This study analyzes the deployment of soft power as an instrument of psychological warfare within three literary works by authors from the American Armenian diaspora, all published in the post-September 11 era. The central objective is to examine the religious references used to construct perceptions of Muslim Turkish characters toward Armenians and Christianity. This study employs qualitative text analysis of these three novels, categorized as memoirs but acknowledged to contain fictional elements. This specific selection, based on shared author background, genre, and rhetorical features, constitutes the study’s primary delimitation. The analysis reveals that a mechanism of perception management is established among the readership, primarily through the characters' religion-based actions, discourses, and the use of emotional elements. This strategy demonstrates that the soft power mechanism functions as a propaganda technique within these diasporic narratives. The findings ultimately support the conclusion that post-September 11 Armenian literature serves as an indirect tool of psychological warfare, leveraging religious references to fortify collective identity and the perception of a common external enemy, thereby contributing to the literature on the role of such works in the construction of political and social perceptions.

Balloon propaganda in the Korean Peninsula has long served as a symbolic confrontation between North and South Korea, but the recent “trash balloon war” in 2024 marks a significant shift in both intensity and strategic messaging. This research explores how balloon activism—particularly by North Korean defector- activists—functions as psychological warfare and symbolic resistance in the broader context of inter-Korean rivalry. Through the lens of the Propaganda Model and Symbolic Politics Theory, the study examines how non-state actors utilize symbolic tools to influence public narratives, challenge ideological boundaries, and provoke state-level responses. It also highlights how balloon campaigns, though often framed as humanitarian efforts, can escalate diplomatic tensions and feed into militarized stalemates. By analyzing key events, discourse, and reactions from both Koreas, this study offers a deeper understanding of how seemingly low-tech propaganda tools can carry high-stakes implications. The findings contribute to broader discussions on civil activism, media politics, and geopolitical signaling in the region. Keywords: Balloon Propaganda; Inter-Korean Conflict; Symbolic Politics; Civil Activism.

This article examines the black propaganda activities carried out by the Pro Armenia newspaper, published in French in Paris during the final years of Sultan Abdülhamid II’s reign, against the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire had been the scene of internal turmoil for many years, particularly due to separatist uprisings in regions inhabited by Armenians. The Pro Armenia newspaper added false reports to these internal conflicts, deliberately exaggerating events and aiming to attract the attention of the European public. The article examines the news published in the Pro Armenia newspaper by comparing it with Ottoman archive documents. This reveals how the newspaper used psychological warfare techniques. The fact that the newspaper’s authors included influential actors in European politics demonstrates the international significance of its propaganda activities. It was determined that the events covered in the newspaper were presented one-sidedly and that there was no mention of the massacres committed by Armenians against Muslims. Furthermore, the newspaper made serious accusations against Sultan Abdülhamid’s personality and policies, aiming to undermine the Ottoman Sultan’s influence in European public opinion.

The article presents a comprehensive examination of the Russian Federation’s use of United Nations (UN) mechanisms to advance its geopolitical objectives, obstruct international initiatives that contradict its policy, and wage information and psychological warfare. The analysis indicates that the Russian Federation’s participation in the UN Security Council lacks a clear legal foundation, raising questions about the legitimacy of its use of veto power’. It is documented that Russia systematically uses this privilege to veto resolutions aimed at condemning its aggression and investigating war crimes, thereby prolonging the war and evading accountability. Significant attention is given to Russia’s manipulation of UN peacekeeping operations, which it seeks to exploit to consolidate control over occupied territories. The study emphasizes Russia’s information and psychological operations within the UN, which facilitate the spread of disinformation, undermine trust in international institutions, and adversely influence state voting on critical resolutions in the General Assembly. The results obtained illustrate the necessity of revamping the UN decision-making mechanism, particularly by limiting aggressor states’ ability to exercise the veto in their own interests. Proposed procedural reforms aim to enhance the UN’s effectiveness in maintaining peace and safeguarding international security.

ABSTRACT The study offers a detailed examination of the psychological warfare waged by Israel and Hezbollah between 1990 and 2000. Due to the classified nature of much of the material, such comprehensive reviews are rare in Israel. The Israel Defense Forces’ prolonged presence in southern Lebanon, beyond the country’s borders, marked an exceptional chapter in Israeli military history. This research focuses on Israel’s distinctive psychological warfare tactics in the final decade of that period and Hezbollah’s calculated fusion of violence and psychological manipulation aimed at forcing Israeli withdrawal. The analysis draws on firsthand experience, extensive interviews with former officers, and the limited academic literature available. It explores the central doctrines underlying Israel’s influence operations, particularly the concept of low-intensity conflict and the techniques used to shape Lebanese public opinion. The findings reveal that Israel’s insufficient preparation and inability to effectively leverage psychological strategies contrasted sharply with Hezbollah’s well-organized and socially attuned campaign. Hezbollah’s precise understanding of Israeli society and its coherent strategy ultimately yielded a decisive psychological victory, despite its inferior economic and military capacity. The study underscores how strategic coherence and psychological insight can outweigh superior military strength in asymmetric warfare.

