The short answer is: Yes, the systematic use of certain types of propaganda can be a tool for radicalization, but not all propaganda leads to radicalization, and radicalization can occur without state propaganda.

It's more accurate to think of propaganda as a spectrum of influence, with some forms being more likely to lead to radicalization than others. Here's a breakdown of the key considerations:

1. What is the Goal of the Propaganda?

• Cohesion & Compliance: Much state propaganda aims to maintain social order, foster national pride, or encourage support for policies (e.g., public health campaigns, wartime morale boosters). This seeks stability, not radical change.


• Radicalization: This aims to fundamentally alter citizens' worldview, creating a population willing to support or carry out extreme actions against a perceived enemy (internal or external). It seeks to overturn the status quo or enforce a rigid ideological purity.

2. The Mechanisms That Link Propaganda to Radicalization

When propaganda does radicalize, it typically employs these tactics, often in combination:

• "Us vs. Them" Dichotomy: It defines an in-group ("the true patriots," "the chosen people," "the revolutionaries") and a dangerous, dehumanized out-group ("the traitors," "the inferiors," "the existential threat"). This is a core ingredient of radicalization.


• Crisis and Existential Threat: It constantly emphasizes that the nation/group is in imminent peril from the out-group. This creates a siege mentality where extreme measures seem justified for survival.


• Echo Chambers and Reality Control: By controlling information and repeating narratives through all media, the state can create a closed ideological system. Dissent becomes not just wrong, but evidence of being part of the "enemy." This severs citizens from alternative viewpoints.


• Vilification of Moderation: Portraying compromise, dialogue, or nuance as weakness or betrayal. This pushes the Overton Window (the range of acceptable ideas) toward extremes and punishes centrism.


• Glorification of Violence: Framing violence as noble, necessary, purifying, or the only solution to the proclaimed crisis.

Conclusion

So, can a government radicalize its own citizens through propaganda? Absolutely, and history provides tragic proof. When propaganda moves beyond promoting unity or policy to systematically constructing a worldview based on an existential struggle against a dehumanized enemy, it becomes a primary engine of radicalization.

Therefore, the critical question isn't if a government uses propaganda, but the content, techniques, and ultimate goal of that propaganda. Propaganda that traffics in dichotomous thinking, existential fear, and the delegitimization of all opposition is a direct path to radicalizing a population.