Democracies, limited war and psychological operations

Democracies generally abstain from using psychological operations (PSYOP) as they perceive propaganda to be a totalitarian political tool. Whilst in (conventional) war they use it reluctantly, in small wars they hardly make use of it at all. The nature of small wars makes their handling more difficult for a democracy because it does not undergo the psychological process of mobilization. In contrast, the insurgents make vast use of PSYOP as they realize that the media can be easily exploited through the public's thirst for information. This essay outlines the weakness of democracies in their handling of the struggle over the hearts and minds of the public and proposes changes within democracies to employ effectively psychological warfare.