1. Corl Von Clausewitz described war as a paradoxical trinity and its first component is
primordial violence kindled by the passion of the people. For the U.S. and Western societies
this passion for violence was drastically diminished following August 1945. The first atomic
bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay, killing 70,000 people on August 6th,
followed by the Bockscar, killing 80,000 people on August 9th. In the coming years, tens of
thousands died from the radiation fallout and exposure to the blast. According to military
historians MacGregor, Knox, and Williamson Murray, this was the fifth revolution in military
affairs since the creation of the modern state at the Treaty of Westphalia (M. K. Murray
2001). Subsequently, not a single nuclear weapon has been employed against another state
or non-state actor. The Social order and tolerance for war changed as a result of nuclear
weapons raising the value of narrative1 in warfare.
To understand the evolutionary route the world has taken since the use of the atomic
bomb, it is critical to assess the events leading up to its use, specifically the acceptance of
Total War by Western societies and the development of Air Power Theory. Following World
War II, the following events set the stage for narrative's in warfare: societies desire for
political equality, population growth, and an increase in sovereign nations. Today, the
current conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria demonstrate narrative’s importance to
the state of warfare.
Total War theory accepts that whole societies are an acceptable target for military
gain. The wars of the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century fully embraced this
theory. However, Total War was not always the means of conducting warfare. Neither the
British nor the French committed to destroying each other's society during the Hundred
1 The use of the term narrative space here refers to a collection of words, deeds, and images that provide
cognitive context to events seen by individuals resulting in behavioral outcomes.

2. Rise of Narrative 2
Years War. Likewise, Europe collectively avoided Total War during the Napoleonic era.
Instead, these societies sought subjugation as an acceptable end. However, Western societies
evolved over time to accept Total War. The U.S. Civil War illustrates Total War in its planned
execution and resourcing of Total War tactics. General Ulysses S. Grant directed General
William T. Sherman to attack the Confederacy's heartland and cut off their lines of
communication to deny the Confederates desperately needed war resources. When marching
into Alabama, General Sherman issued a warning to the residents of northern Alabama:
"The government of the United States has in North Alabama any and all rights which
[it chooses] to enforce in war, to take [Confederate] lives, their houses, their lands,
their everything, because they cannot deny that war exists there, and war is simply
power unconstrained by constitution or compact." (W. A. Murray 2005)
The American Civil War was fought on horseback without the aid of air power or indirect fire
capability and is the deadliest war the U.S has fought because of the Total War tactics
accepted as the necessary means to winning the war.
As great as the ability to destroy was during the American Civil War, the Industrial
Revolution continued to increase the destructive capability of war. Likewise, military theory
in Western nations continued to accept little distinction between civilians and soldiers
during war. World War I embodied the notion of Total War. On May 7, 1915, a German U-
boat sank the RMS Lusitania, a non-military vessel filled with over 1,900 passengers and
crewmembers. When the war ended, there were roughly ten million civilian deaths (Mougel
2011). Despite this monumental loss of life Total War theory did not change as the dominant
way to execute warfare following WWI.
At the beginning of the Interwar Period, Western societies rejected the idea of large
nation vs, nation warfare, embracing significant reductions in military spending. The Treaty

3. Rise of Narrative 3
of Versailles restricted military forces and the creation of the League of Nations was intended
to prevent a second world war. France went through the "lean years" (Alexander 1986) while
Great Britain adopted a policy deemed "The Ten Year Rule," where military spending was
minimal because the British believed no significant war would be fought in the next ten years
(Alexander 1986).
During this time of limited military funding, many great theorists of military affairs
emerged. Italian General Giulio Douhet was one of them and wrote his theoretical work on
the potential impact of aerial capabilities in war titled, Command of the Air. Douhet's
predictions of air power’s effects were largely validated during WWII in the aftermath of the
atomic bombs. As Douhet wrote:
"… aerial warfare admits of no defense, only offense. We must therefore resign
ourselves to the offensives the enemy inflicts upon us, while striving to put all our
resources to work to inflict even heavier ones upon him."
On the morning of August 6th Japan was at the mercy of the United States' air superiority.
Today, inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) fill this role by providing the same air
offensive capability that Douhet envisioned. A plane is a tool for achieving offensive
capability, but not the capability in and of itself. Although Douhet did not foresee nuclear
bombs, they nonetheless personified the formidable power he predicted:
"… take the center of a large city and imagine what would happen among the civilian
population during a single attack by a single bombing unit. For my part, I have no
doubt that its impact upon the people would be terrible… What could happen to a
single city in a single day could also happen to ten, twenty, fifty cities. And, since
news travels fast, even without telegraph, telephone, or radio, what, I ask you, would
be the effect upon civilians of other cities, not yet stricken but equally subject to
bombing attacks? What civil or military authority could keep order, public services
functioning, and production going under such a threat?"

