Occultism in Warfare and Espionage: An Unholy Alliance
Keywords:
occultism, warfare, psychology, propaganda, historical analysis, declassified documents, espionage.Abstract
This study explores the roots of occultism in warfare and espionage from an academic perspective that argues that occults have changed the dynamics of war. It finds that occultism, despite its intriguing manner, has some serious impacts on the outcome of war. While tracing the history of occultism associated with war and espionage, this paper takes a more nuanced approach to explore the possibilities of occultist involvement in warfare throughout human history. The article examines various epochs, showing how nations turned to the occult to achieve their military goals. However, it should be noted that this article does not make a persuasive effort to prove the existence of occultism, as it can lead to a pseudo-scientific path, and the onus of this paper lies in presenting a strong argument that occultism has been used as a propaganda tool and psychological weapon. This outcome, stemming from this work, aims to address the research gap in the scholarship that treats occultism’s involvement in warfare and espionage as a fallacy. Using historical literature and declassified documents as methodological tools, this paper provides a comprehensive picture of occultism’s role in warfare and espionage. In particular, it emphasizes the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Iran wars, and occultism’s claims on those issues offer practical lessons for the reader.
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