Winning hearts and minds : a historical perspective and operationalization of the concept

Abstract

This thesis examines the concept of winning hearts and minds from a historical analysis to a contemporary framework. The literature on the concept fell short of success to implement the practice of winning hearts and minds. The concept did not solely attribute to security studies but to religion and political science as well in history. Therefore, within a historical outlook, winning hearts and minds has a robust conceptualization. Moreover, this thesis attempts to formulate the components of the concept of winning hearts and minds. To analyze the components, two sets of case studies, Vietnam War and Malayan Emergency, and London attack and Madrid bombings are taken into consideration with regard to the success and failure of state policies.