Sociology

Persuasion is often defined as the form of social influence and the process of guiding people to the extent of accepting an idea or inspiration. The weapons of persuasion include reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity which are also called persuasion tactics or methods and have been used in business and marketing (Cialdini, 2001).

In the method of reciprocity people pay the favor back that can be a sign of gratitude as well. Ethiopia, for example, reciprocated Mexico after the earthquake of 1985 as Mexico had supported Ethiopia against the attack of Italy in 1937.

If people decide something for themselves they are more likely to respect their commitment and they fulfill it as well. This trait of people has been beneficial for the retailers who would increase the rates of different items because they know that people are now committed to purchase them.

 As people have tendency to follow other people and they would just look up to the things the other people are doing because they want social proof.

People obey authority figures no matter what kind of an act is it
People tend to be persuaded by the people of their liking.
Scarcity of an item is also beneficial for increasing the demand of an item.

Persuasion is mainly concerned to win others and their favors. Propaganda is also seen as a part of persuasion. Propaganda has been the most useful and effective tool used by politicians, religious and political groups, clerics, and journalists. It is a well-weaved set of messages that is presented before people to win their sympathies, emotions and favors. It also tends towards the road of creating prejudices and setting people against each other. Propaganda is, therefore a form of deceitful persuasion that has been used to mislead people. The historic instance of deceitful persuasion was witnessed at the murder of Julius Caesar when he was murdered, according to the conspirators behind Caesars murder, for the purpose of saving Rome from a future dictator. Mark Antony, friend of Caesar, used deceitful persuasion to win the sympathies of the people and leading them against the conspirators. The sincerity of Antony was unquestionable but he used the situation for his own good. His remarkable speech at Caesars funeral reached at the peak of emotions when he removed the cloak from Caesars body to show the people twenty seven holes by the daggers of the conspirators in the body of Caesar. Antony, through his vivid oratory persuaded people towards the direction of his own liking.

Politicians use persuasion during election campaigns to win the votes of people. Journalists use different techniques of persuasion to win the opinion of people.  The army of persuasion, journalists, claims to present the facts about the events around them objectively but the truth is that the journalists have manipulated the people in the name of objectivity and have caused a severe danger to the reputation of politicians, states and religions all around the world. It is often the establishment that sponsors the propaganda against a particular institution, state or religion. After 911 the most dangerous propaganda against Islam was ensued and journalists and media sponsors all over the world assailed the honor of Islam, second great religion after Christianity, and Muslims who were performing their services to humanity in different parts of the world. Another dangerous thing is that there have been no such precautions or measures taken to put a curb on the grim consequences of deceiving people through persuasion or propaganda.

The institutions of state also persuade people negatively in order to achieve their hidden agendas. Military persuasion is defined as art of using armed forces to support diplomacy, deterrence, crisis management, conflicts, peace operations and various military activities and it requires a harmony between policy makers and diplomats and also between force and diplomacy (Cimbala, 2002). Cymbal in his book presents the point that the United States must master the military persuasion because its sources for defense are limited.

The United States of America started the war against terrorism and attacked Afghanistan and then Iraq and thus the Bush Administration caused heavy cumber on the economy of the United States of America and pushed the people of America including the people of other parts of the world, who had been associated with the American industries or other things, back into the year of depression. The most ridiculous thing that came to light by the American crusaders was that after years of destruction in Iraq they declared the absence of evidence of any weapons of mass destruction for which they had attacked Iraq which had been the most terrible example of deceitful persuasion for military purposes. But the United States of America had not learned from the loss of innocent lives in foreign lands which they have bombarded and the economic burden that the government of the USA had put on their own people and have been planning to repeat the deceitful persuasion in Pakistan to destroy the terrorists.