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Psychological Warfare (PSYWAR) and the implementation of psychological operations (PSYOPS) permeates throughout war and conflict as an irrefutable technique to influence the beliefs and perspectives of foreign civilians. PSYWAR as an operation in war focuses on imposing psychological aggression to produce an expected reaction from Others. “Others” may include, but are not limited to, foreign civilians, governments, soldiers, and organizations.

PSYWAR exercised as a strategy of psychological warfare, is attributable to numerous political agendas to further a party’s interest and instill trauma and fear through and amongst the public (Ganor B., 2004). Because of this ability to manipulate the public and impose tactical threats upon them, PSYWAR is exercised by individuals who have attained legitimacy from within the political atmosphere. For such a tactic to be successfully waged, a target audience must be identified, a message must be made or addressed to this audience, and a means of delivery must be implemented (Schleifer R., 2016). With PSYWAR waged in this way, there exists two perspectives on the relevant issue. One, being from the offender themsel[ves] and two, from the offended. Offenders engaging in the manipulation of a certain population using PSYWAR tactics, have accepted their powers in sourcing strategic threats amongst a society or societies. The offended, in response, have suffered the products of the offender’s aggression, maltreatment, and trauma.

PSYWAR and civilian targeting is a vital part of PSYOPS enforced by powerful military agendas, as seen performed by the U.S. during World War involvements and in the Arab-Israeli Conflict. The U.S. incorporates three different operations that comprise PYSOPS, including: tactics, operation, and strategies (Wall T., 2010). Tactical operations tend to influence enemy combatants’ temptation of fighting — further degrading and identifying them as the presumably wrong “Other”. Meanwhile, operational tactics neglect to filter civilian populations from PSYWAR. This leaves the targeting of enemy combatants and uninvolved civilians to be similarly and equally targeted by PSYOPS. The U.S.’s strategic operations of practicing PSYWAR encompasses the preparedness of engaging in such war. Using new information and communication technologies, the U.S. has strategically implicated psychological warfare during times of peace and in conflict. Justification for PSYWAR by the U.S. derives from progressing national security by emphasizing the vast influence it has as a superpower in the international community (Ganor B., 2004).

The use of PSYOPS emphasizes power, legitimacy, and the role of any one offender to the international community. The international community is exposed to such operations first-hand if operations are forced against them, or through external sources. In this way, psychological operations is seen as “a scientific application of propaganda, terror, and state pressure” (Wall T., 2010). Recognizing these three impositions of PSYOPS, PSYWAR is in fact a strategy that aggressively pervades psychological fear amongst the public, including: civilians, governments, soldiers, and organizations.

• Ganor, B. (2004). Terrorism as a strategy of psychological warfare. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 9(1/2), 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1300/J146v09n01_03
• Schleifer, R. (2016). Psychological warfare in the arab-israeli conflict. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Wall, T. (2010). U.S. psychological warfare and civilian targeting. Peace Review, 22(3), 288–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/10402659.2010.50207