World Propaganda and Personal Insecurity by Naren Chitty

I am delighted that my friend, Professor Naren Chitty, agreed to contribute the opening chapter to the forthcoming Edward Elgar Research Handbook on Political Propaganda (scheduled for publication in December). 

Naren is Professor International Communication at Macquarie University where he founded the Soft Power Analysis and Resource Centre. We have worked together on the Journal of International Communication with Naren as the Editor-in-Chief, and as co-editors on the Routledge Handbook of Soft Power. We are now preparing the second edition with Dr Lilian Ji. Naren was awarded the Order of Australia for his services to education. 

I have always admired Naren for the breadth of his understanding of global communications, and he approaches the subject from multiple - sometimes unexpected - angles. It is only fitting that Naren should be the first chapter in our Research Handbook as he provides a valuable overview that conceptualises many of the discussions taken up by other contributors. Here is the abstract.

World Propaganda and Personal Insecurity: Intent, Content, and Contentment

In this chapter propaganda is viewed as all-encompassing and meta-ideological. A big tent concept, it includes both political and sociological forms. The latter may have political uses or outcomes. Propaganda can be crafted at all levels of human interaction. The focus here is largely on the international level, and a constructivist view is taken. It is argued that propaganda operates at two levels - cooperation among states, and competition between states. Cooperation between states leads to, or is led by, the construction of normative superstructures - diffused international regimes. These regimes are associated with particular periods of history. Under a big tent definition they constitute propaganda. Contests of influence by states lead to each constructing its own normative superstructure, or propaganda bubble. Normative superstructures or propaganda bubbles are identified for three periods of history. The first was the 'Cold War and modernisation' period that promoted a new diffused regime of North-South development cooperation. The second was the 'globalisation and terrorism' period that promoted globalisation and prosecuted the war on terrorism. The third is our present 'fractured globalisation' period - fractured by populist reactions to the Western working classes' under-performance and Chinese over-performance - accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic. New propaganda is emerging around international competition and cooperation. Propaganda bubbles within the US have grown salient, with consequences for foreign policy. Also discussed are intent, content, and contentment. Some sociological propaganda is not intended influence. However, political influencers draw on such pre-existing resources. Political propaganda invariably seeks to influence, and both authoritarian and liberal societies seek to influence. Content may be crafted with virtue and virtuosity to generate contentment among receivers. Rhetoric should go beyond virtuosity of composition to include civil commitment.