Mark Laity Director Communications, S.H.A.P.E.* BRITISH LIBRARY - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Mark Laity Director Communications, S.H.A.P.E.* BRITISH LIBRARY LECTURE SERIES, 19 FEBRUARY 2018 *Speaking in a personal not official capacity 1 Of course I am a hero. Every man is a hero of his own tale.so how could he see himself as
Mark Laity Director Communications, S.H.A.P.E.* BRITISH LIBRARY LECTURE SERIES, 19 FEBRUARY 2018
*Speaking in a personal not official capacity
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“Of course I am a hero. Every man is a hero of his own tale….so how could he see himself as the villain, or even as a minor character?”
Jagiello in Patrick O’Brian’s, ‘The Surgeon’s Mate’
“No-one ever made a decision because of a
Daniel Kahneman, Nobel prize winner & author of ‘Thinking Fast & Slow’
The easiest thing in the world is self-deceit, for every man believes what he wishes, though the reality is often different.
Demosthenes, Greek philosopher & master of rhetoric.
...and today’s ‘Post-Fact’ version of Demosthenes!
Truthiness: The quality of seeming to be true according to one's intuition, opinion, or perception without regard to logic, factual evidence, or the like.
US comedian Stephen Colbert. 2005/6 word of the year. Dictionary.com
What a Story can do:
ØShare & interpret experiences in a common way ØCreate a common culture & teach ethics, values & norms ØEvolve, develop & adapt over time ØCreate heroes & archetypes to emulate ØProvide reassurance, stability and frame of reference ØReinforce identity – and stigmatise the ‘other’ ØEducate in an entertaining and ‘sticky’ way
What a Narrative (a series of stories) can add:
ØProvide an organising framework for future action ØLay out objectives & identify key players ØIdentify the end state for a society or individual
Behavioural modernity:
ØAbstract thinking; planning; art & decoration; co-operation
& organisation; social norms; cutting tools
Ø50 - 150,000 years
Literacy:
ØGlobal: 3,000 years ago = 1%: 1820 = 12%: ØUK: 1500 = 10/1% (m/f): 1700 = 40/25% (m/f) ØPowerPoint: 1987
Perception becomes reality: Narrative
Sustainable support for any institution or campaign is founded on both logic and instinct. NATO’s core narrative must resonate with its audiences, and its operations, missions and activities must be consistent with that
multinational alliance uniting across borders to guard, with courage and competence, against threats to our homes, has not changed.
ACO Directive 95-2 on StratCom
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Perception becomes reality: Narrative
‘Tell me how this ends.’ Gen David Petraeus
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…but how did it start?
Narrative: “History is an unending dialogue between the present and the past.” (EH Carr)
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“Kiev is the mother of Russian cities. Ancient Rus is our common source and we cannot live without each other.”
“Prince Vladimir... adopting Orthodoxy predetermined the
culture, civilisation and human values that unite the peoples of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.”
Narrative: “History is an unending dialogue between the present and the past.” (EH Carr)
“Prince Vladimir went down in history as a unifier and defender of Russian lands, and a far-sighted politician who created the foundations of a strong, unified, centralised state, which eventually united different peoples, languages, cultures and religions into one big family....Our duty today is to work together...to preserve the continuity of our thousand-year history as we move forward.” President Putin, November 2016
Narrative: “History is an unending dialogue between the present and the past.” (EH Carr)
ü From ancient history to recent history Ø Kyiv = Nazis ü Tapping into the contemporary zeitgeist Ø Trust no-one
Perception becomes reality...Strategic Narrative
Narrative ‘summary’: “ The ‘fascist junta’ in Kiev illegally toppled the government and are oppressing our Russian brothers in Ukraine who desperately needed and wanted our help.”
Justifying Russian military
intervention:
Historical narrative ‘Tricks’ & techniques Operationalising the
Information Campaign: Deceive, delay, confuse
ü Narrative aligned to strategy & mutually
supportive
ü Fascism/WW2/’Russkiy Mir’ ü Mirroring, framing, priming ü High tempo & info ‘smokescreen’ to get
inside decision-making cycle and introduce uncertainty and delay
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Strategic ‘summary’: “In order to pressure and destabilise the Kiev government, prevent its Westward orientation and secure our near abroad, we will use active and military measures to provoke protest and then regain Crimea and support a separatist enclave in E. Ukraine.”
From Bond to Bourne…(& back to Bond)
“We are all trying to go from an old story to a new story.” Throughout history stories are how we make sense of the world and our place in it.
“We are all trying to go from an old story to a new story.” Throughout history stories are how we make sense of the world and our place in it.
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother I had the happiness to command a Band of Brothers Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few
“We are all trying to go from an old story to a new story.” Throughout history stories are how we make sense of the world and our place in it.
