Correspondence: Philip M. Taylor, Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 113 435810; e-mail: p.m.taylor@leeds.ac.uk

¹is Professor of International Communications at the University of Leeds. He is the author of numerous works on propaganda in its historical and contemporary appliance, including Munitions of the Mind: A History of Propaganda from the Ancient World to the Present Day (3rd edn, Manchester University Press, 2003). He lectures all around the world, including to such defence establishments as the UK Ministry of Defence and NATO. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Center for Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California. He is also an adjunct professor at the Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shah Alam, Malaysia.

Received 11 July 2007; Revised 11 July 2007.

Abstract

Western militaries have been progressively employing psychological operations (PSYOPS) in support of their military missions for almost a century. This article introduces readers of this journal to a brief history and outline of some of the key developments, particularly with reference to the British and the Americans. Little noticed, and rarely understood in their proper military context, PSYOPS has a poor public reputation, being associated with the 'black arts' of deception and disinformation. In fact, in their overt form, PSYOPS are closely related to branding and marketing — but in a battlefield or combat or other military mission's context. Whether the military are best equipped to undertake such work has come into question largely as a result of the conflict in Iraq. There have, however, been some notable successes as well as some serious failures. The latter are usually more to do with the political rather than the military context.