528 Revista del Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos Núm. 2 / 2013 • Agreements with the media Defence and national security have always been subjects deeply rooted in American culture. The mobilisation of most of the progressive and conservative think tanks in favour of an ambitious defence policy highlights several points: • The military-industrial complex; since the Second World War this has been one of the principal players in the subsidies given to think tanks, creating a favourable trend for their interests • The consensus that exists among think tanks shows us that the subject of defence in the United States rises above party quarrels • Think tanks show true independence from political parties, the government and the federal administration, contradicting the political manoeuvres of the two main parties which would imply giving up the Pax Americana However, some think tanks like Rand envisage techniques, methods and cognitive processes which are more appropriate when dealing with the issue of expenditure or awareness among civil society. Or when shaping replaces kinetic focus. Case Study: War and marketing strategy Moving away from any moral evaluation of the methods of influence designed by the Rand Corporation for the US Army, we think it could be interesting to describe the current trend towards a relationship between psychological concepts and techniques and new types of military intervention. Hollywood has been mobilised to make war seem more attractive, and the US Army could copy the advertising methods, the image war, and the information used by the Madison Avenue publicity agencies. The Rand Corporation suggested that the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defence start thinking about logos, branding, marketing and a communication plan. The think tank has noted that anti-American sentiment has increased since 2001, and with it threats.48 Its method of dealing with these threats is to make people understand – in their hearts and in their minds – just how fair and moral the US military interventions are, and in this way promote cohesion between civil society and the military – a fundamental task in order to address major challenges and obtain the necessary political and economic support. The report entitled Enlisting Madison Avenue. The Marketing Approach to Earning Popular Support in Theaters of Operations49 theorises on the shaping of indigenous 48 HUYGHE, François-Bernard, Plans de guerre et stratégies marketing, 22/08/2007, Blog, http:// www.huyghe.fr/actu_451.htm, (viewed 15/01/2013) 49 HELMUS, Todd C., PAUL, Christopher, GLENN, Russell W., Enlisting Madison Avenue. The Marketing Approach to Earning Popular Support in Theaters of Operations, Rand Coporation, 2007,
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