Guest speaker Matt Armstrong talks about lack of leadership and agency hot potato when it comes to addressing political warfare head on. (We also debated terminology.)
Thinking about Matt's talk (and really the whole course so far) in relation to Zelenskyy's speech tonight. So many of the themes came together in terms of white propaganda for instance, being proactive rather than reactive, using government authority and gravitas to drive a clear message. Zelenskyy’s presentation of the battle flag signed by Ukrainian soldiers was one of the most moving things I think I've ever seen in a political address.
Trying to talk about it in terms of propaganda (of any shade) also brings to mind the difficulty of the terminology and the inescapably negative connotations of the word. The power of Zelenskyy’s ( and the Ukrainian) argument lies its moral simplicity rather than its manipulation or mastery of technique.
In any case, hope we can discuss more in office hours.
Asha,
Thank you for hosting me. It was a lot of fun and hopefully worthwhile to those listening.
By the way, an event last month called "Reputational Security: The Imperative to Reinvest in America’s Strategic Communications Capabilities" may be of interest. The "background research" (the papers written for the event to spark discussion may be a better label) may be found here: https://www.wm.edu/offices/global-research/gri-initiatives/gates-forums/gf1-report-dec-2022.pdf
Great guest speaker! Looking forward to many more!!!
Thinking about Matt's talk (and really the whole course so far) in relation to Zelenskyy's speech tonight. So many of the themes came together in terms of white propaganda for instance, being proactive rather than reactive, using government authority and gravitas to drive a clear message. Zelenskyy’s presentation of the battle flag signed by Ukrainian soldiers was one of the most moving things I think I've ever seen in a political address.
Trying to talk about it in terms of propaganda (of any shade) also brings to mind the difficulty of the terminology and the inescapably negative connotations of the word. The power of Zelenskyy’s ( and the Ukrainian) argument lies its moral simplicity rather than its manipulation or mastery of technique.
In any case, hope we can discuss more in office hours.
Happy Holidays, Asha!
Some holiday propaganda from Colbert. Starts at 0:55...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tTihcVRU4E
Happy Holidays Everybody!
My mantra for the day is, if you're reacting you're already losing. That was a great conversation.
Proaction is always the way to go. If proaction wasn't a word, it is now 😂 😂😂