Hybrid threats encompass the combined use of non-military and military techniques to achieve political and military objectives. Russia employs these techniques not only to cultivate the perception of invincibility in its military power as part of psychological warfare but also to discredit Latvia's statehood and democratic institutions and destabilize the domestic political situation. Civic education stands out as a key tool to enhance society's resilience against hybrid threats. Its role includes promoting knowledge, skills, and civic virtues, enabling citizens to defend their democratic states both cognitively and militarily. This paper aims to address the research question: To what extent does Latvia's civic education contribute to strengthening society's resilience to hybrid threats? The research employs in- depth interviews with Latvia's civic education teachers and youth (conducted in November 2023 -- June 2024), along with an analysis of the civic education curriculum. The focus of data gathering and analysis is to comprehend how the youth forms an understanding of Latvia's nation-building and democratic foundations, as well as their civic duty to defend the country.

The topic of sonic warfare and its legality under international and humanitarian law is critically relevant in modern conflicts and their evolving nature. Sonic weapons comprise a growing type of non-lethal weaponry that overlays the limits of recognized legal norms and ethical considerations and employs sound waves to harm, disable, or impede individuals. This article aims to investigate the complex legal frameworks governing the use of force and observe how sonic warfare reconciles with these standards, questioning the legality of the use of sonic booms as a tool of terror in psywar. To the same end, this research will inspect international treaties, customary law, and general principles of international law to elucidate the legal holes and uncertainties surrounding this controversial subject, taking the case of Lebanon as an example. The literature on the topic demonstrates that while sonic booms have no direct physical effect, they produce deep psychological repercussions, creating fear and terror commemorating the pervasive menace of military aggression. This twofold perspective of airspace sovereignty and psychological warfare through sonic booms denotes a give-and-take, intricate connection of power, law, and humanitarian considerations, requiring a refined, discerning, and solid international inspection. This study is normative-empirical research based on legal principles and facts and employs a descriptive-analytical method. The findings indicate that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) does not explicitly regulate the use of sonic boom as a tool of terror in international armed conflicts, thus contributing to the discourse on the humanitarian implications of sonic weapons, advocating for clear legal guidelines to prevent their misuse and ensure compliance with IHL principles.

The article attempts to understand the reasons for the intensifi cation of Russophobia in the Ukrainian media space, based on the assumption that mass nationalism is not solely explained by the actions of American and British politicians within the framework of information and psychological warfare against Russia. In this regard, the role of the Ukrainian media sphere in exacerbating the geopolitical confl ict between the countries of the collective West and Russia is considered. The application of comparative-historical and system-structural methods allows us to understand the role of Ukrainian journalism in the modern informational confrontation between Russia and the West, and to understand the infl uence of the past of Ukrainian culture on current Ukrainian-Russian relations. Factors in the Ukrainian cultural and media sphere that contribute to the strengthening of Russophobia and its support by Ukrainian society are examined, and civilizational diff erences between Ukraine and Russia as interpreted by Ukrainian researchers are outlined. Attention has been drawn to the study of the past of Ukrainian journalism through the lens of its evaluation by Ukrainian researchers, which will also help to understand the reasons for contemporary Russophobia in Ukraine’s information policy in the 21st century. Some important trends in the overall development of Ukrainian journalism prior to the state coup in Ukraine in 2014 have been identifi ed, allowing a more comprehensive understanding of the nuances in the current problematic relations between Ukraine and Russia, which are related both to the ongoing armed confl ict and to the Russophobic orientation of Ukrainian mass media, as well as the anti-Russian consolidation in public life in Ukraine. The main actions of Western politicians in the Ukrainian media sphere aimed at strengthening hostile attitudes towards Russia are outlined. It was revealed how, as a result of journalistic and media-critical activities funded by the West, the Russophobic orientation of Ukrainian media has intensifi ed. To obtain the results of the study, general scientifi c and special methods were used – comparative-historical, system-structural, the application of which makes it possible to comprehend the role of Ukrainian journalism in the information confrontation between Russia and the West. The practical signifi cance of the research is determined by the value of the results obtained from the point of view of their use by specialists in the fi eld of Russian informational policy to neutralize informational threats in conditions of geopolitical tension.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has facilitated the proliferation of deepfake technologies, raising profound concerns for national security. This study investigates the multifaceted threats posed by AI-generated deepfakes through the analytical frameworks of psychological warfare, cognitive warfare, and information warfare. Employing a doctrinal legal analysis, the paper examines the applicability and limitations of existing regulatory instruments, including the Criminal Act, the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, the Framework Act on Telecommunications, and the National Security Act. The findings reveal that current legislation is predominantly oriented toward individual protection and insufficiently addresses the hybrid nature of deepfakes, which simultaneously target emotions, cognition, and information systems. To address these gaps, the study proposes comprehensive policy measures: strengthening statutory provisions on illicit information, reinterpreting legal norms from a national security perspective, and establishing real-time institutional mechanisms to counter cognitive and psychological manipulation. By situating deepfakes within the broader discourse of hybrid threats, this research advances legal scholarship and policy development, offering insights into how states can enhance resilience against emerging AI-driven security challenges.

