Music as "Psychological Weapon": A Legal Analysis of the Phenomenon of Cultural Destruction

The subject of the study is the phenomenon of musical influence as a particular type of informational and psychological impact capable of shaping destructive attitudes and prompting socially dangerous behavior. The focus of the analysis is on music as an element of cultural communication, possessing regulatory potential and capable of serving as a tool for suggestion, manipulation, and latent encouragement of deviant actions. The research examines music and songs not only as artistic works but also as a socio-legal factor influencing the process of will formation, value orientations, and legal consciousness of the individual. Special attention is given to the relationship between creative freedom and the necessity of protecting society from destructive forms of cultural influence, as well as the issue of legal qualification of musical content that contains signs of inciting violence, suicide, or the use of psychoactive substances. The study employs interdisciplinary methods: comparative legal, psycholinguistic, criminological, cultural studies, and systemic-structural analysis. It utilizes concepts from legal psychology, legal theory, and musical aesthetics to identify the mechanisms of destructive influence and develop criteria for its legal assessment. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the formulation of the concept of musical criminogenicity as the ability of musical content to serve as a tool for latent informational and psychological influence that provokes illegal or self-destructive behavior. For the first time, the understanding of music as a special regulator of social relations with a dual nature – cultural and legal – has been substantiated. Criteria for the legal assessment of destructive musical works have been formulated: semantic content, context of dissemination, target audience, and the presence of visually-rhythmic markers of suggestion. The conclusion is drawn on the necessity of doctrinal consolidation of the concept of destructive musical content and the introduction of qualifying signs for crimes committed using musical and audiovisual forms. The significance of a comprehensive approach that combines criminal law, cultural studies, and preventive measures ensuring a balance between creative freedom and protection of individuals from hidden forms of psychological violence is emphasized.