Strategy of tension

The strategy of tension (Italian: strategia della tensione) is a theory that Western governments during the Cold War used tactics that aimed to divide, manipulate, and control public opinion using fear, propaganda, disinformation, psychological warfare, agents provocateurs, and false flag terrorist actions in order to achieve their strategic aims.

The theory began with the Cold War Soviet hoax document called US Army Field Manual 30-31B, where the term was first published. It was made more broadly dispersed by an Italian parliamentary committee, and later popularized by Swiss academic Daniele Ganser.

The so-called Strategy of Tension may also have its roots in Baron Von Clausewitz treatise On War, which heavily influenced Cold War thinking and modern military strategy. Book 3, Chapter 18 of On War pertinently describes the psychological and sociological effects of fear and their relationship to the furtherance of military objectives, "If a state of tension exists, the effects of the decision are always greater, partly because a greater force of will and a greater pressure of circumstances manifest themselves therein; partly because everything has been prepared and arranged for a great movement." Further explanation by Clausewitz lends to the idea that officials were alluding to this section of the book, "Now the real use which we derive from these reflections is the conclusion that every measure which is taken during a state of tension is more important and more prolific in results than the same measure could be in a state of equilibrium, and that this importance increases immensely in the highest degrees of tension." These effects are immensely important to the development of public policy, which makes a "Strategy of Tension" a highly effective way to manipulate such policy.

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