Mainstream accounts, both in the West and in parts of the Global South, consistently portray China and Russia as the principal actors behind Cognitive Warfare in contemporary conflicts (Wood and Kania, 2021; Cheravitch, 2020; VIGINUM, 2024a, 2024b; Fagins, Nacht and Chafetz, 2021). This article advances a counter-hegemonic perspective by returning to Paul Linebarger’s seminal Psychological Warfare (1948) to demonstrate that the conceptual and institutional foundations of Cognitive Warfare are not foreign inventions, but deeply rooted in American strategic thought. By tracing the genealogy of Psychological Operations from their Cold War codification to their digital transformation, we reinterpret Linebarger’s eight principles of PsyOps through the algorithmic infrastructures of social media. Our analysis highlights how practices such as audience targeting, emotional saturation, infrastructural control, and perpetual iteration have been rearticulated in the digital era, culminating in what we call Meta-Trumpismo: the fusion of state power with Big Tech infrastructures as a vehicle for 21st-century PsyOps. We argue that Cognitive Warfare should be understood not as an external threat but as the institutional maturity of US influence strategies, now embedded into global communication systems through the convergence of military doctrine, corporate platforms, and algorithmic governance.

ABSTRACT This article analyzes Hamas’s media system as a coordinated propaganda network that operates across traditional and digital platforms to compensate for military weakness and sustain political-religious authority. Through a multi-year analysis of charters, official media outlets, affiliated agencies, and online content, the study traces the evolution of Hamas’s communication strategies from small-scale publications and the early Media Office to a sophisticated infrastructure encompassing television, radio, newspapers, websites, and social media channels such as Telegram. The article introduces a two-tier model of ownership: directly controlled outlets – such as Al-Aqsa TV, Falasteen, Al-Risala, and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades’ digital platforms, and privately owned but effectively controlled agencies like Shehab and Safa. Conceptually, this study proposes the idea of a “hybrid media system,” combining formal and informal, overt and covert channels, enabling Hamas to claim external pluralism while maintaining internal dominance. The study identifies nine key audience groups and shows how messages are strategically tailored for each, from Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to Arab states, global Muslim communities, Western publics, and Israelis. Case studies including children’s programming, Telegram ecosystems, and coded broadcasts, illustrate how Hamas uses media for both propaganda and psychological warfare, especially during and after the October 7 attacks and the Iron Swords war.

This article examines the psychological warfare tactics used against the Indigenous Peoples Movement in conflicts with modern states, stressing the importance of challenging mainstream media narratives that seek to assimilate indigenous cultures. It discusses the role of propaganda, civil society, and the necessity of creating a new culture based on mutual respect. It further explores the impact of financial and psychological dependence on indigenous peoples, the challenges faced by indigenous lobbyists at the UN, and the barriers to implementing indigenous human rights within the UN system. It critiques the exclusion of Fourth World nations from UN decision-making processes and advocates for new institutions to address indigenous rights, highlighting the UN's role in perpetuating human rights abuses against indigenous populations.Pending

