On heart and mind, I read last summer War comes to Long An, which I found very interesting. For those who never read it, it's about the Vietnam war and how the Vietcong won the peasants support.

According to the author, if I remember correctly, peasants in Vietnam didn't own their land. They rented it from a landlord and paid for it each year. The maximal legal amount to pay was 25% of the year production, but sometimes the peasants had to pay even more. Then the communists came, kicked out the landlords, gave the land to the peasants and charged a 5% tax. This won heart and mind big time. Not only because it was nice, but more importantly because it was not permanent. If the Vietcong lost, each and every peasants knew the landlords would come back and they would have to rent the land again at a much higher price. Therefore, the peasants had a strong personal incentive to see the Vietcong win. They had a good reason to become active supporters of the communists.

The government, on the other hand, focused on economic development. They built roads, markets, etc. This was very nice and pleased the peasants, but all those things would remain after the war, regarless of who wins. It did not give the peasants any incentive to become active supporter of the government, and didn't win heart and mind.

So according to the author the key is to create what he calls contingent incentives. You need to give the people, or part of the people, something your opponent cannot give, something they cannot have if your opponent wins. This give them a reason to support you and take personal risks to make sure you win. Winning heart and mind is not about random acts of kindness.

Of course, finding the proper incentives is not easy. Or sometimes it's easy, but it's not a path you're willing to go.