Narrative Warfare, a Primer and Study guide
Narrative Warfare, a primer and study guide, is literally, a first of a kind and ground-breaking in its intent. The intent of this book is to give national security professionals and other interested parties a baseline understanding of narrative and its principles regarding the potential for predictably triggering behavior. If we are to succeed on the battlefield of influence, understanding narrative is an imperative. This introductory study guide describes methods, from strategic to tactical, to win Narrative Warfare. We begin by defining narrative and its four components. We move to a description of offensive and defensive narratives and then provide details about the specific type of Narrative Identity Analysis of the target audience that will be necessary in order to put together a comprehensive Narrative Strategy. We demonstrate how to trigger identities and frame events in order to completely dominate in Narrative Warfare.
For a more complete understanding of influence in general and a more well-rounded understanding of narratives’ role in influence, it is highly recommended to add Narrative Warfare, Dr. Ajit Maan, 2018 and Information Warfare, the Lost Tradecraft, Dr. Howard Gambrill Clark, 2018 to your library. Both are Narrative Strategies publications.
About the Authors
Ajit Maan, Ph.D. specializes in narrative and identity in conflict arenas. She is Founder and CEO of Narrative Strategies, LLC, invited affiliate faculty George Mason University’s Center for Narrative Conflict Resolution, and member of The Brain Trust of the Weaponized Narrative Initiative at Arizona State University. She is the author of Narrative Warfare, Counter-Terrorism: Narrative Strategies, Internarrative Identity: Placing the Self, and Co-Editor of Soft Power on Hard Problems: Strategic Influence in Irregular Warfare. Her articles have appeared in Foreign Policy, The Strategy Bridge, Small Wars Journal, Real Clear Defense, Stars and Strips, The Indian Defense Review, Indian Military Review, Defense and Intelligence Norway, and other policy and military strategy journals.
Mr. Paul Cobaugh retired from the US Army as a Warrant Officer after a distinguished career in the US Special Operations CT community, primarily focused on mitigating adversarial influence and advancing US objectives by way of influence. Throughout his career he has focused on the centrality of influence in modern conflict whether it be from extremist organizations or state actors employing influence against the US and our Allies. Following his military career he was offered and accepted the position of Vice President at Narrative Strategies, a US based Think-Do Tank which specializes in the non-kinetic aspects of conflict. He has also co-authored, Soft Power on Hard Problems: Strategic Influence in Irregular Warfare, Roman and Littlefield, 2017.
