Perception management in the art of war

Kirjoittajat

• Aki-Mauri Huhtinen Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu
• Jari Rantapelkonen Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu

Avainsanat:

Perception management, invisible enemy, propaganda, information warfare

Abstrakti

"Perception management is integral to the art of war. Skilful use of information
warfare, psychological operations and propaganda is problematic, however.
Based on Maurice Merleau-Ponty's theory of perception and the practical
examples presented in this artic1e - the Finnish Winter War and the war
on terrorism - it can be held that perception and its interpretation can never be
certain.1f perceptions are manufactured, they can become counter-productive.
The way in which perceptions arise is characterised by dynamism. According
to Merleau-Ponty, there is always a middle ground between us and the
enemy, a field that distorts and limits our view of the enemy. Therefore, in this
artic1e we propose that we can direct propaganda only towards ourselves."