531 Olivier Urrutia The role of Think Tanks in the definition and application of defence policies and strategies complex is equipped with its own tool to defend its interests in the war of ideas. War is won not only in the field, but also in the minds of people, and that is why it is necessary to have a broad and varied arsenal. A large part of the success of the war of ideas and the war for knowledge depends on state initiatives like the IEEE (Spain), the Strategic Studies Institute (USA) and the Institut des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationales (France) combined with civil society initiatives like the IFRI (France), the GEES (Spain) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (USA). And hence it is clear that intellectual diplomacy can be considered to be a manifestation of national power, as it shows the foreign public all aspects of the culture, including wealth, scientific and technological advances, economic competitiveness (from sport through to industry), military power, and the general trust of the nation. The perception of power clearly has important implications for the ability of a country to guarantee its security. Also because intellectual diplomacy includes political and ideological arguments, and uses the language of persuasion and defence – which could be used as an instrument for the political war and could be useful in achieving the traditional goals of war. Ideas, beliefs, emotions all have an influence in world views, adapting reality to own interests – meaning that think tanks, as producers of ideas and formulae, are an effective tool in the war of ideas.
REVISTA IEEE 2
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