Russia's Reflexive Control in Cuba and Venezuela

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 375 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon.  Russia's Reflexive Control in Cuba and Venezuela (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

Reflexive Control is a distinctive disinformation strategy developed in Russia in which one “conveys to opponents specifically prepared information to incline the opponents to voluntarily make a decision desired by the initiator of the action.” All available original literature on Reflexive Control is written in Russian, and so this exposition is based on English publications.  Psychological studies show that when the brain is exposed continuously to the same information, we begin to perceive that information as true, and we discard conflicting evidence. The concept of Reflexive Control was pioneered in the Soviet Union in the 1960s by Vladimir Lefebvre, a psychologist and mathematician. Reflexive Control is based on a special kind of influence activity; a sustained campaign that exposes an opponent to selected information so that the opponent ends up “voluntarily” making the decisions wanted of him or her.  Reflexive Control is taught in Russian military schools and training programs and is conceived as a national security strategy. A key concept of Reflexive Control is that an opponent is provided specific and predetermined information with the explicit goal of controlling his decision-making process. Unlike western concepts of perception management, Reflexive Control seeks to control, not just to manage, an opponent’s perception.  For example, during the Cold War, the Soviet Union convinced the United States that Soviet missile capabilities were far greater than they actually were. Using a number of disinformation techniques, the Soviets created an illusion of military might that forced Western governments to misallocate time and resources. More recently, in 2014, Russia confused NATO and Kiev so successfully in the Crimea that, in three weeks, and without firing a shot, the Ukrainian military surrendered all of its Crimea military bases.  In a 2019 research trip, I personally witnessed Russian Reflexive Control techniques in full display in the Baltic States where Russia seeks to activate its ethnic minorities in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.  Also, during the 2016 Presidential elections in the United States, Russia employed Reflexive Control techniques hoping to manipulate our electoral decision-making process. Russia’s goal was not to help a given candidate, but more fundamentally to undermine our democratic political system.  The specific mechanisms of Reflexive Control are complex, but the strategy strives to imitate the opponents reasoning to cause a decision unfavorable to the opponent. Specifically, it attacks our moral and physical cohesion to move us to make decisions harmful to ourselves. Russian military theorist Colonel S. A. Komov has described the following basic elements of Reflexive Control:  Distraction: Create real or imaginary threats to force opponents to adapt plans. Overload: Frequently send large amounts of conflicting information. Paralysis: Create the perception of an unexpected threat to a vital interest. Exhaustion: Compel opponents to undertake useless operations.  Deception: Force opponents to relocate assets in reaction to an imaginary threat. Division: Persuade opponents to operate in opposition to common goals. Pacification: Convince opponents that ongoing operations are innocuous training exercises. Deterrence: Create the perception of superiority.  Provocation: Force opponents to take action advantageous to one’s own side. Suggestion: Offer information that affects the opponents legally, morally, ideologically, etc. Pressure: Offer information that discredits the opponents in the eyes of the population.  My South Florida readers will recognize these techniques as expertly used by the Cuban and Venezuelan governments under Russian tutelage. For decades, Cuba and Venezuela have successfully used Reflexive Control to distract, overload, paralyze, exhaust, deceive, divide, pacify, deter, provoke, suggest, and pressure their respective oppositions.  Consequently, these populations seldom engage cohesively in a fight for their fundamental political freedoms. The Reflexive Control apparatus has succeeded in controlling the decision- making processes so that the people’s focus is economic rather than political. Today, most criticism and actions against the Cuban and Venezuelan governments emphasize the economic misery the regimes create, rather than the liberties that they suppress. The people’s choice, instigated by Reflexive Control, has become to flee, not to fight.  To my dismay, in these societies the disheartening observation of Roman historian, Sallust is evident: “Few men desire liberty; most men wish only for a just master.”  Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos,  Lily & José  (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon.  Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

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