.2022.43.37 (in Ukrainian)
13. Sviderska, O., & Chornii, O. (2023). Politychna psykholohiia [Political psychology]. Lviv: Vydavnytstvo Lvivskoi politekhniky. (in Ukrainian)
14. Tykhomyrova, Ye. B. (2016). Stratehichni komunikatsii YeS: Instytutsionalnyi vymir [EU strategic communications: Institutional dimension]. Politychne zhyttia, (4), 103–112. https://jpl.donnu.edu.ua/article/view/3103 (in Ukrainian)
15. Zelenskyi, V. (2022, February 25). My tut. My v Kyievi. My zakhyshchaiemo Ukrainu [We are here. We are in Kyiv. We defend Ukraine] [Video]. YouTube. https://cutt.ly/xrgi968u (in Ukrainian)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ivan Maidanskyi, Mykhailo Zienkin