Andreas Ventsel speaks at the inaugural lecture on the semiotics of deterrence and Estonian security

On Wednesday, 13 November at 16:15, Andreas Ventsel, Professor of Political and Sociosemiotics at the University of Tartu, will give his inaugural lecture (in Estonian) “The semiotics of deterrence and strategic communication in the field of security” in the White Hall of the University of Tartu Museum.

In security policy, deterrence means an attempt made to divert an adversary from what they have planned. Its purpose is to deter the adversary from taking an action by threatening them with excessive costs or damage. In addition to developing one’s own strategy, it is equally important in terms of security to assess the credibility and effectiveness of the adversary’s deterrence.

In the case of hybrid conflicts, the role of deterrence is broader, encompassing not only military measures but also narratives constructed through media and communication. “Nowadays, conflict is framed, justified and the adversary defined largely in terms of meanings that influence societal attitudes towards deterrence. This also points to the importance of the media and its consumers in research on the subject,” said Ventsel.

Deterrence is often successful when it emphasises something that is meaningful to the adversary in terms of identity and cultural memory. “For example, e-Estonia is not just an IT infrastructure, it is also ingrained in our self-image as an innovative and digitally advanced nation. This, in turn, can increase our societal vulnerability to adversary deterrence,” the professor explained. According to him, one of the cornerstones of Estonia's comprehensive security strategy is psychological protection, which includes, among other things, explaining potential threats to the public. “This will help maintain the overall will to defend,” said Ventsel.

In his inaugural lecture, Andreas Ventsel will address the strategy of deterrence from the perspective of semiotic and cultural studies. Semiotic analysis helps to contextually explain how states and non-state actors (e.g. terrorist groups) strategically deter each other, while at the same time undermining the credibility of an adversary's deterrence. The lecture presents the first ideas of a research framework for strategic communication of deterrence, based on semiotics, relational ontology and the action research paradigm.

Andreas Ventsel received the doctoral degree in semiotics at the University of Tartu in 2009. In 2024, he became Professor of Political and Sociosemiotics. In his research, he develops a method for the semiotic analysis of political semiotics and information influence activities, combining semiotics, cultural and political studies, visual culture studies, discourse analysis and security studies. Ventsel attaches importance to the practical outcome of his research, which can be used to bring about social change. His work has focused on broad-based academic research on power relations, conflict, strategically disseminated conspiracy theories and threat discourse, the application of research findings to the development of courses and learning aids, and research-based collaboration with strategic communication agencies. He is also currently leading three research projects on the above.

Andreas Ventsel has lectured at both bachelor’s and master’s levels at many Estonian institutions of higher education, including Tallinn University, the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Estonian Military Academy. He has also been a visiting research fellow or lecturer at several universities abroad: the University of Turin, Georgian National University, Tel Aviv University, University of Beira Interior, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Cyprus University of Technology and the University of Bologna.

In 2024, he and Research Fellow in Semiotics Mari-Liis Madisson were given the national research award in humanities for their publication “Semiotic analysis of politics-semiotics, information influence activities and conspiracy theories”.

The aim of the inaugural lecture is to give the new professor an opportunity to introduce himself, his specialisation and field of research. At the end of the public lecture, the audience will be able to ask the professor questions. Everyone interested is welcome. A live webcast of the inaugural lecture will be available on UTTV.