4. Rise of Narrative 4
Douhet was able to envision this because he, like his peers, accepted civilian populations as
military targets. Douhet believed cities are hubs of everything a nation needs to conduct war:
industry, productivity, finance, and population. This is crucial when one ponders Total War
tactics and how atomic warfare used to be acceptable.
The Japanese victims of Fat Boy and Little Man never had a chance to realize the
terrible impact Douhet describes, but those who witnessed the aftermath around the world
certainly did. The dropping of the atomic bombs galvanized the world with their destructive
capability. Societies fear of the nuclear bombs being used again has prevented major state on
state conflict for seventy years. Douhet predicted that air power would change the way
societies endured warfare by breaking societal resolve:
"A complete breakdown of the social structure cannot but take place in a country
subjected to this kind of merciless pounding from the air. The time would soon come
when, to put an end to horror and suffering, the people themselves, driven by the
instinct of self-preservation, would rise up and demand an end to the war."
While he was right about a subjected country breaking down, Douhet was shortsighted in his
vision of air’s impact on war. The entire social structure of the world arguably broke down
after 1945. The U.S. had never been considered a world leader, but after dropping the atomic
bomb and declaring itself the sole arbiter of nuclear warfare, the U.S. unabashedly assumed
the mantle of leadership.
The United Nations formed out of the ashes of WWII. With all societies fully aware of
the new destructive capability war posses it didn’t take long before warfare was summarily
outlawed. Article 1 section one of the UN charter:
"To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective

5. Rise of Narrative 5
collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and
for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to
bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice
and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or
situations which might lead to a breach of the peace"
Effectively, war had reached societies' threshold for destructive capability and tolerance. The
fear of nuclear annihilation with no prior notice simply terrified the world. Since WWII, the
physical destructive potential of warfare has not been released again, in spite of the
proliferation of nuclear weapons to no less than nine nations in possession of 15,800 nuclear
warheads (International Campaign to abolish nuclear weapons 2016).
Having been devastated by two world wars, societies began seeking new ways to
govern nations and regulate warfare. This search led to the embracement of human rights.
The belief in human rights is a result of Enlightenment era philosophers such as John Locke,
Tomas Hobbs, Charles de Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Jean Jacques Rousseau, which can be
summarized as the belief in individual liberty, self-determination, and equality. Following
WWII, with the U.S. virtually alone as the world’s leader, the ideas put forth in the
Enlightenment Era were beginning to be embraced globally. From its inception, the U.S.
aimed to embody these philosopher's ideas and synthesized them into a single governing
union making the U.S. a global ideological leader as much as a military one. Combined with
the power derived from nuclear weapons, the U.S. sought to embody Machiavelli's principle
for ruling: both loved and feared.
In 1944, there were 17 democracy-based governments, 32 anocracies2, and 20 autocracies
(Roser 2016). Democracy was the least used, and also least populated form of government. In
2 Despite its popular usage, anocracy lacks a precise definition. Anocratic regimes are also loosely defined as
part democracy and part dictatorship, or as a "régime that mixes democratic with autocratic features".

6. Rise of Narrative 6
effect, this equated to less than two thirds of the world population actively participating in
their political bodies.3 This began to change after WWII. In 1948, there were 24 democracies
and by 2009 there were 87, an increase of over 350% (Roser 2016) directly-elected
governmental bodies subject to the political will of their populations. Thus if societies live in
fear of nuclear annihilation, it logically follows that the their responsive governments will
not engage in war and risk annihilation. Therefore the behavior of the people, which must be
derived from their belief system, assumes a greater role in the total political process,
including the conduct of war itself.
When the UN was founded in 1945 as an international body dedicated to maintaining
peace there were just 51 member nations (United Nations 2016). The permanent members
of the Security Council, the U.S., France, Great Britain, Russia, and China, only had to influence
46 other nations in order to pass a resolution. As of 2011, there were 193 member nations
(United Nations 2016). In other words, there are now 147 self-interested and self-
determined opinions decided the fate of any international law. Each UN member nation is
also entitled to their own sovereignty, protection of human rights, and ability to dictate
terms to international communities on various legalities to international treaties.
Not all nations embraced the U.S. as either the ideological or military leader. Those
nations who rejected the principles of the Enlightenment Era embraced another philosophy
of similar principles, Marxism or Communism. The basic premise of these philosophies is
that everyone is deserving of equality and it is the capitalist, or bourgeoisies, who aim to
3 This does not mean that a nation who claims to be a Democracy is actually considered one. The Democratic
Republic of Korea is an example of a "Democracy" in name only and not counted among the actual Democratic
nations. It is also important to note that not all counted democracies practice absolute "fair" election practices.
Such a standard might discount all Democratic nations if it was the standard in the opinion of the author.

7. Rise of Narrative 7
exploit the working class. Regardless of the differences between Marxism and the
Americanized versions of Enlightenment philosophies, societies around the world pursued a
new social order based upon equal treatment. These societies also shared a presumption to
prevent nuclear war.
The spreading idea of political equality resulted in the claps of a centuries old practice
by western societies, colonialism. Within the claps of colonialism indicators of narratives
significance to war can be seen. India's unique approach to independence through non-
violence should not be overlooked as it reflects principle of supreme excellence defined by
SunTzu, breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting (Tzu 2004). Following WWII Great
Britain was a skeleton of its former glory and it is not difficult imagining the massive
population of India overwhelming the entirety of the British Colonial forces in an armed
revolution. Great Britain did not develop nuclear weapons until 1952 so it can be assumed
that Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian revolution against Great Britain, was not
practicing non-violence out of fear of nuclear weapons, but rather aversion to all violence.
However, Great Britain's concession to a non-violent movement that never challenged the
military capacity of Britain's forces is a strong statement in the affirmative that Western
societies had changed their view of warfare outright. We can begin to see narrative rise in
this example. Gandhi spoke non-violence, practiced non-violence, and images of his non-
violent protests legitimized his words and deeds spreading his narrative of non-violence as a
means to securing India's independence. Amazingly, in spite of the historical wealth and
investment made by Great Britain in India, independence was achieved non-violently.
Not all colonies choose non-violent revolutions against their European masters.

8. Rise of Narrative 8
Guerrilla wars became a means of challenging colonial and nuclear powers alike with no less
than 31 from 1945 to 1972 (Laqueur 1998). Western militaries began to conduct limited
warfare4 in the Korean War where the U.N. determined nuclear weapons would not be used
and limited victory was acceptable. Limited war continued over the decades as a means of
combating the guerrilla forces. These guerrilla wars were the result of weaker armies
fighting great powers. During the time of Vietnam's French Indo-China rebellion against
colonial rule came the American Vietnam War and the fundamental transformation of
warfare to one impacted by the narrative space can be seen;
"On January 31, 1968, some 70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched
the Tet Offensive (named for the lunar new year holiday called Tet), a coordinated
series of fierce attacks on more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam. General
Vo Nguyen Giap, leader of the Communist People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN), planned
the offensive in an attempt both to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese
population and encourage the United States to scale back its support of the Saigon
regime. Though U.S. and South Vietnamese forces managed to hold off the Communist
attacks, news coverage of the offensive (including the lengthy Battle of Hue) shocked
and dismayed the American public and further eroded support for the war effort.
Despite heavy casualties, North Vietnam achieved a strategic victory with the Tet
Offensive, as the attacks marked a turning point in the Vietnam War and the beginning
of the slow, painful American withdrawal from the region." (History.com Staff 2009)
Here a nuclear society capable of destroying their enemy in days, but rejecting the violence of
warfare at its own peril. General Vo Nguyen Giap is credited as stating that the North
Vietnamese were preparing to negotiate peace following his defeat during the Tet offensive,
but it was the American media that presented the outcome of the battle as a loss by America
giving him and the North hope. "After Tet, the US reexamined and then changed its military
policy, placing new limits on American participation and setting the stage for the withdrawal
4 Limited warfare refers to a war fought with the least amount of force deemed necessary to win a war. For
example, if a nuclear power chooses not to use nuclear weapons it is limiting its militaries capacity to fight the
war it is engaged in. Other limitations are restricting Rules of Engagement, the choice not to use chemical or
biological weapons, not to target civilians or non-combatants with lethal munitions. These limitations are
commonly practiced means of conducting warfare today.

9. Rise of Narrative 9
of American troops." (Levanger 1973) President Lyndon Johnson withdrew his candidacy for
President of the United States a few months after Tet. Guerrilla fighters around the world
took notice. "As an Algerian militant put it, if his fighters killed thirty soldiers in a village, this
would be reported in a few lines on the back page of the world press whereas the noise of
even a small bomb in a big city would reverberate throughout the world and make
headlines." (Laqueur 1998) and within the headlines narrative dominates more than
weapons.
In addition to the growth of nations, the world has seen a rapid increase in total
population contributing to narratives significant rise in warfare. In 1950, the world
population was 2,556,000,053 (infoplease 2016). In 2010, the world population rose to
6,929,725,043 (WorldoMeters 2016), and is projected to reach over nine billion before 2050.
(infoplease 2016) This growth of over four billion people has revealed what is referred to as
narrative space. Narrative space refers to the time and place individuals receive narratives
that impact their belief system and dictate their behavior. Advertisements are an easily
recognizable reference point for understanding narrative space. They target specific
audiences at specific times on specific platforms to deliver a narrative in order to shape
audience beliefs and behaviors: primarily, purchasing habits. Today there are four billion
more people receiving narratives that inform and potentially change their belief systems
impacting their decision-making.
When planning to conduct military operations Sun Tzu stated that the first
consideration a general must consider is who has the moral law on their side because, "The
moral law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow

10. Rise of Narrative 10
him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger." (Tzu 2004) The narrative space is
where the moral law is generally fought over and won. The impact of these societal changes
has reached a point where today where the narrative space engulfs the battle space,
rendering narrative a significant aspect to warfare.
Since 2001 the U.S. has been in a constant state of conflict with non-state actors in the
Middle East. The U.S. has employed a form of warfare known as Unified Action, which is the
total integration of Air, Land, Sea, Space, Cyberspace, Diplomatic, and other government
agencies and non-government organizations in these conflicts (United States Joint Chiefs of
Staff 2011). Within Unified Action are individual war-fighting functions, such as maneuver,
fires, and intelligence among others. Despite Unified Action taking place in the narrative
space, the U.S. has not developed the doctrine to effectively engage in it. The United States
military has invested in its ability to rapidly deliver precision munitions to specific targets
and is now capable of targeting enemy combatants with greater precision now more than
ever. Precision Guided Munitions (PGMs) can be fired from land, air, or sea and brought
within three meters of their target, drastically reducing any loss of life due to indiscriminant
fires. It is easy to correlate this effort by the U.S. military as one to contain societies potential
to reject the conflict and/or the military as was experienced following the Vietnam War. The
military is presenting a narrative of precision warfare where only those violent belligerents
actively participating in war will be targeted with the violence of warfare. Additionally, the
U.S. has spent $7,770,949,640,000 between 2001-2014 on its military (SIPRI 2016). In spite
of all this capability and financial investment in its military affairs, the U.S. has been unable to
decisively end conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria.

11. Rise of Narrative 11
Over the last few years ISIS has made public executions a reality for the global viewing
audience. James Folley was beheaded, Muath Al-Kassabeh was burned to death in a cage, and
even children are shooting captives in the back of their heads. These acts are simultaneously
being recorded and then posted online. This is because ISIS is delivering a narrative. The act
of killing is an act of narrative reinforcement for them. Executions are purposeful sending a
clear message legitimized by the graphic images accessible on every networked device to a
global audience. They are operating in the narrative space because they understand its value
to achieving their strategic goals. This could not be possible if the U.S. or another power
dropped nuclear weapons on all the cities ISIS controls. But the U.S. likely wont do that nor
will any other nation. That level of violence will be contained and limited wars practiced and
because of this ISIS, and Al Qaeda before them and it is likely more after them, will continue
to fight in the narrative space.
Today, most commanders-and-chiefs must consider their political constituents
passion for violence in warfare before engaging in it. Leaders must convince their political
body that war, executed under specified conditions, is in the best interest of the state. Once
again, this concept is preformed by those heads-of-state through narratives to their political
bodies. Narratives entrenched in popular culture, such as "Axis of Evil" with all of its loaded
terms, "Imperialist" or "Colonialist" and its baggage, or even "infidels" and its religious
history, are more important today than ever before in the conduct of war. Therefore, the U.S.
military needs to sufficiently update its doctrine, rewrite its Professional Military Education
curriculum, and field a total force capable of winning in the narrative space, lest it expect to
continue its current trajectory of being unable to decisively end its military conflicts.

12. Rise of Narrative 12
The threat of nuclear weapons and war's violence, the expansion of democracy, and
the rise of the global population have collectively elevated the importance of narrative to 21st
century warfare. The use of the atomic bombs in 1945 pushed Western societies to its
capacity for tolerating violence in warfare. The rejection of Total War theory and the
embracement of Enlightenment political thought have dulled one of Clausewitz's three
principles of war, the passion of the people to preform violence. This rise of narrative space
necessitates a requirement for the U.S. military to develop doctrine and capability to fight
and win in the narrative.

13. Rise of Narrative 13
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