The article provides an interdisciplinary legal analysis of the international responsibility of states for the use of acoustic terror in armed conflicts. Acoustic terror is examined as a method of violence employed to inflict psychological pressure, demoralization, and systematic sleep deprivation of civilians or adversaries. In the context of modern hybrid warfare, the author emphasizes the destabilizing and destructive effect of sound-based attacks. Particular attention is paid to examples of acoustic means used during the Russian-Ukrainian war (since 2022) and Russian military operations in Syria (2015–2020), where airstrikes and shelling created continuous noise exposure affecting the civilian population. The paper argues that although international humanitarian law lacks explicit norms regarding acoustic terror, existing legal mechanisms allow analogies to non-conventional weapons, such as chemical or psychological weapons. The jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is thoroughly reviewed, including cases such as DRC v. Uganda, the Lockerbie bombing, chemical weapons in Syria, and rulings on Karadžić, Milošević, and the shelling of Sarajevo. While none of these cases directly addressed acoustic terror, they establish legal foundations for recognizing such actions as violations of international humanitarian law. The article also highlights the evidentiary challenges in classifying acoustic terror as torture. It proposes improved documentation methods, including psychiatric assessments, acoustic monitoring, and sound impact technologies. The author calls for international standards to assess psychological harm resulting from sonic attacks. In conclusion, the article stresses the urgent need to establish a specialized legal regime to classify acoustic terror as a separate category of war crime or crime against humanity. Specific directions are proposed: codifying the definition of acoustic terror in international instruments, introducing sanction and accountability mechanisms, and creating an international register for documenting sound-based attacks. The study contributes to the evolution of international law by drawing attention to emerging forms of violence within hybrid armed conflicts.

The definition of disinformation has evolved over the last several decades, shifting from its Cold War origins as a tool of national security subversion to a broader concept encompassing misinformation, propaganda, and fake news. This article traces the transformation of disinformation, analyzing its historical and contemporary interpretations while highlighting its strategic role in shaping public perception and political discourse. By situating disinformation within frameworks of psychological warfare, information warfare, and cognitive manipulation, this study examines its deployment in social media environments and geopolitical conflicts. The article further explores mechanisms of narrative control, including the techniques of dazzle, fog of war, and availability heuristics, illustrating how disinformation disrupts critical thinking and decisionmaking processes. Ultimately, this work argues that understanding disinformation in its full historical and operational context is essential for developing effective countermeasures, including media and information literacy.

Algeria’s struggle for independence from France’s colonial grasp resulted in a lengthy and bloody conflict, all the while creating a war of images and words on and off the battlefield. Forms of propaganda and persuasion pervaded the colonial sphere during this conflict, generating a psychological war in France and Algeria alongside the physical one raging through the Algerian territory. This article examines the military archives from the Algerian war in official archives to look at the war through the lens of propaganda, mainly through tracts. The relevance of this research is underscored by former French President, François Hollande’s public discourse in Hollande 2016 advocating for the opening of Algerian War archives to the public and prioritizing their digitization. However, only recently has access to these military archives become available and declassified for the general public, and are only accessible on-site as very few have been digitized. This article provides insight into these archival sources to shed light on the role, distribution, and analysis of psychological warfare during the Algerian War.

The article is devoted to the study of the role of ethical, cultural, and philosophical aspects in the process of forming media literacy and digital communication culture among young people, considering them as key factors in counteracting information and psychological operations (PSYOP) in the modern information space. The paper argues that the comprehensive development of these components in the younger generation contributes to the formation of critical thinking, responsible online behavior, and the ability to recognize and effectively resist manipulative influences. The relevance of the study is determined by the rapid growth of information aggression and disinformation, which poses a significant threat to national security, social stability, and the personal development of young people. In the context of hybrid wars and the active use of digital platforms to spread hostile propaganda, it is strategically important to develop a media-literate and ethically responsible younger generation. Insufficient media literacy makes young people particularly vulnerable to manipulation, fake news, and psychological influence, which undermines their ability to make informed decisions and take an active civic stance. In this context, research into the ethical, cultural, and philosophical foundations of media literacy and digital culture is particularly important, as these aspects lay the foundation for critical thinking about information, understanding of socio-cultural contexts, and awareness of responsibility for one's own actions in the online environment. The research methodology is based on a combination of theoretical and analytical methods. The main methods used were: critical analysis of scientific literature on media literacy, digital culture, information security, ethics, cultural studies, and philosophy; synthesis and generalization of the data obtained to identify key concepts and interrelationships; deduction and induction to specify theoretical provisions and identify practical examples; comparative analysis of existing approaches and strategies for developing media literacy and counteracting PSYOP; interpretation and conceptualization of research results to substantiate the role of ethical, cultural, and philosophical aspects in the context under study. The results of the study demonstrate that ethical education within the framework of media literacy contributes to the formation of a responsible attitude of young people towards information and an understanding of the principles of honesty, objectivity, and respect in the digital environment. The development of a culture of digital communication that takes into account the cultural context and principles of netiquette is important for preventing cyberbullying and hate speech and promotes tolerance and intercultural dialogue. A philosophical approach to media literacy emphasizes the development of critical thinking, the ability to analyze information, identify manipulative techniques, and form one's own informed judgments. Research confirms that the integration of ethical norms, cultural understanding, and philosophical reflection in the process of developing media literacy and digital culture significantly increases young people's resilience to information and psychological operations, making them less vulnerable to disinformation and manipulation. The conclusions of the study are that ethical, cultural, and philosophical aspects are fundamental components of the effective formation of media literacy and digital communication culture among young people as an effective way to counteract information and psychological operations. The development of responsible online behavior, understanding of cultural diversity, and critical thinking based on philosophical principles enable young people to consciously shape their information space, recognize manipulative techniques, and counteract disinformation. Integrating these aspects into educational programs and initiatives is key to raising a generation capable of critical thinking, acting responsibly in the digital space, and effectively countering information threats, which is an important investment in the future of information security and societal resilience.

