Political warfare and contentious politics

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Authors
Steward, Aaron L.
Subjects
political process model
contentious politics mobilization model
polity model
political warfare
social movement theory
Italy
Chile
cold war
covert action
overt action
strategy
Advisors
Rothstein, Hy
Date of Issue
2015-06
Date
Jun-15
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
This thesis examines if increased Department of Defense (DOD) involvement in political warfare (PW) is justified through a qualitative, comparative analysis of U.S. PW actions conducted by the Department of State, Central Intelligence Agency, and DOD in two Cold War cases: Italy from 1943–1948 and Chile from 1961–1973. Concepts of strategy and social movement models of Doug McAdam, Charles Tilly, and Sidney Tarrow are applied to historical PW actions, both overt and covert. The case-study analysis clarifies each agency’s conduct of PW and develops analytical tools to classify PW actions by approach and impact within the political setting. Data was collected from archives, declassified government documents, and expert analyses. Results indicate that, compared to other U.S. agencies, the DOD had a limited direct role in PW in the cases studied, but was an important enabler. In applying models of social movement theory to historical analysis, this thesis identifies and develops the contentious politics mobilization model’s potential use in planning and evaluating PW strategies.
Type
Thesis
Description
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10945/45947
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Department
Defense Analysis (DA)
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
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This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.
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