Subversion The Strategic Weaponization of Narratives Reviewed

Andreas Kreig shines a light on a digital war that influences the very direction of people, communities, and nations.

Not many non-fiction books can be described as a must-read for every household and community, but this book certainly joins this elite of fiercely relevant publications for today’s age. Andreas Kreig is an Associate Professor in the School of Security Studies at King’s College, London. He has done a remarkable job at consolidating vast amounts of content in the security, behavioral, and political science areas and presenting it into a singular read.

Subversion The Strategic Weaponization of Narratives Reviewed

The author’s commentary and narratives are backed by examples where we can see these occurrences that connect his academically based commentary to our very real world. He offers a very relevant background via the preface and introduction informing the reader of what to expect. Given the impacting campaigns of disinformation on social media, election meddling, and espionage; this publication is a must-read for every household in democratic societies given its content affects us on an individual as much as a societal level.

The introduction makes this point with the example of the United Arab Emirate’s (aka. UAE) campaign of subversion replacing the freely elected Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in 2013. The author uses many examples from the UAE, Russia, and China to illustrate points made throughout the book around the weaponization of narratives and their vast impact on the target audience. After a very educational introduction setting up the reader for the main body of content, chapter 1 introduces the reader to the sociopolitical (impacting community & political factors in our culture) and cognitive barriers to objectivity. This sets the reader up for further chapters.

Chapter 2 looks at the traditional role of mass media as gatekeepers of truth and how our digital world of social media has exposed vulnerabilities in our culture and society (information environment), which are open to exploitation through subversive strategies. Chapter 3 examines the concept of subversion in-depth and assesses it in the battle of wills for a society’s acceptance of the truth about the world around it. Chapter 4 then unpacks the contest between ‘Digital Authoritarians’ and ‘Liberal Technology’ by showcasing the mobilization and demobilization effects of false narratives at scale.

The book moves into chapter 5 and Russia’s investment into the subversion of adversary states as part of its offensive agenda. It’s a fascinating read around the Kremlin’s most potent weapon, which is subversion in today’s information environment. The backdrop of the Kremlin’s prior research via the KGB during the cold war provides an interesting introduction. It explains the advanced skill they seem to carry today, when one is assessing the brainwashing impact of Russian State Media, along with associated subversive campaigns in the US and other open societies in the West.

Chapter 6 widens the modus operandi of subversion with an exploration of how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) developed its brand of subversion to achieve its strategic aims in foreign nations, both inside and outside the Arab world. Chapter 7 looks at how individuals, groups, and communities can become more ‘information resilient’. Have you ever read an overpowering post that makes you so angry on Twitter that you want to explode? Did you ever wonder after taking a breath how someone else just waltzed into this comment and debunked the narrative created by it?

The author offers tips on how to stay on a healthy path using ‘facts’ more than ‘truths’ in assessing the validity of a statement. The advice could not be more beneficial or topical, given how democracy is attacked by subversive forces. We can all play a real part in our own defense!

The book concludes with some very striking case studies of how liberal societies (aka. Western styled democracies) are been strategically manipulated in the gap between fact (ie. statements supported by validation to a scientific level) and truth (ie. how we incorporate facts into our perceptual truth of the world around us). The danger we face is showcased in how such vulnerabilities allowed a subversive narrative around COVID-19 to develop.

It affected its target audience and created multiple truths that disrupted social discourse, rational thinking, and ultimately policymaking. The conclusion closes out with recommendations on how to combat such issues in the future by making us information resilient as individuals contributing to groups and ultimately societies.

This book is heavy reading throughout, so all readers are advised to read it in small chunks. Each chapter is broken into sections aiding such an approach. Knowing the topics at hand, I can say that the effort required by the reader to understand the content will in itself make the reader more resilient to the effects of disinformation, misinformation, and false narratives. This protection offered is a true advantage that will feed positively into your immediate surroundings and society. It’s a bonus contained in a book, whose publication could not be more timely!

John Mulhall @johnmlhll | john@maolte.ie is a writer with Irish Tech News for over 6 years and also Founder, Writer, and Engineer with Maolte Technical Solutions Limited. You can learn more about John and his new company at https://maolte.ie

See more stories by John here and more reviews here.