Research Summaries

Back Insurgent Strategic Communication Analysis for Open Source Center (OSC)

Fiscal Year 2011
Division School of International Graduate Studies
Department National Security Affairs
Investigator(s) Johnson, Thomas H.
Sponsor Open Source Center (DoD)
Summary Conduct and complete a substantial report summarizing how the Afghan Taliban spreads their message to the population, both urban and rural residents, by analyzing their non-Internet based delivery systems. These include but are not limited to: shabnamah (night-letters), magazines and newsletters, taranas (charts/songs), poetry, video files (a number of various studio's produce such products), text messages, and music files.
The report, as per the requirements, would assess the resonance of key themes in terms of dominant Pashto 'master narratives' and put this kind of low-tech material n the context of the Taliban's more externally directed Internet efforts, especially in regards to target audience strategies based on language choice (Pashto vs. Dari vs. Arabic vs. English, etc.) Several additional smaller reports covering a wide variety of insurgent messaging systems (non-Internet based) will also be completed.
Keywords Open Source Center Program For Culture & Conflict Studies Taliban Strategic Communications Analysis
Publications Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal