The Institute for Research and Information on Volunteering (iriv) is associated to the international solidarity for Ukraine attacked by Russia on 24th February 2022. After a pandemic that has weakened democratic countries with the disturbing rise of conspiracy theories and hate speech on social networks, we do hope this war in Europe will be an opportunity to reflect on a new solidarity, among European and international allies.
This newsletter is the 10th issue since March 1, 2022. We will publish a new issue every first day of the month as long as this brutal, total and illegal war lasts.
Doubt is the main characteristic of scientific minds who should not take anything for granted and question their models and analyse which, faced with reality, can change. The doubt did not touch the Russian president when he decided to attack Ukraine; he was certain of the result, his neighbour was going to capitulate after a maximum of three weeks, it was a done deal. His mistake comes from this certainty. A formidable weapon has been used since the beginning by the Western bloc: the transparency of information, collected, checked and updated, and widely disseminated to public opinion by American intelligence with the reinforcement of its allies. We will evoke the facets of this war of influence or psychological war by studying its different dimensions
1- Influence – from « hard » to « smart power »
2- Influencers – more and more efficient « intelligence services »
3- Influenced – « wanted » , more and more diverse profiles
4- Games of influence – the benefit of a doubt