r^?" t-rli- UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA LIBRARIES COLLEGE LIBRARY Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Lyrasis IVIembers and Sloan Foundation http://www.archive.org/details/nationalcharacteOOplat NATIONAL CHARACTER IN ACTION NATIONAL CHARACTER IN ACTION — Intelligence Factors in Foreign Relations BY WASHINGTON PLATT Brigadier General USAR—Ret. RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS Islew Brunswick New Jersey Copyright © 1961 by Rutgers, The State University Library of Congress Catalogue Number: 61-10265 Manufactured in the United States of America by Quinn & Boden Company, Inc., Rahway, New Jersey -4 DEDICATION To aU those concerned with Foreign Intelligence and Foreign Relations who are striving to do a httle better YET SOM THERE BE . TO SUCH MY EERAND IS. John Milton: Comus PREFACE Nations differ in their national character as much as individuals differ in personal character. For success in international relations it is just as profitable, and indeed just as essential, to understand the character of the nation with which one is deahng as it is to understand the char- acter of an individual in personal dealings. This maxim ap- plies equally to friends, neutrals, and potential enemies. In all aspects of international relations and especially in the formulation and implementation of foreign policy, an intimate understanding of the character of other na- tions must always be one of the vital factors in the situa- tion—usually one of the first factors. Such understanding becomes part of almost every phase of foreign policy plan- ning and execution. It is an essential element of any inter- national problems, whether the genesis of the problem be military, diplomatic, economic, political, psychological or cultural. National character includes the predominant traits in the character of individuals within a nation, the effective character of influential groups, and finally the coalescence of individual and group desires when a people responds to a crisis as a nation. The term national character has been chosen for the title of this book because it is widely used vii and generally understood. Its exact meaning is developed in the first few sections of the text and in Appendix A. "The spirit of the people" has a somewhat similar mean- ing, but is broader than "national character." The spirit of the people expresses quite clearly the less technical aspect of this subject. It is the human aspect free from the weight of scientific jargon. In other words: What kind of people are they? This is a case where no single term brings out the full meaning of the concept. Purpose There is a growing interest in foreign affairs shown by the citizens of the United States, and by many parts of the United States government. At the same time there is a healthy and much needed critical scrutiny of our Foreign Service and of our Foreign InteUigence and a demand that we should leave no stone unturned to bring both of these up to the highest possible level. The present book is intended as a small contribution to this great cause. The purpose of the present study is to invite attention to the importance of national character as a vital element in international relations and foreign intelligence, to describe its nature, capabilities and limitations; and to show its role in understanding foreign peoples, in formu- lating foreign pohcy, and its applications to intelligence production in support of such policy. To be perfectly clear, I claim: 1. An understanding of national character is one of the basic factors in good foreign intelligence. 2. Good foreign intelligence is essential to good inter- national relations and to our national security in peace and in war. viii 3. Our Intelligence Community and our Foreign Service have unnecessarily and dangerously neglected this basic factor. It has been well said that our Foreign Service is the first line of defense in our organization for national se- curity. History shows us all too clearly that wars take up only when diplomacy leaves oflF. The initial responsibility falls upon our Foreign Service. The efi^ectiveness of the calculated risk in negotiation de- pends upon knowledge, for in diplomacy, as in every field of endeavor, knowledge is strength. And this knowledge comes from foreign intelligence in the broadest sense of the word, including of course reports from our embassies abroad. Reliable foreign inteUigence is the firm foundation upon which can be built diplomatic offense or defense. There is no more vital element in the complex structure of our international relations and our national defense. If for- eign intelligence is utilized by first-class men using the best methods, it is a source of great strength. If neglected, then the United States is put in the position of a blind man starting out to fight a duel. Practical Application—A Pioneering Effort I hope that this book will supply a convenient summary of some of the excellent work on national character which has already been done. However, its elements of orig- inality and the justification for its pubhcation in this form lie in its emphasis on the practical applications of the concept of national character to problems of foreign in- telligence and to foreign relations. To be most helpful, such practical apphcations must include not only basic ix principles and methods, with examples, but also an ex- planation of the special fields of usefulness of such appli- cations, their limitations, and the opportunities for their further study. As far as I can learn this is the first systematic attempt which has ever been made to bring together from many directions what is known about the concept of national character; and then to apply this concept to the prob- lems of foreign intelligence and foreign relations with the specific object of getting out of national character every aspect of practical usefulness that there is in it. To understand the applications of national character to foreign relations one must evidently understand some- thing of political mechanisms and foreign relations—and of foreign intelligence, which is a fundamental part thereof. This need is the reason for my inclusion of the descriptions of some of the key factors which govern the operations of groups and nations, or which may be neces- sary to consider in an intelligence estimate. The modern world is a world of change. Constant emphasis is therefore here placed upon factors which may lead to changes in the national character and in the political conditions which may have perhaps existed for centuries. Indications which can give warnings of an ap- proaching change are pointed out. The present discussion constitutes a new field of ap- plied political science. It is based upon my ten years or more of practical experience with this activity in peace and in war. The present book is one of a trilogy in the field of for- eign intelligence and international relations.^ In this new field which deals with practical applica- tions, I agree with Potter (20) that it is better to "speak the language of the [common] people," rather than to attempt to use the highly theoretical terms of the anthro- pologist, the psychologist, or, worse still, of the psycho- analyst. Fields of Usefulness I have attempted to write a book which will be useful to the following classes of people in the ways described: First, those who would like to extend their general knowledge of national character. Such people may be concerned with international rela- tions at various levels. They include: the educated gen- eral public and leaders of public opinion; members of the United States Foreign Service; members of the United States Intelligence Community; other members of the United States government, whether executive or legisla- tive, having to do with foreign afifairs; businessmen con- cerned with international trade; those studying interna- tional afifairs at the universities; and finally social scien- tists and others working in related disciplines, such as social psychology, cultural anthropology, history, and phi- losophy. Second, those who have definite responsibilities to take some form of action in this field. Such action may include responsibility to produce in- telligence estimates, or to formulate and to execute for- eign policy, to make plans for national defense, to con- duct international negotiations, or to disseminate informa- tion about the United States. This second group may need to go a bit deeper than the first group and may find here some material and some guidance which will help each of them to look up the character of the foreign nation concerned and to determine which traits of character will be significant to the problem at hand. xi Finally, those who must conduct for themselves re- search in depth into the character of the people con- cerned, or who are directly responsible for the conduct of such research when carried out by others and for its practical applications. Such persons are usually faced with some new problem in foreign intelligence or foreign relations, where great issues are at stake and where national character is a criti- cal factor. In foreign relations the usual field studies are seldom possible, so other methods must be used as are here described. Limitations To avoid misunderstanding and possible disappoint- ment, I should point out that this book may be consid- ered to contain a set of tools with suggestions for their use in problems of foreign intelligence production and foreign relations. For this important purpose I offer in the Supplement critical bibhography of the best current publications which describe the national character of each of many specific nations. The book does not attempt to do the work of the intel- ligence officer or foreign service officer for him. It does not contain a table in which the answers can be found, as in a table of compound interest.