Propaganda and Neutrality: Global Case Studies in the Twentieth Century

This book is the first comprehensive study of propaganda and neutrality, exploring case studies from the First World War to the Cold War in countries such as Belgium, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, Vichy France, USA, Argentina, Turkey, Portuguese Macau, Brazil, South Africa, Laos, Yugoslavia, Egypt, India, Malta, and Sweden. It examines the methods and channels of propaganda used in neutral countries, including rumors, newspapers, cartoons, films, pamphlets, and magazines, as well as radio broadcasts, official reports, diplomatic movements, cultural campaigns, and soft power. It also highlights the interaction between the concepts of propaganda and neutrality, considering whether neutrality is a form of propaganda in itself and how different forms of neutrality have been utilized by neutrals and belligerents to achieve propaganda goals.

Format: Unspecified
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 16 November 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

This groundbreaking work is the first comprehensive and comparative study of propaganda and neutrality. Drawing on the expertise of world-leading and early career historians, this open-access book explores case studies from the First World War to the end of the Cold War in countries such as Belgium, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, Vichy France, the USA, Argentina, Turkey, Portuguese Macau, Brazil, South Africa, Laos, Yugoslavia, Egypt, India, Malta, and Sweden.

The individual chapters delve into the methods and channels of propaganda employed in neutral countries, encompassing a wide range of media, including rumors, newspapers, cartoons, films, pamphlets, and magazines, as well as radio broadcasts, official reports, diplomatic movements, cultural campaigns, and soft power. These chapters aim to understand how these methods and channels have been deployed and their effectiveness in shaping or reinforcing opinions and outcomes.

Furthermore, the book highlights the intricate interplay between propaganda and neutrality. It examines whether neutrality can be considered a form of propaganda itself, explores the possibility of achieving true neutrality in propaganda battles, and explores how neutrals and belligerents have employed different forms of neutrality, such as projected strict neutrality, non-belligerency, and non-alignment, to achieve their propaganda goals over the past 120 years.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license on bloomsburycollections.com. The open access funding for this project was provided by Knowledge Unlatched.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350325531