tag archive: listening

March 19, 2012

The Definition of Strategic Narrative: an Evolving Concept in International Affairs

By . Filed Under: International Politics, Middle East, Narrative Research, National Security, Politics and Policy, War and Violent Conflict.

In an earlier post, I outlined ways in which the term strategic narrative is used in current practice, in public relations—as an element of marketing—and in the academic field of international relations. This post returns to the evolution of the term as an applied concept in foreign affairs.

According to International Relations professor Alister Miskimmon (who I asked by email), the first published use of the term “strategic narrative” was by Lawrence Freedman, a professor of War Studies at King’s College, London. In 2006, Freedman wrote a paper called The Transformation of Strategic Affairs. Many of the insights in Freedman’s work stem from the Western experience of war in the post-9/11 years, and the discovery—the hard way, through experience—that the era of large scale land warfare may be decisively over. In its place, the future promises smaller wars, waged by insurgents as well as governments, in which human factors such as behavior, culture and communication play meaningful roles.

In this context, Freedman identifies “strategic narratives” as a kind of secret weapon of networked combatants fighting irregular wars. In Freedman’s view, a story that connects people emotionally to an identity and a mission “helps dispersed groups to cohere and guides its strategy. Individuals know the sort of action expected of them and the message to be conveyed.”

Thus, in Freedman’s definition, narrative is a function of strategy in the most traditional sense related to the science of war. In that vein, he argues that: Continue reading

Posted in: International Politics, Middle East, Narrative Research, National Security, Politics and Policy, War and Violent Conflict Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
February 3, 2012

Behavioral Economics Go to War

By . Filed Under: Books & Films, Decision making, Intercultural Communication, International Politics, Narrative Research, National Security, Politics and Policy, Strategic Leadership, War and Violent Conflict.

Review of Behavioural Conflict, Why Understanding People and their Motivations Will Prove Decisive in Future Conflict, by Andrew Mackey and Steve Tatham

I cannot think of any books about warfare’s future that come across as hard-hitting, full of actionable pragmatism, and deeply humane all at the same time. But Behavioral Conflict: Why Understanding People and their Motivations will Prove Decisive in Future Conflict is all three. The authors, both career members of the British military, Major General Andres Mackey (Ret) and Royal Navy Commander Steve Tatham (who I count as a friend, having met him in Ankara a few years ago), make their case by drawing on a combination of their own experience, case studies and close analysis of how communication actually factors in war.

Hard-hitting and pragmatic: Mackey and Tatham are precise and lucid about what they mean by “behavior” and how to make use of it to gain advantage in conflict. They, and behavioral psychologist Lee Rowland, who adds a chapter on the science of influence, are not putting forth any of the following: A call for greater “cultural awareness,” a mushy program about how to change others’ attitudes, or a repeat of the last decade’s focus on consumer marketing as the key to public diplomacy. They offer instead this thesis based on a simple chain of claims:

  • The world of human motivation and perception is inevitably complex.
  • It is more important to try to shape behavior than it is to change people’s attitudes.
  • Behavior shaping begins with a discrete grasp of the circumstances under which people already behave in ways that are desirable, and extends to efforts to replicate those or similar circumstances. Continue reading

Posted in: Books & Films, Decision making, Intercultural Communication, International Politics, Narrative Research, National Security, Politics and Policy, Strategic Leadership, War and Violent Conflict Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
September 11, 2011

Lessons in Patriotism

By . Filed Under: Intercultural Communication, National Security, Politics and Policy, War and Violent Conflict.

Tile made as part of a project that let people create their own commemorative tiles in 2001; they were later hung on a chain link fence in New York City's Greenwich Village (photo A. Zalman)

Patriotism—love of one’s country—is a treacherous emotion. Too little of it, and we aren’t motivated to make necessary sacrifices on behalf of our national brothers and sisters. Too much of it, or too much of the wrong sort, and exclusionary nationalism—in the form of various ethnic and religious hatreds- takes over. The challenges of getting patriotism right people think that we should avoid these dangers and keep emotion out of our public lives, substituting instead our critical faculties to reason our way to being fair and kind to each other.

But, as philosopher Martha Nussbaum argues, we require this form of love, “distinct from simple approval, or commitment or embrace of principles” in order to act on behalf of people we have never met—those people invoked by the idea of nation. Continue reading

Posted in: Intercultural Communication, National Security, Politics and Policy, War and Violent Conflict Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
July 20, 2011

Narrative in Complex Decision Making: an Interview with Mary Crannell

By . Filed Under: Decision making, Information Systems, Intercultural Communication, International Politics, Middle East, Narrative Research, National Security, Public Diplomacy, Strategic Leadership, War and Violent Conflict.

