State information-psychological warfare regulation
Date: June 03, 2004Source: Computer Crime Research Center
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This article dwells on basic scientific research problems of forms and methods of state regulation of such a social hostile notion for modern society as information-psychological warfare. Nowadays technologies of latent psychological influence on mass and individual mentality are not only widely used in political struggle but they also replace traditional forms of armed struggle in modern wars and local conflicts. Meanwhile, neither of current research defines the essence of information-psychological warfare as a political conflict, nor as a social notion, that may be the main reason of inefficiency of selected means and methods of political regulation of this category of social relations. It is essential to alter a current concept of state information policy so that it can be adapted to new conditions of information-psychological warfare. However, it is necessary to take into consideration that information-psychological warfare, as a stable social notion, cannot be extirpated at this stage of social evolution. Whereas state regulation can maintain a stable level of social danger monitored by society.
The research into the patterns of social evolution shows that world is on the edge of global information society, society of civilized changes, fundamental changes in all spheres of personal and social life are predicted. It is vital to have adjusted state information policy during information society formation. It meaning becomes more important under conditions of information struggle and especially under conditions of information warfare. So, Information Security Doctrine of the RF [1] considers that working out information warfare concepts by a number of states as external threats to security of the Russian Federation; “The Basis for State Policy in the Sphere of Information-Psychological Security Implementation” written by Security Council of the RF [2] define state information policy under information warfare as a central component of a system of information-psychological security implementation, but at the same time the document points out inefficiency of employed basic principles, means and methods of existent information policy under acute information-psychological conflicts; Parliamentary Hearings “Threats and Challenges in the Sphere of Information Security” [3] point out not only inefficiency of current state information policy under psychological warfare, but they also assume the possible reason for this inefficiency can be principal inapplicability of general forms and methods of political regulation under special or peculiar conditions that information-psychological warfare creates.
A number of factors define urgency of effective forms and methods of state government at the scientific and practical levels under psychological warfare. First, nowadays it is necessary for Russia to create an effective state counteraction system for opposing to operations of information-psychological warfare (IPW), which foreign states regard as an effective tool for implementation of external policy. According to this task it is essential to create such a model of state and social evolution that would allow a system of social, political, psychological relations of modern Russian society to evolve stable, steady and intensively under conditions when political sphere of created information society turns into sphere of information opposition. That is, information-psychological conflicts of high intensity and social danger. The problem that one faces in this sphere is defined by contradiction between the objective necessity of creating such a system and the low level of modern Russian society readiness to oppose actively to any attempts of manipulating social perception. Mass population is learning to understand the threat of modern complex technologies with latent information-psychological influence employed for reaching political goals. Information-psychological warfare influences intensively on existent or objective created contradictions at practically all levels of state or social system in any country or any region aiming at their compulsory appearance with the prescribed intensity level and in the determined direction. The modern system of social, political, and psychological relations in the Russian society and its existent mechanisms of self-preservation, regulation, and security could not stop evolution of such a special category of information-psychological conflicts as information-psychological warfare. That is, information-psychological conflict cannot be a “signal” conflict in the modern Russian society, because it evolves latent especially for those participants, who take part in it. Thus, it is difficult not only to reveal it early in the development, but also to reveal and solve contradictions that resulted in the conflict duly in time. That is an existent system of social relations is favorable for information-psychological warfare.
Second, examining modern information-psychological warfare as a means of hostile political compulsion and a form of violence, researchers try to find panacea to this illness that affected society in working out prohibitions and restrictions. For instance, on developing and use of information weapons. But they meet contradictions; information-psychological warfare is based on using basic elements and means of social communication like other social processes for its complex organizational technologies of latent information-psychological influence. Thus, it is a sort of social relations, social notions, a natural stage of escalation of a social conflict under conditions when civil society has transformed to a new information evolution stage but has not worked out operational mechanisms of monitoring headily evolving new forms and types of social relations yet. The current problem in this sphere is defined by contradictions between objective necessity in forceful restriction of employing means, methods, and technologies of information-psychological warfare in political praxis and lack of understanding that it is impossible to eliminate information-psychological warfare as a social notion and a sort of a social conflict, but sources of IPW can be restrained by methods of state regulation.
Nowadays information-psychological warfare is one of ill-studied types of a social conflict. The reasons for its appearance, evolution and fading (information conflict genesis) are defined by psychology of social relations. To our mind, information-psychological warfare is a result of objective, logical, predictable evolution of conflict germ situation. According to science of information conflicts it should evolve through intermediate stages before conflict transforms to warfare. Thus, the intermediate stages have their own Achilles’ heel for external stabilizing influence.
Third, during forming of information society information-psychological influence is the most effective and universal tool of internal and external policy that gives participants, which take part in political struggle, a unique (including forceful) opportunity for latent management of a political system, hurting political opponents and their manipulation to suit their own ends. That is, an opportunity desirable for all political forces. Aspirations of political elite (there is a number of customers of these services among political elite of highly developed countries, and the number of consumers is constantly rising) lead to quick development and perfection of organizational, technological methods and forms of information-psychological warfare, that is, a compulsory element of political struggle. The current problem situation in this sphere is defined by a gap between development of organization technologies of information-psychological aggression and technologies of psychological mentality protection, a system of values, and psychic society health from negative psychological influence.
Forth, under information society information-psychological warfare is a segment of politics and the system of political relations, because it is a political conflict in its essence. It appears as a result of a conflict between two or more diversed political forces aiming at solving contradictions on account of power and political government, also on the occasion of distribution of their roles, place, and functions in the political system of information society, where conflict sides employ information-psychological operations using information weapons. Information-psychological warfare is a highly developed form of a political conflict that includes all existent forms of political struggle. That is, a new level of a structural organization of political relations, research of the essence and content of which is necessary for defining course of internal and external policy of the Russian Federation. Under information-psychological warfare social-political processes and conflicts are a priority sphere of management that easily transforms in essential directions as a result of using latent information-psychological influence technologies.
Fifth, nowadays only state is capable to provide effective social protection and its citizens from massive external information-psychological aggression. State Information Policy (SIP) occupies a central place in the system of information-psychological security implementation, which fulfills functions of management of social-political relations system through approved by Russian Government measures, procedures, and information-psychological influence technologies on individuals, mentality of people, different social groups, social systems and the society. Meanwhile, nowadays SIP is at the stage of forming, search and testing of new methods, means, and state management technologies, which are effective under conditions of information society. The current problem in this sphere is defined by contradictions...
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