Beyond Ideological Warfare? A study of the Information Research Department (IRD) in South America 1948-77

Daly, Debora

Abstract

The creation of the Information Research Department (IRD) by the Foreign Office in January 1948 symbolised a new era of ideological warfare through the use of soft power to forward political and economic goals through the collection and dissemination of information aimed at shaping public opinion.
During the Cold War, propaganda represented a key element in how governments could reach their goals, by influencing large groups of people both domestically and overseas. The IRD was responsible for nearly thirty years of propaganda campaigns in a range of different countries. No longer shrouded in near-total secrecy, Foreign Office documents about the IRD have been released into the public domain since the 1990s, with further material continuing to be released in the present day. While academic studies have appeared since the declassification of its archive began, these have tended to be focused upon the role of the organisation in Europe and the Commonwealth, paying particular attention to its Cold War purpose in fighting the Soviet Union.
This thesis seeks to broaden the geographical scope of the study of IRD by exploring its work throughout the countries of South America. Such a study reveals that the dissemination of anti-Communist propaganda was not IRD’s sole work in the region. Rather, its activities extended beyond such campaigns to focus upon propaganda to help ensure the maintenance of good trading relations between Britain and South America. Its work in this area, which has previously gone largely unacknowledged, adds a new dimension to our understanding of IRD’s role.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 27, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 27, 2024
• Award Date: Sep 26, 2024