This paper introduces the significance of silence as a potent expressive tool in 20th-century drama, focusing on Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter as key innovators within the Theatre of the Absurd. The primary goal is to conduct a comparative analysis of the aesthetics and function of silence in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Pinter’s The Homecoming. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from theatrical semiotics, the Theatre of the Absurd (notably Martin Esslin), and existentialist philosophy (resonating with Camus and Sartre), the study examines how both playwrights utilize communicative voids. The significance lies in demonstrating the distinct dramaturgies of silence employed: Beckett’s silence articulates metaphysical absurdity, language inadequacy, and existential solitude, confronting a silent universe, while Pinter’s silence operates strategically within social and psychological realms, revealing power dynamics, interpersonal conflict, and ambiguity through tactical pauses and subtext. The results show that Beckett’s silence embodies a metaphysical void, whereas Pinter’s reflects psychological warfare and social critique. Both transform absence into profound existential expression, highlighting different facets of the modern human condition—one cosmic, the other social—thereby enriching the understanding of silence as a versatile dramatic force.

With the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence technology, the global public opinion landscape is undergoing unprecedented transformation. This paper explores how human-machine collaboration technologies are reshaping the dynamics of international public opinion through the lens of "Information Weaponization and Weapon Informatization". The empowering effects of these technologies include the widespread civilian application of cyberspace warfare, manipulation through deepfake technologies, and psychological warfare via intelligent integration. Current international public opinion struggles are characterized by multi-layered structures, emotional polarization, and social stratification tendencies. As human-machine collaboration technologies drive the evolution of information warfare toward intelligence-enhanced, covert, and precision-oriented approaches, this paper proposes multidimensional governance strategies encompassing technological defense, ethical regulation, and international cooperation to counter such situation.

The struggle against Russia unleashed by the West is becoming more widespread. Attempts are also being made to annihilate the co-operative relations that Russia has with the countries of the Eurasian region. In this connection, the study of ideological attitudes and mindsets in the countries of Central Asia, in particular Tajikistan, which has especially close ties with Moscow, is relevant. At the same time, Tajikistan is highly vulnerable to external influence. A particular danger for the republic is posed by the structures of ISIS*, which are actually waging an ideological and psychological war against this secular state. Of all the Central Asian states, Tajikistan has the highest percentage of young people, and it is young people who are most susceptible to radical ideas. The heterogeneity of citizens' mindsets is the focus of the article, and four types of attitudes are identified. The ongoing and relentless struggle for the minds of the citizens of this republic is analysed. Understanding the specificity of the moods of the population of Tajikistan is not only a scientific but also a political imperative. This is due to the fact that the stability and prosperity of this Central Asian country is in Russia's national interests.

This research explores the securitization of cyberspace through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the context of Sino-American rivalry and examines its implications for the national security of India. The study addressed the rapid deployment of AI-powered technologies such as autonomous surveillance systems, cyber tools and psychological warfare techniques by USA and China, as a strategy for cyber confrontation. These measures not only reshape the bilateral relations but also exert pressure on regional powers like India to advance technologically in cyber domain. The main idea of the research is to analyze that how weaponization of AI in cyberspace is restructuring global power blocks structures and security postures while putting India at high risk of technological vulnerability, strategic ambiguity and digital exposure. This research incorporates qualitative methodology, where secondary sources like documents, literature and books were consulted to analyze the data. This research study also explores insights from the think tanks and other public-private policy formation institutes to assess the USA and China strategic cyber posture and India’s response to it. Major findings are that while India is making regulatory reforms accordingly through international cooperation, it lacks a cohesive national AI-cybersecurity strategy and doctrine. It is important for India to strengthen its intuitions focusing on AI capabilities, increasing cyber diplomacy and institutionalizing rule-based approach to digital security and ensuring resilience in cyberspace.