[THESE] Rise of Cognitive Warfare : Conceptualization, Political and Military Tools.

Curator note

Abstract
In the twenty-first century, the term cognitive warfare has entered the discourse of strategic studies alongside concepts such as hybrid warfare, disinformation and influence operations.
This thesis is dedicated to the study of cognitive warfare as an evolving form of strategic competition in the cognitive domain, moving the battlefield from physical terrain to the human mind. While it builds upon the conceptualisation of this phenomenon in its comparison to related doctrines of unconventional warfare, the following analysis adopts a holistic perspective, researching cognitive warfare through the lenses of strategic culture, the strategic paradigm and the concept of strategy as narrative. This framework is applied to the example of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China and their respective approaches to cognitive warfare. The analysis draws on doctrinal strategies, policy documents and the contextual factors that shape selected state’s behaviour in the cognitive domain. By tracing the ontological foundations of this mode of warfare and its deployment in the context of great-power rivalry, the thesis offers a systematic conceptualisation of cognitive warfare as both a method of influence and a strategic narrative at the heart of modern conflict