Daily Times

The title, Culture: A Weapon of Influence or Confluence, might be intriguing for some who do not wish to refer to culture as a weapon. However, I intend to highlight the significance of culture which can be both a weapon of influence as well as a weapon of confluence at the same time.

Culture has been a binding force among societies since time immemorial. Everything that has anything to do with people of shared values, religious beliefs, history, norms, symbols, cuisine, dresses, and language, forms the basic elements of culture. Whereas, artefacts, rituals, work ethics, perceptions, perspectives, art, and literature, could form part of sub-cultures as well.

Likewise, the form of government, social organization, traditions, economic system, attitudes, heroes, stories, behaviours, education, aesthetics, architecture, folklore, morals, customs, laws, and cultural pride, may also differ a little but will be reflective of a larger picture of the society. These elements may serve as a binding force between different communities living particularly in a tribal society. Culture represents the most ancient norm of society and has been instrumental in shaping societies.

Culture is one weapon that is quietly deployed by people against the people within.

Cultural norms existed well before the contemporary religions stormed the societies, and people started to adapt to Abrahamic religions. Culture, often referred to as the soft power of the state, has the strongest appeal to the people within, and people without. Currently, culture remains the most targeted aspect by the invading forces to easily divide the people and rule without any resistance. This is where the culture is used as a weapon of influence rather than confluence.

Cultural identities are influenced by several different factors such as religion, ancestry, skin colour, language, class, education, profession, skill, family and political attitudes. Likewise, cultural identity is an important contributor to people’s well-being. Identifying with a particular culture gives people feelings of belonging and security. It also provides people with access to social networks which provide support and shared values and aspirations. “Cultural identity is influenced by many factors, with some more obvious than others… Culture is the combination of values, beliefs, and practices of a particular group.”

Culture is a strong part of people’s lives. It influences their views, their values, their humour, their hopes, their loyalties, and their worries and fears. So when you are working with people and building relationships with them, it helps to have some perspective and understanding of their cultures.

Ownership of culture directly adds value to cultural identity, including practising religion, wearing traditional clothes or even eating food that reflects the respective culture. It establishes a means of identifying the person as part of that culture or nationality.

Culture dominates the behaviour of societies and its practices pre-date any of the practicing religions. This is one reason that cultural norms do not remain confined to any particular religion. Arab culture dominated the Middle Eastern region for centuries and therefore resisted the spread of all the new religions. This is one reason, perhaps that cultural bonding is far stronger than religious affection.

The colonial powers used their culture to influence the people of the colonized societies. The British promoted their language, dresses, norms and practices through educational institutions and penalised the poor people who were slow to adapt to their culture. Likewise, the French enforced their language in Francophone Africa and continued to exploit the people even after physically withdrawing from the erstwhile colonies even after six to seven decades in some cases.

In this context, I believe culture is a double-edged weapon. It can greatly help in binding societies, particularly tribal societies, and at the same time, it can be divisive if used to influence negatively.

The divisive elements may include ethnic faultlines, and sectarian divide, within the society practising common culture. Pakistan has suffered on these two grounds over the decades when India exploited these faultlines in Karachi and Baluchistan. However, when Pakistan recognized India’s hand in causing unrest in the society, it was able to rectify the situation by creating awareness among the masses and also carrying out Intelligence-based Operations against foreign as well as domestic elements.

Culture is one weapon which is quietly deployed by people against the people within. It runs deep into the hearts and minds of society and can be extremely divisive if it penetrates the cognitive domain. Therefore, people must be immediately made aware of the enemy’s move as soon as it is identified that cultural aspects are being targeted. Because the effects are far-reaching and often enduring, particularly if these are deployed to achieve negativity.

The writer of this article has authored three international books: “Nuclear Deterrence and Conflict Management Between India and Pakistan” “South Asia Needs Hybrid Peace” and “Understanding Sun Tzu and the Art of Hybrid War.”