Psychological Warfare in International War, Our Political Races, and Ourselves

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PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS

Having been asked to speak recently to the public about hate, anti-Semitism, and politics, I was struggling with what I could add to all the public media discussions. Is there a unique psychological factor that is important, but underrecognized?

After days, if not weeks, the answer came via a colleague who reminded a group of us interested in peace that we are not experts in military warfare. So true. But what if military was replaced by psychological, I asked myself. Aren’t we experts in what is called psychological warfare? I think so.

Psychological warfare has been used from ancient times in war and peace. Variations of psychological warfare include: advertising, alternative facts, brainwashing, changing “hearts and minds,” dehumanizing, propaganda, and subliminal persuasion.

On the positive side, in psychiatry per se, our current expert-based cognitive behavioral therapy uses reframing to change erroneous cognitions for healing. The more traditional Freudian theory of unconscious psychological conflict can be thought of as internalized psychological warfare between representatives of the self and others that need to be resolved. In other words, there can be a parallel process of psychological warfare within oneself, in a therapeutic relationship, in political conflict, and war.

Some large-scale variants of psychological warfare consisted of psychological messages to demoralize enemies or opponents and increase the morale of one’s own group. You can go back to 525 BC when the Persians used cats against Egyptians, who avoided harming cats for religious beliefs. Anthropologists were infused into armies in the 1800s to understand the enemies better. Edward Bernay, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, combined his uncle’s work with public relations to help the CIA foment a successful coup in Guatemala in the 1950s. As stories, such examples can have great psychological power, according to a new book on psychological warfare.¹

Key psychological aspects of psychological warfare are thought to include:

• Parochial altruism, like asking are you with us or against us, for good or evil?
• Sacred values, which are difficult to compromise on, such as Holy Land.
• Trauma and victimhood, because the past is never psychologically past.

Peaceful competition can include aspects of psychological warfare. So can our current so-called culture wars. People and countries outside of the immediate opponents can also influence the psychological warfare.

A former Surgeon General, Richard Carmona, wrote an article for The Hill, published on August 31, 2024, titled “American Stockholm Syndrome: When politics becomes psychological warfare.”² He recalled psychological techniques used on unsuspecting citizens to capture their allegiance. He now describes how that has evolved into a new variant of Stockholm syndrome, which is like when a hostage comes to identify with their captors. This variant ensnares through misidentification and disinformation, spread through online and other media. Echo chambers reinforce the process and content.

Misinformation can play upon such psychological mechanisms as confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance. This process can erode the foundation of democratic discourse, which relies on a shared understanding and commitment to truth and reality.

To avoid or reduce wars or conflicts without a military force victory takes leaders who agree to a cease fire, want peace, and accept each side’s humanity, rights and traumas. In peace, media literacy must be prioritized, tech companies must be more responsible for content, there needs to be increased dialogue and empathy, and influencers must be committed to truth and transparency.

Psychiatrists can be among such peace-searching influencers. In the meanwhile, we need to arm ourselves against undue influence from being caught up in external psychological warfare, such as taking sides without doing deep soul-searching for the truths.

Who is winning so far in our current political race and international war? What do you think? I will remind all, though, that one side can win the military war or political race, but lose the propaganda war, or vice versa.

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.

References

1. Newitz A. Stories are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind. W.W. Norton; 2024.

2. Caromona R. American Stockholm syndrome: when politics becomes psychological warfare. The Hill. August 31, 2024. https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4855545-stockholm-syndrome-psychological-warfare-disinformation/