Vizualne Paradigme Simbola Moći: Dizajn Političkih Simbola Socijalističke Jugoslavije

The central theme of the paper is the analysis and interpretation of visual representations of symbols of power, i.e., political symbols within dominant policies and ideologies. The application of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary methods facilitated access to the field of research from different theoretical positions. The interpretation of symbols’ visual manifestations was carried out from the position of contemporary theories of power, which provide a reference theoretical framework for the analysis of the system of symbols and its role in the establishment of dominance relations in society. The analysis of political iconography was carried out using the discipline of visual rhetoric, which offered adequate tools for the interpretation of the range of political symbols. The topic of the dissertation is elaborated on the example of the symbolic system of socialist Yugoslavia. The established theoretical frameworks and analytical and interpretation methods were practically applied on the example of six case studies of the graphic metamorphosis of the Yugoslavian political symbols. The theory of visual culture served as a framework for defining the visual register within which the designer, clients (political organizations, cultural institutions, state media), and various audiences operated throughout the key periods of socialist Yugoslavia, from the socialist realism to the socialist modernism and late socialist period. The visual culture of the three periods of socialist Yugoslavia was analysed using the historical-chronological method, presenting the period visual registers, media apparatus and institutional frameworks within which images of symbols of power were formed and disseminated. The complex system of political symbols was systematized using several reference analytical and classification models, with a special focus on pictorial political symbols. The main thesis of the dissertation is that by analysing and interpreting the transformations of the design of political symbols, changes in the dominant discourse, changes in the level of openness of the political system to social changes, and the level of legitimacy of government in the social community can be followed.