Want Influence? Control the Story

Want Influence? Control the Story is Dr Ajit Maan‘s latest analysis on narrative warfare featured in Homeland Security Today.

National Security Requires Narrative Competence, says Dr. Maan.

“The new Director of Cognitive Advantage is tasked with winning the battle for influence, perception, and decision-making, “in an era where foes don’t need tanks or missiles to shape the world, they just need a meme and bot farm.” There is, of course, nothing new about influence in warfare. The ancients had quite a lot to say on the topic. The subtitle of a recent article takes a look “Inside America’s New Cognitive War and how the US is Getting Inside the Minds of Our Adversaries.” 

In order to get inside the minds of our adversaries, it is imperative to understand their cultural narratives and the conscious stories that reflect those less-than-conscious narratives. But what I mean by “narrative” is not that of common usage. As a philosopher, with specialization in Narrative Identity Theory, I use the word narrative is similar to the way Aristotle meant the concept of Poetics. That understanding and usage is different from the commonly understood usage of narratives: as interchangeable with story, or as propaganda, or in opposition to truth.  

Rather, narrative is to poetics as journalism is to history. “

Read the full piece to learn why national security requires narrative competence.

The post Want Influence? Control the Story appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.