Psychological warfare refers to the psychological contest between two sides in the war or antagonistic competition activities. In order to win, both sides usually exert psychological stimulation and influence on the other side. Specific methods: infiltration and differentiation, camouflage and deception, psychological deterrence, emotional injury, hint induction, etc. The principles to follow: use your own strengths to attack the other's weaknesses; catch somebody unprepared; Induce the other party to be careless; Exert mental pressure on the other party to form a psychological burden; Relax the fighting spirit and cohesion of the other party. Features: non mandatory acceptance, concealment of attempts, particularity of means, extensiveness of scope, etc. It can play a role that is difficult for weapons or other equipment to play. It has always been highly valued by military commanders and war participants. [1]
- Chinese name
- Psychological warfare
- Foreign name
- psychological warfare
- Role
- Mentally disintegrate the enemy's operations
- Start time
- Early 1950s
It is an ancient practice to use psychological factors to cooperate with armed struggle. In ancient Chinese military science, the words "attack the heart", "win the heart" and "mind war" have the meaning of psychological warfare. In Chinese history, Liu Bang's "being besieged from all sides" and Zhuge Liang's "seven escapades and seven escapades" are all successful examples of "fighting against the heart". the First World War Since then, the research of psychological warfare has been valued and applied more widely. Many countries have established special institutions, formed psychological warfare forces, studied psychological warfare theories, collected psychological warfare information, formulated psychological destruction policies and methods, investigated the effectiveness of psychological effects, and studied and improved psychological warfare technical equipment. In the early 1950s, some western countries were very active in the study of psychological warfare. They successively established psychological warfare schools, psychological warfare centers, psychological warfare coordination bureaus and psychological warfare committees, and developed into specialized disciplines. Research on psychological warfare involves not only military organs, but also a large number of government organs, scientific research institutions, private publishing companies, universities and experts and scholars from all walks of life. Since the 1990s, with the development of information technology and the change of war patterns, psychological warfare has become richer in methods, more advanced in means, more significant in effect, more prominent in status, and more influential in the overall situation and process of war. stay Persian Gulf War 、 Kosovo War , the war in Afghanistan Iraq War 、 Libyan War The central management war has played an important role and effectively cooperated with other operations. the Chinese People's Liberation Army He has always attached importance to psychological warfare, has a good tradition of disintegrating the enemy, and has accumulated rich experience in the long-term military struggle. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, psychological warfare War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea And has played an important role in all previous self-defense and counterattack operations. Since the 1980s, the pace of psychological warfare construction has accelerated. A psychological warfare research institute has been established, a number of psychological warfare monographs have been published, psychological warfare courses have been opened, and psychological warfare education and training have been carried out. In the 1990s, deterrence psychological warfare was applied, and the network became a new field of psychological warfare. Psychological warfare education and training has been standardized. In 2001, psychological warfare training was officially included in the Army's military training program. Since 2005, the research on psychological warfare has developed rapidly, and the theory and practice of psychological warfare have entered a new stage. It mainly includes the classification, basic characteristics, principles and basic requirements of psychological warfare. According to different standards, psychological warfare can be divided into different types. According to its nature, it can be divided into offensive psychological warfare and defensive psychological warfare; It can be divided into strategic psychological warfare Campaign psychological warfare , tactical psychological warfare, etc; According to the mode, it can be divided into propaganda psychological warfare, deterrence psychological warfare, strategic psychological warfare, etc; According to the field, it can be divided into political psychological warfare, economic psychological warfare, cultural psychological warfare, etc; According to the media, it can be divided into leaflet psychological warfare Radio psychological warfare , film and television psychological warfare and network psychological warfare, etc. ① Not mandatory. Psychological warfare is not to destroy the enemy's body by coercive means, but to influence the enemy's psychology and change the enemy's behavior by non coercive means, which is non coercive. ② Multiple objects. PSYOP targets can target hostile targets or other targets; It can be aimed at both individuals and groups; It can be targeted at both the decision-making level and the general public, with diversity. ③ Wide space and time. Psychological warfare transcends the boundaries between peacetime and wartime, and can be used in peacetime or wartime. In peacetime, psychological warfare is used in various fields. In wartime, psychological warfare runs through the whole process before, during and after the war, breaking through the boundaries between the front and the rear. ④ Special means. Psychological warfare does not use force as the basic means of killing, but uses specific information and media to influence and change the enemy's psychology and behavior. ① The combination of psychological attack and armed attack. Put psychological warfare into the overall strategy, run through the whole process of military activities, implement psychological attack with force as the backing, and strengthen and expand the effect of force attack through psychological attack. ② Attack and defense should be carried out at the same time. While consolidating one's own psychological defense line, we should focus on psychological offensive operations, comprehensively use various means, take the initiative, take the initiative to defeat the enemy, and continuously attack, constantly break through the enemy's psychological defense line, and always grasp the initiative of psychological confrontation. ③ Comprehensive use of various forces. Adapt to the characteristics of complex psychological warfare objects, extensive battlefields and diverse means, integrate and use multiple psychological warfare forces, give full play to the role of modern media, electronic information warfare platforms and special operations means, and strengthen the overall operational effectiveness. ④ Unify peacetime and wartime operations. Focusing on strategic intentions and actual combat needs, conduct psychological warfare training, organize peacetime psychological warfare operations, and create conditions for the implementation of psychological warfare in wartime. Take the initiative to attack in propaganda and master the initiative to exert psychological influence; Focus on destroying the psychological balance of the enemy's decision-makers and destroying their will; Fully understand the psychological strengths and weaknesses of the enemy; Psychological influence measures should be adapted to the ideological and cultural level, religious belief, customs, language style, etc. of the enemy; We should strengthen our own psychological education and training, and improve our defense ability in psychological warfare. With the development of information technology and the change of war patterns, psychological warfare, as an important part of the overall strategy, has been widely used in the fields of politics, economy, culture, diplomacy, etc. Psychological warfare forces tend to be professional, the system is more reasonable, the means of attack of psychological warfare are constantly updated, psychological warfare defense is generally valued, and psychological warfare theory is developing rapidly. Publisher: China Military Encyclopedia Editorial Office [2]
