Connections: The Quarterly Journal

ISSN 1812-1098, e-ISSN 1812-2973

Iryna Lysychkina, Connections QJ 16, no. 3 (2017): 5-22

https://doi.org/10.11610/Connections.16.3.01

Research Article

The Image of Security Sector Agencies as a

Strategic Communication Tool

Iryna Lysychkina

National Academy, National Guard of Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Abstract: This article highlights the corporate image as a strategic com-

munication tool for security sector agencies. The prospects of image for a

security sector agency are outlined with regard to image formation and

reparation. Image formation is based on the principles of objectivity,

openness, credibility and trust whilst avoiding deception and manipula-

tion. Best practices and failures in image formation are listed from the

U.S. and Ukrainian security sector agencies’ experience. The suggested

guidance on image formation for security sector agencies encompasses

the author’s recommendations on effective image formative discourse

and the corresponding institutional policy development.

Keywords: discourse, image formation, image reparation, security sector

agency, strategic communication, strategy.

Introduction

The hybrid character of modern warfare features a drastic shift when force

employment strategies become appendices to information and communication

strategies.1 Taking into account the parallel developments in warfare and com-

munication, the “strategic communication community can learn a great deal

1 Anaïs Reding, Kristin Weed, and Jeremy J. Ghez, NATO’s Strategic Communications

Concept and its Relevance for France, Prepared for the Joint Forces Centre for

Concept Development, Doctrine and Experimentation, France (Santa Monica, CA:

RAND Corporation, 2010), 4.

Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense

Creative Commons

Academies and Security Studies Institutes

BY-NC-SA 4.0

Iryna Lysychkina, Connections QJ 16, no. 3 (2017): 5-22

from Clausewitz and from current attempts in military theory to make sense

from what is currently happening in strategic communication.”2

The image of security sector agencies is a powerful tool of hybrid wars in

the information and communication domain. Within a global war scenario, im-

age is regarded as a weapon for shooting the agency’s discourse with the desir-

able precision, accuracy, rate and volume. The image of security sector agen-

cies is effectively used to target the audience’s mind and way of thinking in

wartime, as well as in peacetime.

This article aims at determining the corporate image frame as a strategic

communication tool for security sector agencies and outlining best practices for

the image formation of security sector agencies. From the multifaceted per-

spective of strategic communication in general, it addresses the communicative

aspects of image that influence the capability of security sector agencies.

The underlying study is multidisciplinary and is at the intersection of several

social and human sciences: philosophy, imageology, communicative linguistics,

cognitive science, media linguistics, discourse studies and sociolinguistics. This

synergistic nature results in the need to address different types of sources for a

comprehensive literature review on the subject, the outline of best practices in

the military and law-enforcement image formation and the construction of an

image frame in the strategic communication of a security sector agency.

Strategic Communication in the Security Sector

Essence of Strategic Communication

Strategic communication gained special popularity in business, political and

military domains in the second decade of the XXI century, and as a relatively

new term, it still gives rise to discussions on its essence, scope and functions.

For the purpose of this research, the definition by Holtzhausen and Zerfass

was chosen for the reason that it emphasizes the public sphere: “Strategic

communication is the practice of deliberate and purposive communication that

a communication agent enacts in the public sphere on behalf of a communica-

tive entity to reach set goals.”3

The NATO Strategic Communications concept is designed to ensure that au-

diences receive clear, fair and opportune information regarding actions and

that the interpretation of the Alliance’s messages is not left solely to NATO’s

adversaries or other audiences.4

2 Simon M. Torp, “The Strategic Turn in Communication Science: On the History and

Role of Strategy in Communication Science from Ancient Greece,” in The Routledge

Handbook of Strategic Communication, ed. Derina Holtzhausen and Ansgar Zerfass,

(New York, London: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2015), 24.

3 Derina Holtzhausen and Ansgar Zerfass, “Strategic Communication: Opportunities

and Challenges of the Research Area,” in The Routledge Handbook of Strategic

Communication, 74.

4 PO(2009)0141, cited via Reding and Weed, “NATO’s Strategic Communications, ” 4.

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The Image of Security Sector Agencies as a Strategic Communication Tool

It is necessary to mention, that in September 2009 NATO developed its Pol-

icy on Strategic Communication to respond to “today’s information environ-

ment” that “directly affects how NATO actions are perceived by key audi-

ences,” owing to the fact “that perception is always relevant to, and can have a

direct effect on the success of NATO operations and policies.”5 Thus, an audi-

ence’s impression of NATO, in other words its image, was the major concern

for this policy development. This point of view concurs with the business vision

of strategic communication, since “the aim of strategic communication is to

maintain a healthy reputation for the communicative entity in the public

sphere.”6

In this respect, it is essential to underline that strategic communication is

rather about influence strategies with the perception of the organization as the

outcome, not merely media and information as the channel and content, when

“one or a combination of variables (i.e., message source, message itself, mes-

sage channel, and message recipient) can lead to cognitive and behavioral

changes.”7

Strategic communication is vitally important nowadays for any security sec-

tor agency in any country. StratCom departments and/or other structures re-

sponsible for strategic communication have been established in practically

every agency. In 2013 NATO launched its Strategic Communications Centre of

Excellence in Riga, Latvia. The “Defence Strategic Communications” journal

aims to bring together military, academic, business and governmental

knowledge. It is a norm of our information age for security sector agencies to

maintain their websites, have their own media and profiles on social networks.

