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

by James J. F. Forest, Bruce Hoffman

Overview

This important work, edited by an expert on terrorism, focuses on the 21st-century struggle for strategic influence and ways in which states can neutralize the role of new media in spreading terrorist propaganda.

In an era where anyone can have access to the Internet or other media forms that make widespread communication easy, terrorists and insurgents can spread their messages with complete freedom, creating challenges for national security. Influence Warfare: How Terrorists and Governments Fight to Shape Perceptions in a War of Ideas focuses on the core of the ongoing struggle for strategic influence and, particularly, how states can counter the role media and the Internet play in radicalizing new agents of terrorism.

As the book makes clear, governments need to find ways to effectively confront non-state adversaries at all levels of the information domain and create an understanding of strategic communications within a broad range of technologies. The essays from the international group of authors who contributed to this work offer a deeper understanding of the ongoing struggle. Influence Warfare also provides a set of case studies that illustrate how the means and methods of strategic influence can impact a nation's security.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313347313
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/14/2009
Series:	Praeger Security International
Pages:	412
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

James J. F. Forest is director of terrorism studies and associate professor in the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, The U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY. He has published over ten books on terrorism and counterterrorism, in addition to numerous articles and commentaries. His books include the Praeger Security International titles Countering Terrorism and Insurgency in the 21st Century: International Perspectives (2007), Homeland Security: Protecting America's Targets (2006), and The Making of a Terrorist: Recruitment, Training, and Root Causes (2005).

Table of Contents

Foreword by Bruce Hoffman
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
James J. F. Forest and Frank Honkus, III
PART I: TERRORISM AND STRATEGIC INFLUENCE
2. Jihad.com 2.0: The New Social Media and the Changing Dynamics of Mass Persuasion
Aidan Kirby Winn and Vera L. Zakem
3. When Fatwas Clash Online: Terrorist Debates on the Internet
Gabriel Weimann
4. New Media's Influence on the Assessment of Publicly Communicated Terrorist Threats
M. Karen Walker
5. The Terrorist Spectacular and the Ladder of Terrorist Success
Cori E. Dauber
PART II: IMPLICATIONS FOR COMBATING TERRORISM
6. The Strategic Dimensions of Terrorism: Concepts, Countermeasures, and Conditions in the Search for Security
Frank L. Jones
7. The Strategic Influence Deficit of Terrorism
Max Abrahms
8. Challenges to Shaping Civilian Attitudes and Behaviors in a Theater of Operations
Christopher Paul, Todd C. Helmus, and Russell W. Glenn
9. The Nonkinetic Aspects of Kinetic Efforts
Joshua Alexander Geltzer
10. Online Recruitment, Radicalization, and Reconnaissance: Challenges for Law Enforcement
Simon O'Rourke
11. Who's Winning the Battle for Narrative? Al-Qaida versus the United States and Its Allies
Sebastian Gorka and David Kilcullen
12. Using the Internet to Uncover Terrorism's Root Causes
Joshua Sinai
PART III: CASE STUDIES OF STRATEGIC INFLUENCE
13. U.S. Strategic Communication Efforts during the Cold War
Daniel Baracskay
14. The Cook Report and Perceptions of Loyalists in Northern Ireland: Lessons for Counterterrorism
James Dingley
15. Al-Qaida's Strategy for Influencing Perceptions in the Muslim World
Sammy Salama and Joe-Ryan Bergoch
16. The Information Operations War Between Israel and Hizballah during the Summer of 2006
Guermantes E. Lailari
17. Strategic Uses of the Internet by Hizbut Tahrir-Indonesia
Frank Hairgrove, Douglas M. McLeod, and Dhavan V. Shah
PART IV: CONCLUSION
18. Conclusion: Assessing the Conceptual Battlespace
Joshua Alexander Geltzer and James J. F. Forest
Bibliography
Index
About the Editor and Contributors

Editorial Reviews

In this work, international contributors examine ways to confront terrorists and insurgents in the information domain. The book begins with an introductory chapter defining key terms and concepts. The first part of the book provides critical analyses, thematic essays, and examples of how terrorists gain and lose strategic influence. In the next section, contributors focus on the counterterrorism aspects of influence warfare, particularly how governments gain and lose strategic influence. The final section describes cases, such as US strategic communication efforts during the Cold War, the information operations war between Israel and Hezbollah during the summer of 2006, and strategic uses of the Internet by Hizbut Tahrir-Indonesia.” —Reference & Research Book News

“Overall, the work contains a snapshot of current thinking on strategic communication in an age of new media. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.” —Choice

From the Publisher