Battle For Public Opinion Research Articles

One Man’s Patriot is Another Man’s Bandit: Sandino’s Image and the Debate Over the U.S. Occupation of Nicaragua

In the late 1920s, the U.S. occupation of Nicaragua was challenged in an insurgency led by Augusto César Sandino. While U.S. Marines conducted military operations in Nicaragua, the U.S. government and its supporters engaged in a battle for public opinion over the war against domestic anti-imperialist activists, politicians and journalists. A major part of this battle was the debate over Sandino’s image. The U.S. government sought to portray Sandino as a bandit, a depiction which de-legitimized his rebellion and bolstered support for the U.S. occupation. In this article, I discuss how the U.S. government developed this characterization of Sandino, and how anti-imperialists were able to successfully argue against it. I argue that several key characteristics of the U.S. occupation of Nicaragua fatally undermined the U.S. government’s depiction and provided anti-imperialists with multiple avenues to criticize U.S. policy in Nicaragua.

The war of the 60 stamps: the battle for public opinion – how the Nakba influenced Jordanian postage stamps

ABSTRACT In December 1969, the Jordanian government issued an unusually large set of postage stamps, containing 60 stamps. The issue commemorated two closely related experiences, which together form one of the most politically sensitive topics in Jordanian history: the memory of the defeat in the 1948 war against Israel and the problem of Palestinian refugees, hundreds of thousands of whom fled to Jordan during the war, following which the term Nakba (e.g. catastrophe) was coined, denoting the disaster that the Palestinians experienced. Commemorative postage stamps are a multi-faceted means and vehicles through which governments may utilize the state-owned this mass media for propaganda purposes. This study attempts to analyse the stamps, within the context of the historic period of the issue, and their articulation within the complex trilateral relations between Jordan, the Palestinians and Israel.

The Movement and the Middle East: How The Arab-Israeli Conflict Divided the American Left. By Michael R. Fischbach. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2020). 297 pages. Paperback $26; and Hearts and Minds: Israel and the Battle for Public Opinion By Nachman Shai. New York: SUNY Press, 2019. 284 pages. Paperback $32.95

Article The Movement and the Middle East: How The Arab-Israeli Conflict Divided the American Left. By Michael R. Fischbach. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2020). 297 pages. Paperback $26; and Hearts and Minds: Israel and the Battle for Public Opinion By Nachman Shai. New York: SUNY Press, 2019. 284 pages. Paperback $32.95 was published on December 19, 2020 in the journal Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism (volume 3, issue 2).

South African Propaganda Agencies and the Battle for Public Opinion during the Second World War, 1939–1945

South Africa’s entry into the Second World War in 1939 was complex. The Smuts government lacked nation-wide support and experienced hostile reactions from opponents of its war policy. It was also subjected to Nazi propaganda offensives, which intensified national divisions and undermined public morale. In response, the Union authorities adopted a volunteer policy for military service and embarked on a massive drive to secure positive public opinion and national support for the war policy. This move led to the establishment of various publicity and propaganda organisations to influence public opinion and to stimulate enthusiasm for the war. However, inadequate policy direction and lacking a solid framework to guide propaganda organisation and operations created inter-agency frictions and rivalries. The study on which this article is based, examined the main propaganda agencies, the Bureau of Information (BOI), the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) and the Union Unity Truth Service (UUTS), which contested one another for jurisdiction, authority and power to shape public opinion in South Africa during the war. The analysis focused on the rationale for their establishment, their purpose, objectives and activities. Then the article reports on the inter-institutional relationships, organisational politics and competition, and how these aspects affected the Union’s propaganda enterprise, mobilisation drive and the prosecution of the war effort.

The Labour government and the battle for public opinion in the 1975 referendum on the European Community

An upsurge of historical research in this century has assessed various campaigns that promoted European Community (EC) membership to the British people. This article, concentrating on the Labour government’s approach to the 1975 referendum on the EC, uses sources such as official records at The National Archives and political papers of some of the key agents; these sources have hitherto been underused for investigating public opinion-related activities on Europe in 1975. Although acknowledging that the interpretation of a government-controlled referendum applies up to a point, the article emphasises, as its key theme, the government’s difficulties in controlling events during the campaign itself. Despite having much support from newspapers, the government often had difficult relations with the mass media as a whole, and the article challenges the belief that it was effective here. This article also contests the idea that the campaign made much impression on the public. These findings further apply to other campaigns on the EC in the 1960s and 1970s and potentially in contemporary British politics.

