hearts and minds

English

Etymology

From the idea that one needs to persuade people, that is, to win their hearts and change their minds.

Noun

hearts and minds pl (plural only)

1. People's private feelings and emotions, now especially those of a local population towards an invading or occupying military force.
   • 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 211:

     As experienced political officers, Sir William Macnaghten and Sir Alexander Burnes should have been aware of what was going on in Afghan hearts and minds, but relations between the two men had become badly strained.

   • 2006, Will Fowler, Britain's Secret War: The Indonesian Confrontation 1962-66, Osprey Publishing, page 15:

     apart from road patrols they worked with the infantry and SAS, patrolled rivers in canoes, and carried out 'hearts & minds' programmes in the villages.

   • 2012 April 30, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, The Guardian:

     Unlike in Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan, in Yemen they are trying to implement sharia by winning over the hearts and minds of the people.

   • 2018 November 3, Hassan Hassan, “The Arab Winter Is Coming”, in The Atlantic‎^[1]:

     In defense of moderation, he proposed simply stomping out religious radicals. (In American terms: shock and awe, rather than hearts and minds.)