Recognizing the lack of doctrinal guidance, the U.S. Joint Forces Command

composed and later updated its pre-doctrinal “Commander’s Handbook for

Strategic Communication and Communication Strategy” in order “to help joint

force commanders and their staffs understand alternative perspectives, tech-

niques, procedures, ‘best practices,’ and organizational options.”8 This Com-

mander’s Handbook contains a comprehensive analysis of military capabilities

related to information and communication (Figure 1).

There are several basic principles of strategic communication for the com-

municator:

• Building healthy professional relations with the media

• Recognizing the diversity of the media and choice factors for the media

as the communication channels

5 NATO Policy on Strategic Communications, SG(2009)0794, 1.

6 Holtzhausen and Zerfass, “Strategic Communication,” 5.

7 Kenneth E. Kim, “Framing as a Strategic Persuasive Message Tactic,” in The

Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication, 285.

8 Commander’s Handbook for Strategic Communication and Communication Strategy,

Version 3 (Suffolk, VA: US Joint Forces Command, Joint Warfighting Center, 2010).

7

Iryna Lysychkina, Connections QJ 16, no. 3 (2017): 5-22

Figure 1: Strategic Communication Relationships. 9

• Composing a message in congruity with the agency’s discourse

• Addressing the message to the target audience with regard to collat-

eral and/or “eavesdropping” audiences

• Using factual information without lying, deception or speculation.

Strategic communication includes strategic narratives that are “intended to

help people make sense of events related to the use of military force in ways

that are likely to give rise to a particular feeling or opinion.”10 The narrative is

understood as “a story explaining an actor’s actions in order to justify them to

his/her audience. The aim of a narrative is to guide decisions so as to ensure

their coherence. It acts as an institution’s brand.”11 In the empirical research

findings, it is stated that “to be effective, narratives must both resonate with

the intended audience’s core values and advocate a persuasive cause-effect

description that ties events together in an explanatory framework.”12

9 Commander’s Handbook.

10 Andreas Antoniades, Ben O’Loughlin, and Alister Miskimmon, “Great Power Politics

and Strategic Narratives,” Working Paper No.7 (2010), The Centre for Global Political

Economy, University of Sussex, accessed August 3, 2016. doi: 10.4324/97813157

70734.

11 Reding, Weed, and Ghez, “NATO’s Strategic Communications, ” X.

12 Antoniades, O’Loughlin, and Miskimmon, “Great Power Politics,” 5.

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The Image of Security Sector Agencies as a Strategic Communication Tool

Strong strategic narratives are characterized by four basic elements 13:

• They articulate a clear and compelling mission purpose

• They hold the promise of wartime success

• They must be coherent and consistent

• They are characterized by having few and/or weak competitors.

Strategic Communication, Propaganda and Counter-Propaganda

Nowadays, strategic communication is differentiated from propaganda and

counter-propaganda by the means and methods perspective. Strategic com-

munication is based on the classic definition of ‘propaganda’—using factual,

and accurate information—though “the word ‘propaganda’ itself, however, has

taken on too much baggage over the last century to be useful in today’s con-

text.”14 In WWII, propaganda became a powerful weapon in the Nazi arsenal

and was developed into the ‘Big Lie’ technique. Subsequently, the term itself

was compromised and became a synonym for lies and deception.

With its ultimate aim to influence the target audience and encourage it into

action by providing the truthful ‘why’ information, strategic communication

does not, or rather should not, use the propaganda tools of disinformation and

manipulation, as it might have the opposite effect – loss of credibility and trust.

For instance, NATO Strategic Communication is meant to coordinate all infor-

mation and communication capabilities and this could not be done if the con-

cept referred to deception: deception is only allowed in certain military capa-

bilities, and not by all in every country.15

Strategic communication does not include counter-propaganda since the

latter tends to use the same means as propaganda. For example, counter-

propaganda in Ukraine is regarded as energy- and cost-ineffective when it

comes to modern information wars: “The biggest mistake that we could make,

the biggest mistake that Ukraine could make, is to spend all of your time and all

of your energy trying to counter the lies /… /.”16 Ambassador Pyatt believes

that Ukraine’s initiative to control the information flow and ‘mirroring’ current

propaganda fails:

13 Jens Ringsmose and Berit K. Børgesen, “Shaping public attitudes towards the deploy-

ment of military power: NATO, Afghanistan and the use of strategic narratives,” Eu-

ropean Security 20, no. 4 (2011): 505-528, accessed August 3, 2016. doi:10.1080/

09662839.2011.617368, 513-514.

