Advance of the Black Flags: Symbolism, Social Identity, and Psychological Operations in Violent Conflict

Abstract

The United States is in an ideological war with violent extremists in the realm of mass communication, but the nature of this conflict is not well understood. This thesis reviewed literature concerning communication principles and the psychology of symbolism, then used qualitative analysis to investigate strategic communication samples to understand how media was used to construct group identity, influence attitudes, and challenge adversaries. Themes critical to narrative construction were identified, as were communication techniques that place emphasis on key ideas in music and film. The roles of symbolism, rituals, and music in human behavior were further researched. This research was then applied to the Islamic States use of media to influence attitudes and inspire behavior. The ultimate recommendation suggests that the United States approach this conflict as a true war by asserting a communication strategy designed to disrupt violent, exclusionary ideologies.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2015
Accession Number
AD1009165

Entities

People

  • Christopher D. Milburn

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Communication Channels
  • Communication Systems
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Families (Human)
  • Human Behavior
  • Information Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychological Operations
  • Psychology
  • Recreation
  • Societies
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.