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Challenge 13
We must find effective ways to
PREVENT PROPAGANDISTS FROM EXACERBATING CONFLICT

Conflict profiteers and hate mongers must be stopped from intensifying conflict for their own selfish gain.

The Challenge

Efforts to promote more constructive approaches to conflict are generally not in the best interests of tyrants, "tyrant wannabes," and other people who seek to dominate others. One must expect and be prepared to respond to a broad range of sophisticated, propaganda-based assaults on efforts to promote more constructive conflict. We need to learn what forms propaganda takes, how it influences people (through rational and emotional arguments), and what can be done to counter its effects.

Deciding what is legitimate "education" and what is illegitimate "propaganda" is, of course, highly political. The challenge is to not only make that distinction, but then to figure out how to counter destructive propaganda while furthering peaceful "coexistence education." Most often, the term "propaganda" is used to refer to communication from "the other" or one's "enemy," but dispute resolvers must develop a much more sophisticated understanding of this kind of communication and how it can be used. Such an understanding needs to focus on the way in which propaganda deceptively tries to trick people into doing things that are against their interests.

Meeting the Challenge: What We Now Know

Communication scholars and psychologists have developed a fairly sophisticated understanding of propaganda and how it works. Advertisers, for better or worse, have done so as well. Conflict professionals would do well to learn the "tricks of the trade" from all of these folks, so we can not only play the "propaganda game," but also counter the negative effects of propaganda when it is used to exacerbate tensions and conflict rather than to ameliorate them.

Articles related to this topic include:

    Knowledge
    Availability
      High
    Utilization
      Low
    • Media   Propaganda is most effectively spread through the mass media. Both journalists and conflict resolution practitioners are just starting to explore the relationship between mass media and conflict. This introductory article, and the following articles begin exploring this relationship and how the media can be used on either destructive or constructive ways in the context of conflict.
  • Mass Media   Mass media is necessary for large-scale communication, but it is also capable of seriously escalating conflict. This resource explores how media can both hurt — and help — conflicts and their resolution.
  • Propaganda   Propaganda involves the obscuring, manipulating, or misconstruing of information for political gain. It may involve efforts to garner support amongst followers or to dampen the spirits of one's opponents.
    • h more difficult than it appears.
  • Political Communication   Political communication is a broad term that incorporates everything from election campaigns to propaganda to influencing the morale of battlefield opponents. It can be considered a synonym for propaganda when looked at from one's own side.
  • Public Diplomacy   Public diplomacy provides a means of influencing foreign publics without the use of force. This brief article describes its history, discusses how it has been used by the U.S. in the "War on Terror," and gives a list of "best practices."
Book Summary:

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In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery? -- St. Augustine
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Organizations Making Noteworthy Contributions to Efforts to Promote More Constructive Conflict
Program on Analysis and Resolution of Conflict
Program on Analysis and Resolution of Conflict
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Beyond Intractability
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Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat
Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat
Former President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and 1978 Nobel Peace Laureate
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