14 Richard Halloran, “Strategic Communication,” Parameters 37 (Autumn 2007): 4-14,

accessed August 3, 2016, http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/

Articles/07autumn/halloran.pdf, 6.

15 Reding and Weed, “NATO’s Strategic Communications”, 12.

16 Geoffrey Pyatt, Remarks by Ambassador Pyatt at the “Countering Information War in

Ukraine,” Conference, January 29, 2016. In: Speeches and Interviews by Ambassador

Geoffrey R. Pyatt – Embassy of the USA in Ukraine, accessed August 3, 2016,

http://ukraine.usembassy.gov/speeches/pyatt-01292016.html.

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Iryna Lysychkina, Connections QJ 16, no. 3 (2017): 5-22

It’s a huge mistake for the Ukrainian government, for the Ukrainian peo-

ple, to create a troll factory like St. Petersburg, churning out counter-

propaganda in social media. It’s a huge mistake to create a ‘Ministry of

Truth’ [Ministry of Information of Ukraine] that tries to generate alterna-

tive stories because Ukraine doesn’t need more propaganda machine, it

needs more objective information.17

Strategic communication in itself is not a universal remedy to ensure a secu-

rity sector agency’s success and positive attitudes in the society. “Positive and

credible narratives build population’s resilience against hostilities. Holding that

credibility requires that the deeds match the words.”18

Prospects of Image for a Security Sector Agency

Essence of Image

The image of a security sector agency is the audience’s impression of this or-

ganization that is rooted in the mass and/or individual consciousness.19 Image

forms and develops as a result of processing the external information of this

agency and its activity through the net of current stereotypes. Image is socially

biased. Image is linked to reputation, the latter being based on the agency’s

previous activity, and image being a social perception of the agency, based on

attitudes, stereotypes and information obtained from outside. Thus, image is a

social construct grounded on the audience’s interpretation and attitudes.

Image corresponds to the audience’s stereotypical and prototypical ideas on

the agency as it should be, and it is able to substitute the agency or/and repre-

sent the agency in the audience’s perception.

Image is a valuable tool in raising the respect of the agency that leads to

sustainability and social development. Public support is crucial for security sec-

tor reform and depends not only on the reforms themselves, but on the public

perception, grounded on the agency’s discourse and mass-media coverage of

this process and security sector activity in general.

Image is the agency’s communication tool which influences the audience’s

perception of the agency’s discourse. At the same time, image is shaped by this

discourse among the others.

Image Formation Process

The image of a security sector agency is shaped by direct experience with the

agency and by the vicarious experience from what others (individuals, mass-

17 Pyatt, Remarks by Ambassador Pyatt.

18 Antti Sillanpää, “Strategic communications and need for societal narratives” (paper

presented at The Riga Conference 2015, Riga, November 13, 2015), accessed August

3, 2016, https://www.rigaconference.lv/rc-views/22/strategic-communications-and-

need-for-societal-narratives.

19 Alexey Olianich, Presentational Theory of Discourse [ Prezentacionnaya teoria

diskursa] (Moscow: Gnosis, 2007), 107.

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The Image of Security Sector Agencies as a Strategic Communication Tool

Direct experience of the recipient

Vicarious experience of the

with the agency

recipient with the agency

from other individuals and

mass-media

AGENCY’S IMAGE

Values

‘I’

Symbols

concept

Agency’s discourse

Culture

Figure 2: Communication Domains of Security Sector Agency’s Image Formation.

media and other communication means) say regarding the agency. Taking into

account that incomplete knowledge and/or corrupt messages can damage the

image; the agency must fill the communication space with its discourse. Thus,

there are three main domains in which the image of a security sector agency is

being formed (Figure 2):

• direct experience of the recipient with the agency

• vicarious experience of the recipient with the agency from other indi-

viduals and mass-media

• the agency’s discourse (web sites, media, press-conferences etc.).

Image is formed explicitly and implicitly. Every media message on the mili-

tary or law-enforcement contains an image formative aspect. Thus, positive

image formation should be based on the strategy as a plan of communicative

influence on the recipient.

To influence the image formative process, the agency must model the im-

age core element – its ‘I’ concept, which is a compromise between ‘real ME’

and ‘ideal ME.’ The desirable image for a security sector agency is the reduction

of the discrepancy between the ‘I’ concept and the audience’s attitude to this

agency. The agency’s leadership is responsible for outlining the ‘I’ concept.

