Weapons of Mass Persuasion: Strategic Communication to Combat Violent Extremism

by Bruce Gronbeck (Editor), Lynda Lee Kaid (Editor), Steven R. Corman (Editor), Angela Trethewey (Editor), H.L. Goodall Jr. (Editor)

Overview

Complementing and extending scholarship in three areas – terrorism; the media, mediated representations, and propaganda in contemporary culture; and the political and diplomatic environment post-9/11 – this book articulates the role of human communication in the «war of ideas». Drawing on contemporary research from a variety of disciplines, this book offers analyses and recommendations for people to make use of informed, inspired, and ethical communication to counter ideological support for terrorism and to promote more effective public diplomacy.
This is the first book to apply human communication concepts and theories – and to offer potential solutions – to the communication problems encountered by nations, communities, and individuals, and in doing so moves beyond critiques of failed U.S. communication campaigns and strategies in the «war on terror».

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433101977
Publisher:	Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Publication date:	04/29/2008
Series:	Frontiers in Political Communication , #15
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	209
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

The Editors: Steven R. Corman is Professor at Arizona State University where he directs the Consortium for Strategic Communication in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication. A recognized expert on complex organizations, social networks, and new media, since 2001 he has served as an invited participant and featured speaker at numerous national and international symposia on counterterrorism and public diplomacy. He serves as a consultant to the Department of Defense and the Department State on issues of strategic communication and was a member of the Scientist Panel for the Strategic Operations Working Group at U.S. Special Operations Command.
Angela Trethewey is Associate Professor and Associate Director in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University, and is a member of the Consortium for Strategic Communication. Her scholarship centers on issues of ideology and power as they impact strategic communication processes. She is currently working on a Department of Defense sponsored project on self-organizing systems and armies of the future. She is co-author of the best-selling book Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint, 5th ed.
H. L. (Bud) Goodall, Jr. is Professor and Director of the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University. He is the author and co-author of twenty books and over one hundred articles, chapters, and presentations. He is the recipient of the «Best Book of 2007» award from the National Communication Association. He serves as a U.S. Department of State International Speaker on countering ideological support for terrorism and improving public diplomacy and serves as a consultant on strategic communication to the Department of State and Department of Defense groups.

Table of Contents

Contents: Steven R. Corman/Angela Trethewey/H.L. Goodall, Jr.: Preface – H.L. Goodall, Jr./Angela Trethewey/Steven R. Corman: Strategery: Missed Opportunities and the Consequences of Obsolete Strategic Communication Theory – H.L. Goodall, Jr./Angela Trethewey/Kelly McDonald: Strategic Ambiguity, Communication, and Public Diplomacy in an Uncertain World: Principles and Practices – Angela Trethewey/H.L. Goodall, Jr.: Leadership Reconsidered as Historical Subject: Sketches from the Cold War to Post-9/11 – Steven R. Corman/Jill Schiefelbein: Communication and Media Strategy in the Islamist War of Ideas – H.L. Goodall, Jr./Linell Cady/Steven R. Corman/Kelly McDonald/Mark Woodward/Carolyn Forbes: The Iranian Letter to President Bush: Analysis and Recommendations – Z. S. Justus/Aaron Hess: One Message for Many Audiences: Framing the Death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – Aaron Hess/Z.S. Justus: Re-Defining the Long War: Toward a New Vocabulary for International Terrorism – Steven R. Corman/Angela Trethewey/H.L. Goodall, Jr.: A New Communication Model for the 21st Century: From Simplistic Influence to Pragmatic Complexity – Steven R. Corman/Angela Trethewey/H.L. Goodall, Jr.: Creating a New Communication Policy: How Changing Assumptions Leads to New Strategic Objectives.

Editorial Reviews

«A virtual dissection of America’s troubled ‘information strategy’ since 9/11. [This book is] full of trenchant analysis that explains what went wrong, yet replete with practical recommendations for repairing damaged credibility and focusing on the right ‘story.’ Mandatory reading for all who conduct public diplomacy, those who study it, and those who feel its pervasive effects.» (John Arquilla, Director, Information Operations Center, United States Naval Postgraduate School)
«Beyond the incisive analysis of America’s strategic communication challenges and the hard-hitting policy recommendations for crafting an effective way forward, the authors open the terrorism studies discipline to a virtually untapped literature, that of communication theory. This book is a must-read for practitioners, scholars, and students of global politics and counterterrorism.» (Jarret Brachman, Director of Research, Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy)

«A virtual dissection of America’s troubled ‘information strategy’ since 9/11. [This book is] full of trenchant analysis that explains what went wrong, yet replete with practical recommendations for repairing damaged credibility and focusing on the right ‘story.’ Mandatory reading for all who conduct public diplomacy, those who study it, and those who feel its pervasive effects.» (John Arquilla, Director, Information Operations Center, United States Naval Postgraduate School)
«Beyond the incisive analysis of America’s strategic communication challenges and the hard-hitting policy recommendations for crafting an effective way forward, the authors open the terrorism studies discipline to a virtually untapped literature, that of communication theory. This book is a must-read for practitioners, scholars, and students of global politics and counterterrorism.» (Jarret Brachman, Director of Research, Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy)

From the Publisher