Today, our battles aren't just physical; enemies seek to harm us by manipulating our attitudes, behaviors, and emotions.

The notion that war is essentially a mental contest, where cognitive manipulation is central, harks back to the strategist Sun Tzu (fifth century BC), author of The Art of War.

If the West loses the competition for cognitive dominance, neither firepower nor technology will be able to prevent its authoritarian enemies — Russia and China — from prevailing in this war.

It is not the war in Ukraine, though that is the most visible front. It is the fierce but largely unrecognized global war in the cognitive domain, where our enemies, particularly Russia and China ...

Yet U.S. policy lacks a coherent approach to detecting, countering, and conducting cognitive operations. What’s needed is a structured framework that maps the cognitive domain and its dimensions.

A new report from the Institute for the Study of War lays out why understanding cognitive warfare is no longer optional for national security professionals—it’s essential reading. Cognitive warfare is ...

Yuriy Danyk, Chad M. Briggs, Modern Cognitive Operations and Hybrid Warfare, Journal of Strategic Security, Vol. 16, No. 1 (2023), pp. 35-50 ...

Cognitive warfare: Why wars without bombs or bullets are a legal blind spot by David Gisselsson Nord, Alberto Rinaldi, The Conversation edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Andrew Zinin Editors' notes ...

Legal gap Traditional laws of war assume physical force such as bombs and bullets as the primary concern, leaving cognitive warfare in a legal grey zone. Is psychological manipulation an “armed attack ...