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Definitional ambiguity in cognitive warfare: a critical and systematic conceptual review through ideal-type analysis
Per-Erik Nilsson1, Andreas Haga1, Kristina Hellström1
1Department of Defense Analysis, Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI), Stockholm, Sweden.
Frontiers in Big Data
|June 1, 2026
Summary
Cognitive warfare is an underdeveloped field with broad assumptions and limited scientific rigor. Future research needs conceptual clarity and empirical grounding for a nuanced understanding of this evolving conflict domain.
Area of Science:
- Defense and Communication Studies
- Political Science
- Information Warfare
Background:
- Cognitive warfare is an emerging concept in military and academic fields.
- Existing research lacks conceptual clarity and scientific rigor.
- The concept may reframe existing influence practices and serve political functions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To advance conceptual clarity on cognitive warfare.
- To support future research in communication and defense studies.
- To identify commonalities and divergences in the conceptualization of cognitive warfare.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature review.
- Exploratory methodology.
- LLM-assisted analysis for identifying conceptual trends.
Main Results:
- Cognitive warfare is an underdeveloped research area.
- The field is characterized by broad assumptions and limited scientific rigor.
- Conceptual commonalities and divergences were identified.
Conclusions:
- Further interdisciplinary research is needed.
- Emphasis on conceptual clarity, empirical operationalization, and understanding adversary perspectives.
- The study highlights the need for a more nuanced approach to cognitive warfare studies.
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