Britain, America and Anti-Communist Propaganda 1945-53
The Information Research Department
By Andrew Defty
- Price: $180.00
- Binding/Format: Hardback
- ISBN: 978-0-7146-5443-0
- Publish Date: July 29th 2004
- Imprint: Routledge
- Pages: 312 pages
Series: Studies in Intelligence
Description
In the Cold War battle for hearts and minds Britain was the first country to formulate a coordinated global response to communist propaganda. In January 1948, the British government launched a new propaganda policy designed to 'oppose the inroads of communism' by taking the offensive against it.' A small section in the Foreign Office, the innocuously titled Information Research Department (IRD), was established to collate information on communist policy, tactics and propaganda, and coordinate the discreet dissemination of counter-propaganda to opinion formers at home and abroad.
Reviews
'This is an admirable book on an important subject, and all the better for being commendably brief.' - Michael Herman in The Naval Review
Contents
Introduction: Historians, the media and British Cold War propaganda 1. The Origins of Britain's Anti-Communist Propaganda Policy, 1945-47 2. Launching the New Propaganda Policy, 1948 3. Building a Concerted Counter-offensive: Co-operation with other powers 4. Close and Continuous Liaison: British and American co-operation, 1950-51 5. A Global Propaganda Offensive: Churchill and the revival of political warfare 6. A New Strategy of Political Warfare
