War of the Waves: Radio and Resistance during World War II

Abstract

We analyze the role of the media in coordinating and mobilizing insurgency against an authoritarian regime, in the context of the Nazi-fascist occupation of Italy during WWII. We study the effect of BBC radio on the intensity of internal resistance. By exploiting variations in monthly sunspot activity that affect the sky-wave propagation of BBC broadcasting toward Italy, we show that BBC radio had a strong impact on political violence. We provide further evidence to document that BBC radio played an important role in coordinating resistance activities but had no lasting role in motivating the population against the Nazi-fascist regime. (JEL D74, L82, N44)

A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy

“…One likely source of concern is the dual-use dilemma, that is, the inescapable fact that technologies can be used for both noble and malicious aims. For instance, during the Second World War, radio was used as a propaganda tool by Nazi Germany 5 , whereas allied radio, such as the BBC, supported resistance against the Nazi regime, for example, by providing tactical information on allied military activities 6 , 7 . In the context of the Rwandan genocide, radio was used to incite Rwandan Hutus to massacre the country’s Tutsi minority 8 .…”

Peacefully Demobilizing Rebels: Identity, Emotional Cues, and the Farc

“…First is the topic of empirically identifying potential effects of persuasion, particularly when it comes to conflict-relevant settings. Recent contributions highlight the power of propaganda messages in (i) instigating violence in Rwanda (Yanagizawa-Drott, 2014), (ii) stoking political division in pre-WWII Germany (Adena et al, 2015), (iii) fueling ethnic tensions in the former Yugoslavia (DellaVigna et al, 2014), and (iv) resistance against the Nazis during WWII (Gagliarducci et al, 2020;Adena et al, 2021). Closely related to our analysis, Armand et al (2020) find compelling effects of demobilization messages targeting members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).…”

Stories in Action

“…Areas with radio access were more likely to support the Nazis ( Adena et al, 2015 ). The role of radio in promoting conflict has been explored in a number of settings ( DellaVigna et al, 2014 ; Gagliarducci et al, 2020 ; Straus, 2007 ; Wang, 2021 ; Yanagizawa-Drott, 2014 ).…”