The Use of Soft Power in Psychological Warfare: References to Religion in Post-September 11 Armenian Literature
The Use of Soft Power in Psychological Warfare: References to Religion in Post-September 11 Armenian Literature

Summary/Abstract: This study analyzes the deployment of soft power as an instrument of psychological warfare within three literary works by authors from the American Armenian diaspora, all published in the post-September 11 era. The central objective is to examine the religious references used to construct perceptions of Muslim Turkish characters toward Armenians and Christianity. This study employs qualitative text analysis of these three novels, categorized as memoirs but acknowledged to contain fictional elements. This specific selection, based on shared author background, genre, and rhetorical features, constitutes the study’s primary delimitation. The analysis reveals that a mechanism of perception management is established among the readership, primarily through the characters' religion-based actions, discourses, and the use of emotional elements. This strategy demonstrates that the soft power mechanism functions as a propaganda technique within these diasporic narratives. The findings ultimately support the conclusion that post-September 11 Armenian literature serves as an indirect tool of psychological warfare, leveraging religious references to fortify collective identity and the perception of a common external enemy, thereby contributing to the literature on the role of such works in the construction of political and social perceptions.

• Details
• Contents