Through a Glass Darkly? The Psychological Climate and Psychological Warfare of the Cold War

Abstract

This book has in part sought to redress the neglect of propaganda and psychological warfare as significant instruments of national and foreign policy in the mainstream historiography of the Cold War. It is no longer possible to dismiss these instruments either as a simple ‘sideshow’ or at best as an interesting ‘adjunct’ to the political, military or economic strategies of the period. Propaganda permeated every aspect of life, and it even influenced, perhaps unwittingly, the historiography of Cold War writing. Indeed, academic disciplines such as psychology, psychiatry, physics, international relations and communications owe a great deal to government-subsidized research into Cold War characteristics and applications.’ It was, of course, extremely difficult for any individual to stand back from the prevailing climate and to see what was happening as we can see it now. Crude canvassing, such as the Campaign of Truth and the Crusade for Freedom, may have been much more transparent than the subtleties of other ‘educational’ initiatives such as the European Youth Campaign, but the permeation of Cold War themes extended imperceptibly into a wide range of activities from the Space Race to science fiction movies, from the Olympic Games to comic books, and from medical research to May Day parades.