Propaganda during the Cold War: The case of the “NATO Letter”
This project envisages the creation of a database containing detailed information about the “NATO Letter” and the analysis of its contents in the form of a co-authored article.

Department: History

Supervised by: Dr Linda Risso

The Placement Project
This placement is part of a larger project that investigates the foundation, organisation and early activities of the NATO Information Service (NATIS) during the Cold War. This is the first sustained and systematic attempt to explore the interplay of intelligence and propaganda policies within an intergovernmental agency. Its findings are based on the study of newly declassified archival documents. By looking at the history of NATIS, this project offers a new methodological framework to examine the history of intelligence and propaganda in the 20th century. In the light of the government’s renewed interest in ‘soft power’ and intelligence capabilities, a greater understanding of the how NATO dealt with intelligence, national security and propaganda offers valuable insights to contemporary decision-makers. As part of this larger project, the placement focuses on the “NATO Letter”, a monthly publication produced by NATIS between 1953 and 1971 (around 210 issues in total). The “NATO Letter” was one of the most important outputs produced by the Information Service during the Cold War and the placement makes therefore an important contribution to the project as a whole.

Tasks
The student will help create a database by looking at the actual “NATO Letter”. For each issue, the student will enter in the database 1) the name of the general editor, the date of publication and the number of pages; 2) the titles and authors of the leading feature articles; 3) the title and authors of the regular columns. The last two weeks of the placement will be dedicated to the drafting of the article. The creation of the database will account for 60% of the placement, the analysis of the data in the form of a draft article for the remaining 40%.

Skills, knowledge and experience required
The successful candidate will have a good knowledge of post-1945 European and/or American history. Attention to detail and basic IT skills are essential. The British Library in London holds the whole collection of the “NATO Letter” and the student will therefore spend part of the placement there.

Skills which will be developed during the placement
As a result of this placement, a wide range of transferable skills will be developed. First and foremost, the co-writing of an article will enhance the student's employability through a realistic and challenging work experience. Secondly, it will offer the opportunity to gain first hands-on experience in historical research by working on primary sources and by creating a database from scratch. The placement will also provide a first-hand insight into all stages of a research project (from the collection of raw data to the writing of an academic article) through a collaborative, hands-on approach. Finally, the successful student will gain a set of transferable skills, such as IT, data entering and analysis, academic writing and involvement in the peer-review process.

Place of Work
British Library and History Department

Hours of Work
35 per week