Then, appropriate image formative symbols and concepts are chosen to ver-

balize the desirable image, and this model is placed into real contexts in the

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Iryna Lysychkina, Connections QJ 16, no. 3 (2017): 5-22

form of the agency’s discourse. This is done by communicators – departments

or individuals responsible for the agency’s strategic communication.

The agency’s discourse is the domain that the communicator can control

and where he/she can verbalize the ‘I’ concept and ingrain the agency’s values,

symbols and culture. If this domain is properly maintained, it influences the

other two and builds a filter in the consciousness of the target audience for

perceiving the external information regarding the agency. This filter might be

strong enough to block any negative information of the agency’s ‘wrong-doing.’

In fact, this filter corresponds to Lakoff’s frame theory, “frames being mental

structures shaping the way we see the world.”20 According to Lakoff:

Framing is critical because a frame, once established in the mind of the

reader (or listener, viewer, etc.), leads that person almost inevitably to

the conclusion desired by the framer, and it blocks consideration of oth-

er possible facts and interpretations.21

Based on cognitive and pragmatic analysis of research material, the author

suggests an image formative communicative strategies taxonomy (Table 1)

built on:

• the content of the desirable image of a security sector agency,

• object-space features of this image

• the sender’s intention that conditions the strategy and tactics choice

• linguistic means for these tactics realizations.

Table 1: Taxonomy of Image Strategies.

Stage

Goal

Essence

Strategy options

Image

Affirmation

Initiating an

• Appeal to common values

formation

image

• Self-introduction

Image

Reaffirmation

Revitalizing an

• Appeal to common values

enhancement/

image

• Presentation of the

enforcement

activities

Image

Purification

Correcting an

• Legitimation of actions

reparation

image

• Mitigation

• Face-work

Image damage

Subversion

Undermining an

• Discredit

image

• Discrimination

• Defamation

20 George Lakoff, The ALL NEW Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and

Frame the Debate (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2014), xv.

21 Lakoff, The ALL NEW Don't Think of an Elephant!, 8.

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The Image of Security Sector Agencies as a Strategic Communication Tool

The image strategies are flexible and can be realized by a number of com-

municative tactics. Appeal to common values includes the values of any secu-

rity sector agency ( Service), nation ( Integrity, Patriotism), and society ( Excellence, the Truth).

Image Reparation Strategies

The latest news and analytical publications in mass-media (July 2016: Police

shooting in the USA, French police failure to prevent the terroristic act in Nice)

prove a wide need to repair the image of these agencies in order to restore the

trust of society and to enhance cooperation. W. L. Benoit states that “a dam-

aged reputation can hurt our persuasiveness because credibility generally and

trustworthiness in particular are important to persuasion.”22 Negative image

contains two main components: responsibility and offensiveness.

Within image repair theory, it is believed that threats to an image are inevi-

table for at least four reasons 23:

• Our world has limited resources

• Events are out of control and sometimes keep us from meeting our ob-

ligations

• Sometimes we commit misdeeds, make honest errors, or allow our be-

havior to be guided too much by our self-interests

• The fact that we are individuals with different priorities can create con-

flict arising from our competing goals.

The agency must decide on the threats and whether to address them or not.

Trivial accusations do not need to be addressed while “it is a mistake to ignore

an important accusation.”24 The attacks are significant to the agency when they

are believed to damage the agency’s reputation “in the eyes of the group or

the audience who is salient to the source.”25

As communication has a potential to repair the damaged image, image rep-

aration is intended to improve it and to reshape the audience’s attitudes. There

are two key assumptions here: communication is a goal-oriented activity, and

maintaining a positive reputation is one of the central goals of communica-

tion.26 The main communicative strategies for image reparation are summa-

rized in Table 2. It is necessary to note, that image reparation discourse is in-

cluded in a wider crisis communication along with other images with respect to

other kinds of crises.

22 William L. Benoit, “Image Repair Theory in the Context of Strategic Communication,”

in The Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication, 304.

23 Benoit, “Image Repair Theory,” 303.

24 Benoit, “Image Repair Theory,” 305.

25 Benoit, “Image Repair Theory,” 307.

26 Benoit, “Image Repair Theory,” 305.

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Iryna Lysychkina, Connections QJ 16, no. 3 (2017): 5-22

Table 2: Image Reparation Strategies.

