Propaganda and Psychological Warfare

Book excerpt: There have always been propagandists, some extremely skilled, but the continuing, institutionalized, large-scale attempt at mass political persuasion is a modern phenomenon, not fully developed before the First World War. The study of propaganda is even more recent for, apart from a few pioneering works at the turn of the present century, very little was written before 1930. Professor Qualter discusses the historical development and use, up to and including the Cold War era, of the deliberate attempts by political groups to use propaganda to “form, control, or alter the attitudes of other groups.”