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother
EXPERIENCE HISTORY CULTURE EDUCATION FAMILY SOCIETY
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EVENTS EVENTS
THE NARRATIVE “TREE” & CYCLE
VALUES VALUES
NATO
Budget; Syria; ministerials; refugees; exercises
Baltics Resolute Support NATO’s Partners Adversaries Crisis in Aegean ISIS Migration Ukraine
Perception becomes reality...Strategic Narrative
Situation: Objectives: Execution: End State
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Themes: ANSF TO THE FORE – PRESSURE THE INSURGENCY – TRANSITION – UNITY OF EFFORT
Perception becomes reality...Strategic Narrative
Ø This influence—including the pernicious influence of the
insurgents—often takes the form of a “single narrative.” This is a simple, unifying, easily-expressed story or explanation that
understanding events…. To undercut their influence you must exploit an alternative narrative: or better yet, tap into an existing narrative that excludes the insurgents.
David Kilcullen, ‘28 Articles’
Ø A narrative is an organizational scheme expressed in story form.
Stories about a community’s history provide models of how actions and consequences are linked. Stories are often the basis for strategies and actions, as well as for interpreting others’ intentions.
FM3-24, US Manual on Counterinsurgency
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Perception becomes reality...Narrative & Rhetoric
ØAristotle’s three elements of communication:
ØLogos =
argument (rational persuasion)
ØPathos =
passion (emotional resonance)
ØEthos =
credibility (moral authority)
ØWhen asked to name the three key elements of rhetoric,
Demostenes, acknowledged as the pre-eminent master of rhetoric, replied, “Delivery: Delivery: Delivery”
Demosthenes
ØNo philosophy, no analysis, no aphorism, as deep as they are,
can be compared in intensity, in the fullness of meaning, with a story well told.”
Hannah Arendt
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ØLabour’s not working ØTake Back Control ØAsk not what your country can do for you... ØShining City on a Hill ØYes We Can ØMake America Great Again
2012 Olympics – Super Saturday
'Not at all, mate, this is my country’: Mo Farah
Don’t dream of winning train for it
Mo Farah
ü Black ü Immigrant ü Muslim ü Family man
Jessica Ennis
ü Mixed race ü Northern ü Female
Greg Rutherford
ü Traditional Brit (and ginger!) ü Southern new town ü Modest origins (as are all)
Walter Scott v Mel Gibson & Braveheart
“What you discover is that where people have a strong sense of British identity, they are likely to vote no. Where they have a weak sense, it is more likely to be yes.” Professor John Curtice
…let us tell the nationalists this is not their flag, their country, their culture, their streets. This is everyone’s flag, everyone’s country, everyone's culture and everyone’s street. And let us tell the people of Scotland that we who vote No, love Scotland and love our country. Gordon Brown
P…last night
made me despair. We've brought fact- checkers to a culture war. Time to get serious.
22 Jul 2016
Clay Shirky: Internet technology guru
PI want to say something to my
liberal white friends:
PTrump IS the voice of angry whites.
He wasn't on stage because he has unusual views. He was on stage because he has the usual ones, loudly.
PSo, believe this: Trump could win. PMeanwhile, California's high-
margin vote for Clinton will be wasted, because the election hinges on Ohio and Pennsylvania and Virginia.
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security
Arms, shall not be infringed.” (the 2nd Amendment)
Narrative & Rhetoric: Putting it into practice
ØThe three elements of successful communication:
ØLogos
= argument (rational persuasion)
ØPathos
= passion (emotional resonance)
ØEthos
= moral authority (connection & credibility)
“I am a Ukrainian”
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The Great Game of Narratives…?
“…you know as well as we do that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
The Melian dialogues (Thucydides)
Russia is a country with a history that spans more than a thousand years and has practically always used the privilege to carry out an independent foreign policy. We are not going to change this tradition today." Vladimir Putin, Munich 10 Feb ‘07. "...Russia, like any other state, has certain regions it will pay particular attention to. These are regions of our privileged interests. We are going to have special, cordial, long-term relations with the states in these regions.“ Dmitri Medvedev, 3 Sep ‘08 "In conducting our foreign policy, we invariably observe principles…including paying particular attention to regions where Russia has its privileged interests. ... We call our partners to follow Russia's example and acknowledge the new realities.
Sergei Lavrov, 10 Sep ‘08
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The Great Game of Narratives…?
“…you know as well as we do that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
The Melian dialogues (Thucydides)
NATO and Russia will seek the widest possible cooperation among participating States of the OSCE with the aim of creating in Europe a common space of security and stability, without dividing lines or spheres of influence limiting the sovereignty of any state. …respect for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all states and their inherent right to choose the means to ensure their
“…we cannot have a world where big countries decide what to do with their neighbours” Norwegian PM, Erna Solberg, 2 Nov ‘16
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