Winning Wars Before They Emerge

Abstract

To avoid preparing to wage battles against our opponents in future wars, we should proactively and continuously influence the narrative identity structures of our potential opponents by using Strategic Communications (StratCom). This book argues that nations and societies of tolerance and pluralism (the so-called wonderful societies) should utilize StratCom to seduce their enemies, opponents, and potential opponents not only to behave in more tolerant ways, but above all to internalize peace, tolerance, and pluralism as essential values and guiding mental institutions of their identity structures.

Winning Wars Before They Emerge will be of interest to students, lecturers and researchers of international relations and world politics, peace researchers, and information operations practitioners, as well as military personnel. War and the art of war are issue areas that have been widely dealt with in numerous books and widely taught in various universities and defense colleges/universities, but not from the perspective offered in this book.

About the Author

Torsti Sirén is Director of the Department of Strategic and Defence Studies at the Finnish National Defence University, Finland. He graduated from the General Staff Officer Course in 1998 (National Defence University, Finland) and from Helsinki University (Department of Political Science) in 2009 as Ph.D. (Pol.Sc.). His doctoral thesis, “State Agent, Identity and the New World Order – Reconstructing Polish Defence Identity after the Cold War Era,” is available atAmazon.com.