Methods of psychological warfare research

This article dwells on new methods of research of modern information-psychological warfare as

a sophisticated social-political notion in the social life. Nowadays, information-psychological
warfare like a factor of external policy is examined along with diplomatic, economical, and
armed struggle. Moreover, it evolves as a separate trend of scientific research. However,
neither of current research defines the essence of information-psychological warfare as a
political conflict, nor as a social notion, that may be the main reason of inefficiency of selected
modern means and methods of political regulation of this category of social relations. Thus, it is
necessary to work out new research methods of information-psychological warfare. As a result,
it would be possible, depending on the definite political situation, to examine this notion at
various levels of scientific knowledge: on a global scale – as a social notion, at geostrategic
level – as sphere of information-political conflicts, at tactical level – as a peculiar form of political
conflict, and at operational level – as a tool of information policy.

From our point of view, information-psychological warfare (IPW) within the framework of
scientific research can be examined at different levels of knowledge:
- as a social notion;
- as a sphere of political conflicts;
- as s peculiar form of political conflict;
- as a system element of political regulation tools (a tool of information policy).
It is within the framework of above-mentioned levels information-psychological warfare is
examined in the framework of scientific hypothesis:
1. Sociological hypothesis of information-psychological warfare: information-psychological
warfare is a social notion and a new form of social relations, which information society creates.
2. Statistic hypothesis of information-psychological warfare: information-psychological warfare is
a sphere of political conflicts, which interact and interconnect closely.
3. Conflict hypothesis of information-psychological warfare: information-psychological warfare is
a political conflict aiming at solving contradictions regarding power and leadership. Conflict
between sides is expressed in the form of information-psychological operations with use of
information weapon [1].
The target of information-psychological warfare is to solve conflict regarding power and political
leadership in information-psychological sphere.
Tasks of information-psychological warfare:
- transformation of a structure of national, economical, political, social-cultural, information-
psychological spheres of international relations participants in accordance with their own
principles of building information-political world picture;
- reaching military-political superiority and leadership in the sphere of international relations;
- reaching goals of national economical, ideological, cultural, and information-psychological
expansion;
- provision of favorable conditions transformation of own national system of social-political
relations into a new more developed and hi-tech stage of evolution;
Features of information-psychological warfare:
- violence as a basic interaction form of information-political conflict participants;
- information-psychological operations as a special organizational form of political influence on
conflict participants;
- use of information weapon.
4. System-functional hypothesis of information-psychological warfare: information-psychological
warfare is a part of political regulation system, a tool of information policy.
In the framework of sociological hypothesis information-psychological warfare is considered as
a new form of social relations (an object of sociological analysis), and spectrum of conflict
situations caused by psychological warfare is regarded as external demonstration of system
features of this object.
In the framework of statistical hypothesis information-psychological warfare is considered as a
complicated multi differentiated system (sphere) of political conflicts, which interact and
interconnect closely. Every conflict is examined as single realization of an ensemble of conflict
situations generated or displayed by a sphere of psychological warfare.
In the framework of conflict hypothesis information-psychological warfare is considered as
political conflict, which has its own meaning as an object of research and management, which
interact and correlate with other political conflicts.
In the framework of system-functional hypothesis information-psychological warfare is examined
as a part of information policy system of both an aggressor and aggressor’s victim. It is within
this framework that information-political conflicts caused by psychological warfare are integrated
into a political system structure of conflict sides, and they employ them tools of political
regulation [2].
It is noteworthy that arguments are needed to justify application of each hypothesis to the notion
of information-psychological warfare.
Theory 1. Information-psychological warfare is a social notion.
Arguments: information-psychological warfare is a form of violence, under which a possibility of
information influence on individual’s mentality is employed as a tool of compulsion. There are
two basic sociality features of this notion:
- use of violence as a main form of influence;
- a possibility of information influence on individual’s mentality is employed as a tool of
compulsion.
Violence in social relations is a widely spread phenomenon that is why it can be regarded as
social: violence is impossible without social organization and social-political hierarchy,
obedience system of some society members to others. On using violence those means,
methods and tools of social obedience are preferable which in conditions of this social
organization are the most effective. Such instruments in information society are complex
organizational technologies of information-psychological influence.
Theory 2. Information-psychological warfare is a political conflict.
Arguments: information-psychological warfare has the following features of political conflict:
- conflict of opposing sides takes place. There are main stages of social conflict evolution:
before conflict situation (escalation of social intensity or appearing of a conflict is characterized
by incompatibility of interests and positions, consolidation of conflict sides, positioning of
demands to the opponent), latent, an incident, escalation, balanced counteraction, culmination,
and fading (solving of contradictions or transformation into another form).
- like a social conflict information-psychological warfare has the following stages: confrontation
(military), under which opponents are striving to protect their own interest at the expense of
opponent’s one; compromise (political), under which opponents are striving to reach their goals
through negotiations, during negotiations they exchange disputable interests into agreed ones,
compromised; communicative (managerial), under which opponents are striving to agree that
not only a conflict subject, but also its interest has sovereignty. They eliminate those
discrepancies that are unlawful and those ones, which hinder to meet interests.
- information-psychological warfare appears only as a result of redistribution of power and
implementation of political leadership in society.
Information-psychological warfare can categorized as political conflict while it possesses above-
mentioned features.
Theory 3. Information-psychological warfare is a field of political conflicts and a statistical
system.
Arguments: information-psychological warfare as a part of political relations system is an
integrity of all political conflicts, under which preference is given to various types of information-
psychological violence. That is a special organizational form of latent operations with necessary
use of information weapon. Modern science (on account of lack of knowledge about this political
notion) is unable to define the system of information-political conflicts in its dynamic and
evolution in the analytical form (that is, a form of multi parametric function or operation).
However, it is possible to consider a number of conflicts as political area with prescribed
features, which define an interaction character of the substance and elements of this area with
different political notions and processes beyond its area. That is examination of information-
psychological warfare as an area of political conflicts and justification of use formalism and
definition apparatus of area theory for giving a definition of this notion.
Plurality and variety of forms of information-political conflicts let consider an area of conflicts as
a statistical system. Thus, multifactor interaction, interdependence, and correlation of a number
of elements lead to general behavior patterns and transformation of a structure of conflict
substance at the level of big numbers law.
Theory 4. Information-psychological warfare is a part of a political regulation system, a tool of
information policy.
Arguments: information-psychological warfare is a part of the system:
- political regulation, while its target is to solve contradictions on account of power and political
leadership in information-psychological area;
- information policy, while for an aggressor a war is a means (a tool) of reaching political goals,
for an aggressor’s victim it is a means (a tool) of riposte and recovery of military-political
balance.