Strategy

Addressed

Goal

Strategy options

Component

Challenging

Responsibility

Rejecting blame,

• Denying responsibility

blame or

mitigation

• Shifting blame to

offensiveness

others

• Reducing

responsibility

• Good intentions

Offensiveness

Reducing

• Bolstering

perceived

• Minimization

offensiveness of

• Differentiation

the action

• Transcendence

• Attack Accuser

• Compensation

Admitting

• Asking for forgiveness

wrong-doing

• Promising to fix the

problem

Denial

• Simple denial

• Shift the blame

The recipient of an image reparation message is defined based on the image

damaging agent and the target audience of the image damaging message or at-

tack that the agency is concerned about. The agency might need to repair its

reputation with the image damaging agent, or with the image damaging agent

and a wider target audience, or with the audience neglecting the image dam-

aging agent.

Image of Security Sector Agencies: Best Practices and Failures

Nowadays, Ukraine’s Armed Forces and National Guard struggle to form a posi-

tive image in order to win the support of society. Different channels are used,

including national mass media, official websites and social media. Mass media

and social media monitoring shows that some of the steps undertaken in this

direction are effective, others lead to misunderstanding and bring more harm

to the general perception of these agencies. It is crucial to know what to tell

and how to tell it, how to promote corporate values, how to present infor-

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The Image of Security Sector Agencies as a Strategic Communication Tool

mation on the reform process, etc. “Actual policy counts at least as much as

how something is framed.”27 All this belongs to strategic communication.

For the purpose of this research, several best practices and obvious failures

are examined:

Public Opinion Polling, Surveying and Focus Groups

Feedback is what any agency’s communicator needs to evaluate and validate

his/her image formative strategy in order to improve or to change it. In 2003,

the Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) in Geneva built

a wide picture of the public image of security, defense and the military in Eu-

rope28 based on public opinion polls and surveys. This publication, of course,

does not reflect the current situation since many things have changed in the

last 13 years; it rather highlights the necessity and usefulness of comprehensive

opinion polls. Whilst such polls (as well as focus groups and discussions) are ex-

pensive, they can be substituted by Internet surveys that can give at least an

idea of the agency’s image.

Embedded Reporters

One of the practices to communicate a positive image of the military to a wider

audience is to use the so called “embedded reporters” – media representatives

getting their “boots on the ground” experience with the troops in order to

share it with their audience. Earlier in Iraq and later in Ukraine, the audience

got a first-hand perspective of military life with the deployed U.S. troops and

Ukraine’s Armed Forces. The U.S. experience showed that “even if the stories

do not gain strong nationwide coverage, they do gain good regional coverage

and, in many cases, this regional coverage is more appropriate.”29 The efficien-

cy of “embedded reporters” depends on the reporters’ credibility and the

trustworthiness of the message.

Police as Newsmakers

The image of security sector agencies in the USA is rather positive; the military

are treated with respect by the public. At the same time, the 2014 clashes in

Ferguson animated a debate regarding law enforcement’s relationship with Af-

rican Americans, and the use of force by the police. Mass-media played a great

role in presenting the facts and forming the attitudes of the audience to the

unrest and to the police in general.

In recent police shootings in the USA, police officers did not take responsi-

bility for the shooting of two men and these shootings appear to have angered

the African American population of the country. Understanding both responsi-

27 Frank Luntz, Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear (New

York: Hyperion, 2007), 3.

28 Marie Vlachová, ed., Public Image of Security, Defence and the Military in Europe

(Belgrade/Geneva: Goragraf and DCAF, 2003).

29 Commander’s Handbook, IV-30.

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bility and offensiveness for the accusation, the Chief of Baton Rouge Police De-

partment produced a press conference statement30 – a classical image repara-

tion message containing the following key elements:

• acknowledgement of responsibility, including a personal demand for

an investigation

• a reaction to the police officers involved: suspension, leave

• mitigation of the blame: 911 call reaction

• call for a transparent, independent investigation

• appeal to the authorities: calling in the U.S. Attorney, and the FBI

• an invitation for collaboration to guarantee a just investigation, and a

plea for understanding.

This press conference was an attempt to break the rhythm of the negative

story development. But it failed, as well as several others on the police de-

partment Facebook page. Unfortunately, the previously formed negative image

had not been repaired. Consequently, the U.S. police were still connected to

indiscriminate violence and the shooting of African Americans which became a

fertile soil for implementing the conceptual opposition “WE vs. THEY” in the

form of “POLICE vs. AFRICAN AMERICANS.” This conflict acquired additional

impetus with the #BlackLivesMatter movement organized in 2013, and multiple

democratic protests. The “POLICE vs. AFRICAN AMERICANS” opposition grew

into a racial issue and led to actions against the police when eight police offic-

ers were killed in ten days.

It is probable that the situation was aggravated and went out of control

owing to the negative image of the U.S. police which negated the agency’s dis-

course being perceived by the audience as a means of resolving the conflict.

Correct Wording

The success of a security sector agency’s image formation, as well as the effi-

cacy of the agency’s strategic communication, depends on the choice of the

main concepts for the discourse and their specific verbalization in different

contexts for different audiences. For instance, in 1993, Luntz advised Rudy Giu-

liani to avoid the words ‘ crime’ and ‘ criminals.’ He maintained that “the public

placed a higher priority on “personal and public safety” than on “fighting

crime” (rather procedural) or even “getting tough on criminals” (rather puni-

tive), while ‘ safety,’ although somewhat abstract, is definitely personal, and

most of all aspirational – the ultimate value and the desired result of an effort

to fight crime.31 Giuliani’s success in New York City influenced the American

30 Baton Rouge Police Press Conference on Alton Sterling 7/6/16, accessed August 3,

2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II0CTp_x5Tg.

31 Luntz, Words That Work, 178.

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The Image of Security Sector Agencies as a Strategic Communication Tool

way of thinking in this respect, shifting from an emphasis on ‘ crime’ to “safe,

civil society.”

Rebranding

Rebranding is a marketing tool and is initiated with serious reasons in mind.

Rebranding in the security sector is done when the agency’s image cannot be

repaired or when restoration is required on a constant basis. For instance,

Ukraine, as well as several other countries in the area, inherited “interior

troops” from the former USSR. Having such a formation within the country

gave rise to many questions, like “Fighting against whom within the country?

Against people?” The reputation and image of this military formation was

spoiled completely after the clashes between Maidan protesters and these law-

enforcement agencies in winter 2013-2014. The subsequent rebranding cam-

paign was meant to be a reconciliation between the National Guard and the

general public using the motto “new and improved.” However, given the strict

time constraints and limited funds, the National Guard of Ukraine did not have

a comprehensive strategy for rebranding based on mission, vision and values.

Consequently, the process of re-establishing the National Guard of Ukraine

turned out to be long, unstructured and chaotic with internal cultural conflicts,

and the need for significant image reparation along the way.

Joint Effort

In order to be successful, the image formative process needs to be coordinated

and intensive. This statement can be illustrated by the image campaign aligned

with the creation of a rapid reaction brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine

in 2015-2016. The image campaign used all the instruments of strategic com-

munication available:

• numerous messages with a positive connotation in the media, along

with boastful messages on the agency’s official site and media

• informative speeches by the Commander of the National Guard of

Ukraine

• topical press-conferences and interviews with leaders of different lev-

els

• positive evaluation notes from the President of Ukraine

• appraisal quotes from world military authorities, e.g. General Hodges.

As a result of this image campaign, the rapid reaction brigade now has a

positive image within society, it attracts special attention and is a symbol of

effective reform in the security sector of Ukraine.

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Iryna Lysychkina, Connections QJ 16, no. 3 (2017): 5-22

Guidance on Image Formation for Security Sector Agencies

For the purpose of this study, one can follow two main directions for guidance

on image formation for security sector agencies: effective image formative

discourse and policy development.

Effective Image Formative Discourse

This section of the guidance is rather tactical, and has been composed for the

communicators who are exercising strategic communication.

Recipient’s Factor

From a pragmatic perspective, the recipient’s factor is the most significant for

strategic communication since “it is not what you say, it is what people hear.”32

Correspondingly, image formation depends on the recipient, too. Moreover,

the recipient owns all the images shaped in his/her consciousness. Thus, all

strategic communication messages should be composed with regard to the tar-

get audience’s variables: age, gender, occupation, life experience, education

and assumptions. Even rhetorical skills nowadays are not only about speech,

they are about recognizing social circumstances and grasping what the audi-

ence expects.33 An ideal message must bring some personal meaning and val-

ues to the recipient. For example, women generally respond better to stories,

anecdotes and metaphors, while men are more fact-oriented and statistical.34

Taking into account that young people read less, image messages should be

short with a catchy beginning and end.

Values

Values constitute the basis for a security sector agency’s image formation. The

agency’s values shouldn’t contradict the values of a nation or a society. Any

discrepancy in value systems can lead to a potential conflict. The choice of the

value concepts depends on the agency’s mission and vision. Usually, the

agency’s values are scrupulously formulated as a sound set of concepts. For in-

stance, the Seven Core U.S. Army Values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless

Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage.35 The values of the National

Guard of Ukraine are Honor, Courage and, Law.36

Image of the Leader

To a certain extent, the image discourse of a security sector agency is deter-

mined by the leader’s personality. It is not only that the leader formulates the

agency’s vision, it is that the leader personifies the agency. The audience tends

32 Luntz, Words That Work.

33 Ronald R. Krebs, Narrative and the Making of US National Security (New York: Cam-

bridge University Press, 2015), 32.

34 Luntz, Words That Work, 43.

35 “The Army Values,” accessed August 3, 2016, https://www.army.mil/values.

36 “National Guard of Ukraine,” accessed August 3, 2016, http://ngu.gov.ua/ua.

