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Nine Links in the Chain

The Weaponized Narrative, Sun Tzu, and the Essence of War

That all war is a conflict of narratives is a premise worth considering. Each side claims to be more powerful or morally better than the other, and military action is both an extension of politics by other means and an extension of “propaganda of the deed.” Narratives around a conflict solidify when the winners get to write history. Further, when a war is not won outright, both narratives survive. Sometimes, the losing side’s narrative dies off. Other times, it persists or regenerates to spark a new conflict.