Influence Warfare : How Terrorists and Governments Fight to Shape Perceptions in a War of Ideas

by Forest, James J. F.; Hoffman, Bruce

• ISBN13: 9780313347313
• ISBN10: 031334731X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-05-14
• Publisher: ABC CLIO LTD

Summary

Perceptions frame reality. Terrorists, insurgents, and criminals have become adept at shaping perceptions among multiple audiences, using an electronic communication infrastructure to reach the global community. These groups are competing against national governments for the power to gain influence in order to achieve their strategic objectives. In this technological age, media and the internet are becoming the battlefields for modern conflicts and are the key sources in capturing a global audience. This work focuses on the core of the ongoing struggle for strategic influence, and particularly, how states can counter the role that media and the Internet play in radicalizing new agents of terrorism.In an era where anyone can have access to the Internet or other media forms, it has created communication with complete freedom. Governments no longer have a strong hold on communication, which creates challenges for filtering information and security posed by terrorists and insurgents. Terrorists, insurgents, and criminals have become adept at shaping perceptions among multiple audiences, using an electronic communication infrastructure to reach the global community. These groups are competing against national governments for the power to gain influence in order to achieve their strategic objectives. In this technological age, media and the internet are becoming the battlefields for modern conflicts and are the key sources in capturing a global audience. This work focuses on the core of the ongoing struggle for strategic influence, and particularly, how states can counter the role that media and the Internet play in radicalizing new agents of terrorism.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
Terrorism and Strategic Influence
Jihad.com 2.0: The New Social Media and the Changing Dynamics of Mass Persuasion	p. 27
When Fatwas Clash Online: Terrorist Debates on the Internet	p. 49
New Media's Influence on the Assessment of Publicly Communicated Terrorist Threats	p. 75
The Terrorist Spectacular and the Ladder of Terrorist Success	p. 93
Implications for Combating Terrorism
The Strategic Dimensions of Terrorism: Concepts, Countermeasures, and Conditions in the Search for Security	p. 123
The Strategic Influence Deficit of Terrorism	p. 151
Challenges to Shaping Civilian Attitudes and Behaviors in a Theater of Operations	p. 173
The Nonkinetic Aspects of Kinetic Efforts	p. 195
Online Recruitment, Radicalization, and Reconnaissance: Challenges for Law Enforcement	p. 209
Who's Winning the Battle for Narrative? Al-Qaida versus the United States and Its Allies	p. 229
Using the Internet to Uncover Terrorism's Root Causes	p. 241
Case Studies of Strategic Influence
U.S. Strategic Communication Efforts during the Cold War	p. 253
The Cook Report and Perceptions of Loyalists in Northern Ireland: Lessons for Counterterrorism	p. 275
Al-Qaida's Strategy for Influencing Perceptions in the Muslim World	p. 291
The Information Operations War Between Israel and Hizballah during the Summer of 2006	p. 311
Strategic Uses of the Internet by Hizbut Tahrir-Indonesia	p. 329
Conclusion
Conclusion: Assessing the Conceptual Battlespace	p. 343
Bibliography	p. 357
Index	p. 375
About the Editor and Contributors	p. 389
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