The U.S. military must conceptualize cognitive warfare as a campaign, not discrete techniques, recognizing its unique and evolving domain beyond traditional psychological operations. This multidimensional battlespace integrates biological (neurophysiological substrates, pharmacological agents, directed energies, gene-editing), psychological (subjective experience, decision-making, exploiting biases), and social (group identity, cultural narratives, trust manipulation) factors.
Adversaries are actively developing capabilities like electromagnetic neuromodulation and leveraging misinformation, while a Senate Armed Services Committee assessment concluded the Pentagon lacks strategic clarity and operational capability for effective cognitive warfare campaigns. Cognitive warfare operations are classified as covert, clandestine, or overt, often employed synergistically to achieve compound effects across these dimensions. Such targeting, which can undermine moral agency, challenges existing just war theory and international humanitarian law, necessitating revisions or new treaties to address this categorical transformation in warfare.
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