Elite Competition, Religiosity, and Anti-Americanism in the Islamic World

The battle for public opinion in the Islamic world is an ongoing priority for U.S. diplomacy. The current debate over why many Muslims hold anti-American views revolves around whether they dislike fundamental aspects of American culture and government, or what Americans do in international affairs. We argue, instead, that Muslim anti-Americanism is predominantly a domestic, elite-led phenomenon that intensifies when there is greater competition between Islamist and secular-nationalist political factions within a country. Although more observant Muslims tend to be more anti-American, paradoxically the most anti-American countries are those in which Muslim populations are less religious overall, and thus more divided on the religious–secular issue dimension. We provide case study evidence consistent with this explanation, as well as a multilevel statistical analysis of public opinion data from nearly 13,000 Muslim respondents in 21 countries.

DH tells clinicians to publicise obesity risks in the battle for public opinion

DH tells clinicians to publicise obesity risks in the battle for public opinion

Military Social Influence in the Global Information Environment: A Civilian Primer

This article provides an overview of the role of social influence in modern U.S. military affairs. Many military strategists are now convinced that modern warfare is centered on a battle for public opinion, rather than a battle for physical terrain. As a result, new military periodic literature, texts, doctrine, and initiatives are increasingly likely to place social influence at the core of military operations. Unfortunately, this literature and doctrine is developing in a conversation that is almost completely independent of civilian university-based scholarly consideration. The goal of this civilian “primer” is to help bridge the gap between civilian and military scholarship by providing (1) an introduction to competing conceptions of the role of influence in modern war, (2) a brief description of current military initiatives using information operations, and (3) examples of influence tactics employed in recent U.S. military action. The article concludes by considering questions that modern military information operations raise about the intersection of social science, democracy, and war.

Media witnessing in asymmetric conflict

This paper aims to demonstrate the relevance of media witnessing – the witnessing performed in, by, and through the media – in situations of asymmetric conflict. The expansion of media technologies has brought new opportunities for both individuals and organizations to bear witness to events and broadcast their reports to increasingly wider audiences. Practices of media witnessing have become crucial in situations of asymmetric conflict, where the battle for public opinion brings into play different resources than those utilized on conventional battlegrounds. We describe media witnessing as a field in which various forces, resources, and agents compete for recognition by media audiences. We provide a framework for analysis and apply it to two documentary films produced shortly after the clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinian forces in the Jenin refugee camp in April 2002. We conclude with a discussion of the significance of media witnessing in the context of contemporary asymmetric conflicts.

“Is This Man an Anarchist?” Industrial Action and the Battle for Public Opinion in Interwar Britain

Previous articleNext article No AccessArticles“Is This Man an Anarchist?” Industrial Action and the Battle for Public Opinion in Interwar Britain*Laura BeersLaura BeersAmerican University Search for more articles by this author American UniversityPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Modern History Volume 82, Number 1March 2010 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/650506 Views: 146Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref © 2010 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:ROSAMOND FAITH, JAMES DAVIS, JONATHAN HEALEY, ANNE L. MURPHY, KATE BRADLEY, JAMES TAYLOR, GRAHAM BROWNLOW Review of periodical literature published in 2010, The Economic History Review 65, no.11 (Nov 2011): 322–375.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0289.2011.00640.x

The Second Lebanon War: Military Strategy and the Battle for Public Opinion

The Second Lebanon War: Military Strategy and the Battle for Public Opinion

The First-Year Foreign Policy of Bush the Younger

The author assesses President Bush’s foreign policy, suggesting that there are surprisingly few differences beneath the surface between the policies of the current administration and the Clinton presidency. He gives high marks to the Bush administration for its conduct of the war in Afghanistan, but cites several ambiguous, and hence more difficult, obstacles that confront the Bush foreign policy team. In particular, he warns that the United States appears to be losing the crucial battle for public opinion among Muslims worldwide. He also remarks on the poor job, thus far, by the president to revamp the American military to face the challenges of the new century.

Blair's Kosovo campaign political communications, the battle for public opinion and foreign policy

This article describes how Tony Blair used the political communication techniques developed while Labour was in opposition to help speed up the ending of the Kosovo conflict by strengthening NATO's resolve. While NATO had military superiority, the battle for public opinion was in danger of being lost as the conflict dragged on. NATO leaders were concerned that Milosevic was winning the propaganda war and setting the media agenda. Tony Blair and his press spokesman, Alastair Campbell, played a vital role in getting the battle for public opinion on course, setting a clear agenda that could be relayed to the public, and launching a massive political campaign aimed at shoring up public opinion both in Britain and abroad, of the type usually used by presidential candidates running for office. Campaigning techniques were also used to bolster the resolve of the NATO leaders which was in danger of cracking in the run up to the Washington summit of April 1999.

