1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910548175203321

Autore

Cole Benjamin <1967->

Titolo

The Syrian Information and Propaganda War : The Role of Cognitive Bias / / by Ben Cole

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2022

ISBN

9783030932824

9783030932817

Edizione

[1st ed. 2022.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xvi, 414 pages)

Disciplina

956.910423

Soggetti

International relations

Communication in politics

Peace

Journalism

Middle East - Politics and government

International Relations

Political Communication

Peace and Conflict Studies

Middle Eastern Politics

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di contenuto

Chapter 1. Propaganda, Power and Bias -- Chapter 2. The Pre-uprising Propaganda War -- Chapter 3. Establishing The Dominant Discourse -- Chapter 4. Assad is Sectarian -- Chapter 5. Assad Is Killing His Own People -- Chapter 6. Assad Is Using Chemical Weapons -- Chapter 7. Assad Protector Of The Nation -- Chapter 8. Syria Is Secular -- Chapter 9. The Rebels Are Extremists -- Chapter 10. Business As Usual -- Chapter 11. Limited Effects -- Chapter 12. Conclusion - Decoding The Propaganda War.

Sommario/riassunto

This book focuses on the propaganda war between the Syrian government and the opposition movement, which excludes the Islamic State and the Kurdish-led SDF. Drawing on international relations, psychology, and media studies, the book encourages readers to question the dominant discourse on the war. The core of the book



outlines the propaganda battles over the main paradigms and narratives that framed the war, exploring the shortcomings of those paradigms and narratives, identifying who won the propaganda war and why, and assessing what impact it had on the military side of the war. In particular, it focuses on the role of cognitive bias amongst primary and secondary sources in determining the outcome of the propaganda war, and whether the influence of this propaganda is best explained by effects or limited effects theory. Through explaining the dynamics of the propaganda war, the book encourages readers to critically question the dominant discourse on the war, assists them in understanding primary and secondary reporting on the war, and shows that the impact of the propaganda war is best understood in terms of limited effects theory. The book's main findings are that: 1) the opposition won the international propaganda war but failed to win the propaganda war inside Syria; 2) propaganda had relatively little effect on shaping attitudes either inside Syria or internationally (instead, its main effect was to reinforce attitudes that had already been shaped by other factors); and 3) the reality of the war lies between the conflicting paradigms and narratives being promoted by each side. Ben Cole is Honorary Lecturer at the School of Psychology, University of Liverpool, UK. He currently specializes in the process by which individuals become radicalized into violent extremism; terrorist decision making with regard to CBRN weapons; real-time monitoring and analysis of conflicts and terrorist movements using online media; and the war in Syria. .