18

The Image of Security Sector Agencies as a Strategic Communication Tool

to form attitudes based on the leader’s attributes, thus the requirement for the

leader is to have a strong communication personality. At the same time, “mes-

sengers who are their own best message are always true to themselves.”37

There are examples when leaders are exaggeratedly public, preferring to com-

municate intensively to the audience via social media. It is an art for a leader to

find a necessary balance, but openness usually contributes to an agency’s posi-

tive image. It presupposes that the leader will participate in press-conferences,

interviews, image events, etc.

Message

Content, structure and function are of special importance for a good message.

As with any strategic communication, an image formative message is persua-

sive in its nature. The results of earlier surveys show that persuading and in-

forming are the two primary functions of a strategic communication message

out of the six identified by Hazleton: facilitate, inform, persuade, coerce, bar-

gain, and solve problems. Persuasive strategies produced the highest level of

involvement among the general public.38 For example, a “persuasive framing of

the use of military power can thus, to some extent, immunise or shield public

opinion against the conventional effects of a rising number of casualties.”39

For a message to be persuasive, special attention should be given to the

structure. Framing a message to provide context and relevance, depends on a

number of factors such as the recipient, the channel, the time and the topic.

What has proven to be effective is to “give context ‘why’ before ‘so that’ and

‘how,’ because the order in which you present information determines context,

and it can be as important as the substance of the information itself.”40 For in-

stance, messages with information on an agency’s ‘wrong-doing’ should have a

sandwich structure such as: a positive fact regarding the agency or a general

security environment—the negative information which is the core of this mes-

sage—another positive fact regarding the agency or further steps to be taken.

These findings correspond to an essential language rule that contradicts the

logics: “A+B+C does not necessarily equal C+B+A.”41

Message persuasiveness is not reached solely by rational arguments and

facts. The emotional component can be dominant for many audiences. The

personalization and humanization of a message can help to trigger an emo-

tional remembrance.42

37 Luntz, Words That Work, 92.

38 Kelly P. Werder, “A Theoretical Framework for Strategic Messaging,” in The

Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication, 278.

39 Ringsmose and Børgesen, “Shaping public attitudes,” 506.

40 Luntz, Words That Work, 26.

41 Luntz, Words That Work, 41.

42 Luntz, Words That Work, 18.

19

Iryna Lysychkina, Connections QJ 16, no. 3 (2017): 5-22

Proceeding from the statement that if “you want to reach the people, you

must first speak their language,”43 “the Ten Rules of effective language”44 are

applicable for image formative messages: Simplicity, Brevity, Credibility, Con-

sistency, Novelty, Sound, Aspiration, Visualization, Questioning, and Context.

The image formative message content is conveyed by language and visual

means. The visual means are gradually acquiring more significance owing to the

younger generation’s kaleidoscopic picture of the world which is the result of

the shift in our thinking towards the ‘clip’ style of presentation. Visuals are

widely used to support security sector agencies discourse. A short motto ‘Aim

High’ on the official site of the U.S. Air Force Recruiting45 is endorsed by an

exciting video aimed at the emotional sphere of the recipient.

Image formative messages can be rolled into mottoes and slogans. The

quality dimension for a message prevails the quantitative one. The main re-

quirement is that successful, effective messages stick in our brains and never

leave, and they also move people to action.46

Consistency and Coherency of Image Formative Discourse

Consistency and coherency are related to the recipient factor as they are linked

to the audience diversity. Coherency is not a linear feature. Messages need to

be different for different audiences. Instead of the same ‘universal’ message

distribution via different channels, the image formative messages, as well as

the agency’s discourse in general, represent a wide range of diverse messages

on the same topic for different contexts and different audiences. The point

here is that these messages should be consistent, coordinated, coherent and

mutually reinforcing.

Policy Development on Security Sector Agency’s Image Formation and

Reparation

Strategic communication is regarded as an integral function, rather than an

adjunct to the planning and conduct of all military operations and activities. It is

also a command and a control process to ensure operational success and alli-

ance cohesion.47 The research “Mapping of StratCom practices in NATO coun-

tries” shows that:

StratCom is still a long way from being a supported—rather than sup-

porting—capability, since for communications to sit at the heart of strat-

43 Luntz, Words That Work, 3.

44 Luntz, Words That Work, 12-28.

45 “U.S. Air Force Recruiting,” accessed August 3, 2016, https://www.airforce.com.

46 Luntz, Words That Work, 126.

47 Rita LePage, Mapping of StratCom practices in NATO countries (Riga, Latvia: NATO

Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, 2015), accessed August 3, 2016,

http://www.stratcomcoe.org/mapping-stratcom-practices-nato-countries-0.

