Political Warfare Against the Kremlin : US and British Propaganda Policy at the Beginning of the Cold War

Political Warfare against the Kremlin provides a comparative study and holistic review of American and British propaganda policy toward the Soviet Union during the first fifteen years of the Cold War, ranging from the role senior policymakers played in setting propaganda policy to the West's radio broadcasts to the Soviet Union. Political Warfare against the Kremlin contributes to the rapidly evolving field of Cold War History by providing a comparative study of American and British propaganda policy during the first fifteen years of the Cold War. It tells the compelling story of the formulation and execution of Western political warfare efforts to confront the Soviet Union during the most hostile period of the Cold War. The narrative is told across a broad historical canvas ranging from the debates inside the top levels of the U.S. and British governments about how to confront Soviet propaganda activities, to the secret government organization tasked with planning and organizing the political warfare efforts of the West, and the story behind the West's shortwave broadcasts beamed across the Iron Curtain into the Soviet Union. Finally, drawing from the Cold War, the book provides six historical lessons that can serve as a starting point for confronting the ideological and cultural challenge posed by Islamic radicalism today Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-18 The Genesis of Britain’s Anti-Communist Propaganda Policy....Pages 19-46 The Initial Years of the Information Research Department: The Organization and Strategy of Britain’s Political Warfare Effort....Pages 47-69 The BBC Russia Service: Britain’s White Propaganda Station (1946–53)....Pages 70-95 American Cold War Propaganda Policy during the Truman Administration....Pages 96-123 The Early Years of Radio Liberty, 1953–60....Pages 124-147 American Cold War Propaganda Efforts during the First Eisenhower Administration....Pages 148-180 Cultural Infiltration: A New Propaganda Strategy for a New Era of Soviet—West Relations....Pages 181-208 Afterword: The Role of Propaganda in the Cold War and Its Implications Today....Pages 209-220 Back Matter....Pages 221-283 This book provides a comparative study and holistic review of American and British propaganda policy toward the Soviet Union during the first fifteen years of the Cold War, ranging from the role senior policymakers played in setting propaganda policy to the West's radio broadcasts to the Soviet Union