Understanding and harnessing the persuasive powers of narrative is central to U.S. and international counter-terrorism efforts. There is an urgent need to understand the narrative tactics of terrorist recruitment and an equal if not greater need to destabilize and exploit the weaknesses of those narratives. Maan makes a connection, unique to terrorism studies, between the mechanisms of colonizing narratives and psychological warfare aimed at the recruit. The power of both relies on misidentification, both types of narratives encourage individuals to take actions contrary to their best interests, and both are insidious: they are continued internally without the implementation of external physical force. While these narrative strategies have been powerful, Maan makes the argument, also unique to terrorism studies, that certain types of compositional structures lend themselves to manipulation and the weakness of those structures can be exploited from a security standpoint.

Understanding and harnessing the persuasive powers of narrative is central to U.S. and international counter-terrorism efforts. There is an urgent need to understand the narrative tactics of terrorist recruitment and an equal if not greater need to destabilize and exploit the weaknesses of those narratives. Maan makes a connection, unique to terrorism studies, between the mechanisms of colonizing narratives and psychological warfare aimed at the recruit. The power of both relies on misidentification, both types of narratives encourage individuals to take actions contrary to their best interests, and both are insidious: they are continued internally without the implementation of external physical force. While these narrative strategies have been powerful, Maan makes the argument, also unique to terrorism studies, that certain types of compositional structures lend themselves to manipulation and the weakness of those structures can be exploited from a security standpoint.

The authors of this book are uniquely qualified to analyze the contemporary security landscape and promote necessary and pressing change. Each is a thought leader in his or her field. Four out of six authors are seasoned military professionals who share the view that the over-reliance on kinetic approaches over influence operations account for some of the failures of nations against extremists. Combined with civilian academic leadership this book is a practice in military civics. This collection of international perspectives, taken together, challenge commonly held assumptions and outmoded paradigms of engagement. In tribute to Co-Editor Amar Cheema, Brigadier General (R) We wish to dedicate this collaborative effort arguing for a more profitable approach to ending and pre-empting conflict as a fitting, living tribute to our Dear Friend, Colleague and Co-Editor, Brig. Amar Cheema, the consummate Soldier, Scholar and Gentleman. Brig. Cheema embodied the concept of "no one appreciates peace and stability as much as a Soldier". Editing and Co-authoring our book focused on using all elements of National Power to achieve and sustain stability is an apt legacy for our Dear Friend.