20

The Image of Security Sector Agencies as a Strategic Communication Tool

egy, there is a strong demand for clear ‘top down’ direction at the mili-

tary and political level.48

Image potential to increase the organization or agencies capability is not

explicitly recognized in the existing strategic communication policies. For in-

stance, image is not included in the NATO Policy on Strategic Communications,

but among the six key principles “soliciting public views” is mentioned49 which

indirectly refers to image.

Proceeding from the role of image for a security sector agency’s strategic

communication and the necessity of ‘top-down’ initiative, the following points

might be considered with regard to the National Guard of Ukraine:

• The need to develop a strategic communication policy or doctrine. This

initiative may result in a separate doctrine or a plan that states the key

elements of the desired image to be communicated to different audi-

ences:

o

The agency’s vision, mission and values developed on the basis

of the agency’s mandate

o

The communicator’s role, structure, rights and responsibilities.

• A requirement to conduct a SWOT analysis (strength, weaknesses, op-

portunities, threats) of the agency’s image on a regular basis in order

to monitor the situation and enforce the image consistency with the ‘I’

concept.

• Preparing contingency plans to anticipate potential threats to the im-

age and “prepare responses without stress and time pressure.”50 Based

on the contingency plans, to generate standard messages as responses

to the anticipated threats. “In a crisis, these plans should be adapted to

the specific situation and implemented thoughtfully, not followed

blindly. Furthermore, crisis response plans should be reviewed periodi-

cally and revised or updated as appropriate.”51

Conclusion

Strategic communication is an umbrella term for a wide scope of a security sec-

tor agency’s communications, including discourse and actions. Within a security

sector, strategic communication applies to all existing information and com-

munication capabilities, and it is not limited to media activities. As strategic

48 LePage, “Mapping of StratCom practices. ”

49 SG(2009)0794, 3.

50 Benoit, “Image Repair Theory,” 309.

51 Benoit, “Image Repair Theory,” 309.

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Iryna Lysychkina, Connections QJ 16, no. 3 (2017): 5-22

communication is directed towards “winning hearts and minds,”52 the image of

a security sector agency becomes a crucial tool in this endeavor as it contrib-

utes to the recipient’s attitudes to this agency, his/her behavior and support

actions.

The image of a security sector agency is a social construct grounded on the

audience’s perception, interpretation and attitudes. Shaped in strategic com-

munication, it functions as a filter in the recipient’s consciousness for receiving

external information concerning the agency.

For a security sector agency, image formation is a comprehensive process,

supported by a corresponding policy or doctrine that states the agency’s ‘I’

concept with the values indicated. The communicator in charge of the image

formation process develops the agency’s discourse in conformity with the pol-

icy, monitors the image realization in real contexts and introduces modifica-

tions to enforce or repair the image when necessary.

As a tool of strategic communication, image formation is based on the same

principles of objectivity, openness, credibility and trust, avoiding deception and

manipulation. Though, there is always a possibility that the security sector

agency’s image may be misused by the agency and the media. Further research

into the problem may be able to identify the mechanism of bilateral shaping

between image formation and strategic communication in the security sector

and its opportunities and threats.

About the Author

Dr. Iryna Lysychkina is Associate Professor, Chair of the Department of Philol-

ogy, Translation and Lingual Communication at the National Academy of the

National Guard of Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

52 David Kilcullen, “If we lose hearts and minds, we will lose the war,” The Spectator,

May 20, 2009, accessed August 3, 2016, https://www.spectator.co.uk/2009/05/if-

we-lose-hearts-and-minds-we-will-lose-the-war/.

22

Document Outline

- Introduction

- Strategic Communication in the Security Sector

- Essence of Strategic Communication

- Strategic Communication, Propaganda and Counter-Propaganda

- Prospects of Image for a Security Sector Agency

- Essence of Image

- Image Formation Process

- Image Reparation Strategies

- Image of Security Sector Agencies: Best Practices and Failures

- Public Opinion Polling, Surveying and Focus Groups

- Embedded Reporters

- Police as Newsmakers

- Correct Wording

- Rebranding

- Joint Effort

- Guidance on Image Formation for Security Sector Agencies

- Effective Image Formative Discourse

- Policy Development on Security Sector Agency’s Image Formation and Reparation

- Conclusion

- About the Author

Table of Contents

Introduction

Strategic Communication in the Security Sector

Essence of Strategic Communication

Strategic Communication, Propaganda and Counter-Propaganda

Prospects of Image for a Security Sector Agency

Essence of Image

Image Formation Process

Image Reparation Strategies

Image of Security Sector Agencies: Best Practices and Failures

Public Opinion Polling, Surveying and Focus Groups

Embedded Reporters

Police as Newsmakers

Correct Wording

Rebranding

Joint Effort

Guidance on Image Formation for Security Sector Agencies

Effective Image Formative Discourse

Policy Development on Security Sector Agency’s Image Formation and Reparation

Conclusion

About the Author