British Propaganda In The Twentieth Century

This book examines the evolution of British propaganda practice during the course of the twentieth century. Written by an internationally-renowned expert in the area, this book covers the period from the First World War to the present day, including discussions of recent developments in information warfare. It includes analysis of film, radio, television and the press, and places the British experience within the wider international context. Drawing together elements of the author's previously published work, the book demonstrates how Britain has established a model for democratic propaganda world-wide.This is the first volume in the new International Communications series, edited by Philip M Taylor.

Written by an internationally renowned expert in the field, this book examines the evolution of British propaganda practice during the course of the twentieth century and demonstrates how Britain has established a model for democratic propaganda world-wide.

'Influence' is a slippery concept, yet one of tremendous relevance for those wishing to understand global politics. From debates on the changing sources of power in the international system, through to analyses of its value as an alternative to the active use of force as a policy instrument, influence has become a recurrent theme in discussions of international relations and foreign policy. In order to provide a better understanding of the multifaceted and shifting nature of influence, this volume looks at how the British government employed various forms of pressure and persuasion to achieve its goals across the twentieth century. By focusing on Britain - a global actor with great power objectives but declining physical means - the collection provides a wide range of case studies to assess how influence was brought to bear on a wide array of non-western cultures and societies. It furthermore allows for an assessment of just how effective - or ineffective - British efforts were at influencing non-Western targets over a hundred years of operations. By shedding important light on the efficacy of British efforts to sustain and advance its interests in the twentieth century, the volume will be of interest not only to historians, but to anyone interested in contemporary problems surrounding the operation of influence as a foreign policy tool.

The studies presented in this volume go back to the origins of the 20th century and continue until the present day. They deal with episodes of propaganda in different parts of the world and cover the history of organizations that carried it out, and the analysis of its means and content.

During World War II, the United States was the target of what Gore Vidal has called "the largest, most intricate and finally most successful conspiracy directed at it in the twentieth century"--Great Britain's "vast conspiracy to manoeuvre an essentially isolationist country into the war." In Beware the British Serpent Robert Calder examines British writers' involvement in this propaganda campaign, including lecturing and touring in the United States, broadcasting on American radio, writing screenplays for films such as Mrs. Miniver and This Above All, and writing articles and books for publication in America.

This book offers fresh research and insights into the complex relationship between the press, war, and society in the 20th century, by examining the role of the newspaper press in the period c.1900– 1960, with a particular focus on the Second World War. During the warfare of the 20th century, the mass media were used to sustain domestic morale and promote combatants’ views to an international audience. Topics covered in this book include British newspaper cartoonists’ coverage of the Russo- Japanese War, the role of the French press in Anglo- French diplomacy in the 1930s, Irish press coverage of Dunkirk and D- Day, government censorship of the press in wartime Portugal, the reporting of American troops in North Africa, and how the Greek press became the focus of British government propaganda in the 1940s. Particular attention is given to the role of the British press in the Second World War: its coverage of evacuation, popular politics, and D- Day; the war as seen through commercial press advertising; the wartime Daily Mirror; and Fleet Street’s role as a ‘national’ press in wartime. This book explores how— and why— newspapers have presented wars to their readers, and the importance of the press as an agent of social and political power in an age of conflict. This book was originally published as a special issue of Media History.

Substantially describes and often summarizes books, articles, and movies mainly focusing on the nations and states that took part in the two world wars and drove the subsequent political and social changes. The entries were chosen to represent a sampling of the variety of propaganda theory and practice. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR