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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.05222 |
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| _version_ | 1866914371925442560 |
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| author | Rushing, Bonnie Hersch, William Xu, Shouhuai |
| author_facet | Rushing, Bonnie Hersch, William Xu, Shouhuai |
| contents | Cognitive warfare has emerged as a central feature of modern conflict, yet it remains inconsistently defined and difficult to evaluate. Existing approaches often treat cognitive operations as a subset of information operations, limiting the ability to assess cognitive attacker-defender interactions or determine when advantage has been achieved. This article proposes a unified definition of cognitive warfare, introduces an interaction framework grounded in the OODA loop, and identifies measurable attributes associated with cognitive superiority. To illustrate the use of the framework, a notional case study demonstrates how these concepts can be applied to assess cognitive attacks and defenses in a contested environment. Thus, the framework provides joint force leaders and analysts with a practical foundation for understanding, comparing, and evaluating cognitive warfare campaigns. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_05222 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Cognitive Warfare: Definition, Framework, and Case Study Rushing, Bonnie Hersch, William Xu, Shouhuai Social and Information Networks Computers and Society Human-Computer Interaction Cognitive warfare has emerged as a central feature of modern conflict, yet it remains inconsistently defined and difficult to evaluate. Existing approaches often treat cognitive operations as a subset of information operations, limiting the ability to assess cognitive attacker-defender interactions or determine when advantage has been achieved. This article proposes a unified definition of cognitive warfare, introduces an interaction framework grounded in the OODA loop, and identifies measurable attributes associated with cognitive superiority. To illustrate the use of the framework, a notional case study demonstrates how these concepts can be applied to assess cognitive attacks and defenses in a contested environment. Thus, the framework provides joint force leaders and analysts with a practical foundation for understanding, comparing, and evaluating cognitive warfare campaigns. |
| title | Cognitive Warfare: Definition, Framework, and Case Study |
| topic | Social and Information Networks Computers and Society Human-Computer Interaction |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.05222 |