The Clinton presidency: images, issues, and communication strategies

Series Foreword Preface Inaugurating the Clinton Presidency: Regenerative Rhetoric and the American Community by David E. Procter and Kurt Ritter Clinton and the Town Hall Meetings: Mediated Conversation and the Risk of Being In Touch by Robert E. Denton, Jr., and Rachel L. Holloway Virtual Democracy: A Critique of the Clinton Administration Citizen-White House Electronic Mail System by Kenneth L. Hacker Bad Days Are Part of It: Editorial Cartoonists on Clinton's First Year by Edward H. Sewell, Jr. Media Conflicts over Clinton Policies: Political Advertising and the Battle for Public Opinion by Lynda Lee Kaid, John C. Tedesco, and Julia A. Spiker The Compromising Clinton: Images of Failure, A Record of Success by Rita K. Whillock Redefining the Role of the First Lady: The Rhetorical Style of Hillary Rodham Clinton by Janette Kenner Muir and Lisa M. Benitez The Clintons and the Health Care Crisis: Opportunity Lost, Promise Unfulfilled by Rachel L. Holloway Clinton's Characteristic Issue Management Style: Caution, Conciliation, and Conflict Avoidance in the Case of Gays in the Military by Denise M. Bostdorff Rough Stretches and Honest Disagreements: Is Bill Clinton Redefining the Rhetorical Presidency? by Craig Allen Smith Selected Bibliography Index About the Editors and Contributors

Campaign issues in political strategies and press coverage: The rental law conflict in the 1982–1983 election campaign in the federal republic of Germany

Abstract Election campaigns are institutionalized conflicts which are carried out in and through the mass media. Success and defeat in these conflicts depend upon the communication strategies of the parties and on the reactions of the journalists. In the election campaign of 1982–1983, the campaign manager of the Christian Democrats succeeded in altering the conflict over the new rental law into a conflict over the credibility of the SPD‐opposition. Thus, he created a counterpart to the criticism directed against the federal government. The newspapers and weekly news magazines did not take sides in the conflict through explicit evaluations, but rather by emphasizing or neglecting issues in favor of one party. The conflict carried out in the mass media over the rental law was not a rational discourse in which the conflict parties mutually referred to each other and accepted each other's communicative claims. Rather, the nature of the conflict communication was rhetorical; it was a “battle for public opinion.”

The Battle for Public Opinion: The President, the Press, and the Polls during Watergate.

The Battle for Public Opinion: The President, the Press, and the Polls during Watergate.

The Battle for Public Opinion: The President, the Press, and the Polls During Watergate. By Gladys Engel Lang and Kurt Lang. New York University Press, 1983. 353 pp. Cloth, $32.00; paper, $12.50

The Battle for Public Opinion: The President, the Press, and the Polls During Watergate. By Gladys Engel Lang and Kurt Lang. New York University Press, 1983. 353 pp. Cloth, $32.00; paper, $12.50

The Media in Politics: "The Fourth Branch of Government"?1

Edwin R. Bayley. Joe McCarthy and the Press. Madison and London: University of Wisconsin Press, 1981. 270 + x pp. Robert C. Hilderbrand. Power and the People: Executive Management of Public Opinion in Foreign Affairs, 1897-1921. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1981. 262 + viii pp. Paul S. Holbo. Tarnished Expansion: The Alaska Scandal, the Press, and Congress, 1867-1871. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1983. 145 + xix pp. George Juergens. News from the White House: The Presidential-Press Relationship in the Progressive Era. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2981. 338 + x pp. Montague Kern, Patricia W. Levering, and Ralph B. Levering. The Kennedy Crises: The Press, the Presidency, and Foreign Policy. Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 1983. 290 + xiii pp. Gladys Engel Lang and Kurt Lang. The Battle for Public Opinion: The President, the Press, and the Polls during Watergate. New York: Columbia University Press, 1983. 353 + xiv pp. Graham J. White. FDR and the Press. Madison and London: University of Wisconsin Press, 1979,186 + viii pp. The founding text of modern-day analyses of the role of the media in American politics is Walter Lippmann's 1922 classic, Public Opinion.2 Traditional democratic theory, he pointed out, assumed "that a reasoned righteousness welled up spontaneously out of the mass of men." But men's opinions were not the product of pure rational calculus; their comprehension of the world was shaped by unconscious drives and hidden assumptions. And as that world has become increasingly complicated, the average citizen has increasingly to make judgments about matters outside his first-hand personal experience. The locus of political decision-making has shifted from the local community to the national and even international levels; the individual voter has accordingly become more and more dependent for information upon outside sources, "...the real environment," Lippmann wrote, "is altogether too big, too complex, and too fleeting for direct acquaintance....what each man does is not based on direct and certain knowledge, but on pictures made by himself or given him." The mass media exert a crucial influence in this process via "the insertion between man and his environment of a pseudo- environment. To that pseudo-environment his behavior is a response."3

The Battle for Public Opinion: The President, the Press, and the Polls during Watergate.

The Battle for Public Opinion: The President, the Press, and the Polls during Watergate.

The Battle for Public Opinion: The President, the Press, and the Polls During Watergate.Gladys Engel Lang , Kurt Lang

<i>The Battle for Public Opinion: The President, the Press, and the Polls During Watergate.</i>Gladys Engel Lang , Kurt Lang