Mary Crannell is one of those people whose broad intelligence and enthusiasm are hard to contain, as I learned when we met recently through a shared acquaintance. As the president of Idea Sciences, a decision-making support consultancy based in Alexandria, VA, Mary spends much of her time thinking about what technologies and processes will help her customers—such as the IMF, NATO, QinetiQ, the US Army, the UK Army, Verizon and Herman Miller, to name a few—arrive at good decisions. She is a frequent traveler to sites of conflict, as in a recent visit to Kabul, Afghanistan, where decision-making is an urgent, complex and ongoing task.

I was gratified when Mary agreed to share some of her thoughts on the role of narrative in decision-making generally, and in directing the American role in the world in productive directions, which is a concern many of her clients share.

Mary Crannell, President, Idea Sciences

AZ: How do you use narrative frameworks to help people make decisions?

MC: It is important to give people a way to define the vision of what they are trying to accomplish whether they are leading a state, a nation or an international organization. Is the system you are leading “on purpose?” We start with a vision. Continue reading

Posted in: Decision making, Information Systems, Intercultural Communication, International Politics, Middle East, Narrative Research, National Security, Public Diplomacy, Strategic Leadership, War and Violent Conflict Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
May 30, 2011

U.S. Should Stop Asking if “They Like Us”

By . Filed Under: Intercultural Communication, International Politics, Middle East, National Security, Politics and Policy, Public Diplomacy.

The September 11 attacks spawned a public mania in the United States for uncovering whether people in other parts of the world “like us,” and if not, understand why they “hate us.” Ten years later, the U.S. State Department and, more broadly, national security community is still using this uninformative metric.

It is time to break down what the question “do you like the United States” actually means to those who we ask —whether directly through polling, or through the interpretation of symbolic actions (signs, flag burning) or the aggregation of media statements, or in any other fashion.

Most people in the world, especially those of greatest strategic interest to the U.S., cannot answer whether they like the United States based on personal information or knowledge. Despite rising international travel to the United States, most of the 60 million foreign visitors last year came from just five countries: Canada, Mexico, the UK, Japan and Germany.

The number of those who can answer based on a sense of intellectual or cultural proximity is equally small. The common wisdom since World War II is that American popular culture—movies, television shows, McDonald’s—is loved abroad, even when American policies are not. Globalization encourages competition and hybridization of cultural forms. Economics professor Tyler Cowan has argued that the “21st century will bring a broad mélange of influences, with no clear world cultural leader.” Continue reading

Posted in: Intercultural Communication, International Politics, Middle East, National Security, Politics and Policy, Public Diplomacy Tags: , , , , ,
April 13, 2011

SIETAR Conference on Intercultural Communication Begins Today in Denver

By . Filed Under: Conferences, Crisis Management, Intercultural Communication.

The Eleventh Annual Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research (SIETAR) Conference begins today in Denver. This year’s conference is dedicated to the topic of “Risk and Resilience in an Intercultural World.” In crisis, or other adverse circumstances, reaching across cultural borders can appear to be unduly risky, and it is resilience—the ability to recover from adversity—that must be cultivated if we are to remain engaged with others

SIETAR is a membership organization with satellite groups throughout the United States and abroad. Founded in 1974, the organization was created:

To provide a forum for exchanging ideas about training, theory, and research, and to learn from each other as well as to provide a place where interculturalists could strengthen their bonds with each other. They envisioned an exchange between people in different disciplines and professional activity that would strengthen the theoretical development and practice of intercultural communication.

Keynote speakers include Dr. Todd Conklin, Dr. William Cross and Dr. Pari Namazie. Conklin is a specialist in human error and safety at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the other of an upbeat book on Simple Revolutionary Acts to make ourselves more engaged, happier workers. Cross heads the Social-Personality Psychology subprogram at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Cross is well known for his work on African-American identity, and particularly for his 1991 book Shades of Black: Diversity in African American Identity Namazie works in the field of international human relations management and intercultural management. She is the managing director Atieh International, a strategy, HR and training company focusing on developing business opportunities between the Middle East and Europe.

Posted in: Conferences, Crisis Management, Intercultural Communication Tags: , , , , ,
July 4, 2010

The Challenge of Hearing the Opposition

By . Filed Under: National Security.

Last week, I had the privilege of guest lecturing about the uses of narrative for defense professionals at the National Defense University. It was a terrific experience all around—the students were impressively willing to think and talk about storytelling, which isn’t exactly a traditional part of a military education.

I was eager to have the students work with material that reflects their real world, and thought a 2009 interview with an Afghan member of parliament telling the story of civilians killed by American bombing in her province would be of great interest. And so it was.

In my own eagerness to bring the content of the video into the classroom, I hadn’t made much of the fact that the interview had been conducted and released by CODEPINK, a women’s anti-war group. Not so the class. After the class, a couple of participants made it clear they disapproved of my video choice.

Continue reading

Posted in: National Security Tags: , , , ,