The Democratic Disadvantage in the Strategic Communications Battlespace

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This article explores the struggle for influence taking place online between liberal democracies and extremists. It begins by describing the various online forms of strategic communication used by terrorist organizations to achieve their objectives. Particular attention is focused on how members of the global salafi jihadist network use the Internet to provide motivational/ideological and operational information to potential recruits and supporters. The discussion then examines the current public diplomacy effort of the U.S., and identifies an important disadvantage in our approach. In an age of universal access to the means of providing information online, citizens of a liberal democracy like ours have the power to undermine our strategic communications and public diplomacy efforts, largely through ignorance and irresponsibility. This problem is particularly acute when communicating with many corners of the Muslim world, where there is no frame of reference for understanding the implications of a free and open press, or a society that enjoys the legal protection of free speech. Thus, whether the messenger is Condoleeza Rice, Howard Stern, Pat Robertson, or the 14 year-old web blogger down the street, messages put forward online are often given equal credence in terms of representing American policy, culture, and ideas. This analysis concludes that an effective public diplomacy agenda requires a commitment to educating our own citizens for world comprehension and responsible communication, as well as motivating a grassroots campaign to develop and disseminate an effective anti-jihad message.