NPS logo Naval Postgraduate School
Dudley Knox Library
        View Item 
        •   Calhoun Home
        • Theses and Dissertations
        • 1. Thesis and Dissertation Collection, all items
        • View Item
        •   Calhoun Home
        • Theses and Dissertations
        • 1. Thesis and Dissertation Collection, all items
        • View Item
        • How to search in Calhoun
        • My Accounts
        • Ask a Librarian
        JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

        Browse

        All of CalhounCollectionsThis Collection

        My Account

        LoginRegister

        Statistics

        Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

        Why we fight: mass persuasion, morale, and American public opinion from World War I until the present

        Thumbnail
        View/Open
        Icon14Jun_Virginia_Richard.pdf (682.3Kb)
        Download Record
        Download to EndNote/RefMan (RIS)
        Download to BibTex
        Author
        Virginia, Richard A., Jr.
        Date
        2014-06
        Advisor
        Abenheim, Donald
        Halladay, Carolyn
        Metadata
        Show full item record
        Abstract
        This thesis examines the role of US mass persuasion during modern war and the effects of propaganda, strategic narrative, military strategy, and policy on morale and public opinion. Through historical analysis of several phases of US war propaganda, from the world wars to the Global War on Terror, this study aims to understand the political essence and the cultural and functional nuance of propaganda in a wartime democracy. Prevailing wisdom holds that the United States managed a coherent, focused, and intelligently wielded campaign of mass persuasion in Europe, 1941–1989. Yet, American strategic mass persuasion efforts since 2001 have consistently failed to persuade friend and foe of the strategic efficacy of American and allied campaigns. This thesis finds that wartime propaganda has little effect if it is not derived from a concrete overall strategy, policy, and narrative. The most impactful uses of mass persuasion rely on a perpetual rebalancing of military theorist Carl von Clausewitz’s paradoxical trinity—violence, chance, and policy, anchored in democratic statecraft and the virtues of pluralism. Therefore, to better facilitate balancing, an independent governmental agency charged with information management during war may better serve the public, policy makers and the military, producing the desired political ends.
        Description
        Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited
        URI
        http://hdl.handle.net/10945/42748
        Collections
        • 1. Thesis and Dissertation Collection, all items

        Related items

        Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

        • Thumbnail

          Airwaves and microblogs: a statistical analysis of al-Shabaab’s propaganda effectiveness 

          Sikorski, Timothy A. (Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School, 2014-12);
          Al-Shabaab poses a persistent threat in the Horn of Africa, able to mount spectacular transnational attacks such as the siege on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013 and twin suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda in ...
        • Thumbnail

          The Battle of al-Khafji 

          Williams, Scott (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2002-06);
          The battle for the Saudi coastal town of al-Khafji, was the first major ground battle of Desert Storm. Despite the fact that Iraqi forces were being systematically destroyed by the allied air campaign, the Iraqis were ...
        • Thumbnail

          Should the United States create an American Foreign Legion 

          Farrell, Brian. (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2011-06);
          The growing hostility and division between Islam and "the West" comes at a time when the United States and our allies need more than ever to secure vital national interests in the Middle East, to include energy resources, ...
        Feedback

        411 Dyer Rd. Bldg. 339
        Monterey, CA 93943

         

        circdesk@nps.edu
        (831) 656-2947
        DSN 756-2947

        Start Your Research

        • Research Guides
        • How to Cite
        • Search Basics
        • Ask a Librarian
        • Library Liaisons
        • Graduate Writing Center
        • Thesis Processing Office
        • Statistics, Maps & More
        • Copyright at NPS

        Find & Download

        • Databases List
        • Articles, Books & More
        • NPS Theses
        • NPS Faculty Publications: Calhoun
        • Journal Titles
        • Course Reserves

        Use the Library

        • My Accounts
        • Request Article or Book
        • Borrow, Renew, Return
        • Remote Access
        • Workshops & Tours
        • For Faculty & Researchers
        • For International Students
        • For Alumni
        • Print, Copy, Scan, Fax
        • Rooms & Study Spaces
        • Floor Map
        • Computers & Software
        • Adapters, Lockers & More

        Collections

        • NPS Archive: Calhoun
        • Restricted Resources
        • Special Collections & Archives
        • Federal Depository
        • Homeland Security Digital Library

        About

        • Hours
        • Library Staff
        • About Us
        • Visit Us

        NPS-Licensed Resources - Terms & Conditions

        Copyright Notice

         
         

          Federal Depository Library  

        NPS Home Privacy Policy Copyright Accessibility Contact Webmaster