ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the application of political communication techniques in a variety of conflicts, including: the Cold War; the Vietnam War; the Falklands War; the Gulf War of 1991; the ethnic conflicts in former Yugoslavia; the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11; and the war on Islamist terror. It begins with a discussion of the century's most sustained example of such a use of the media: the 'Cold War', and examines the pursuit of military public relations in five conflicts, chosen because of their importance in establishing the rules of 'the game', as it were, and because they have been extensively researched and written about. The chapter considers the experience of the Gulf War of 1991, in which many of the public relations lessons of previous conflicts were applied with considerable success by the US, Britain and their allies. Finally, It also considers the communicate aspects of the ongoing conflict involving radical Islam.
