Fewer Bullets and More Brains:The rise, reach and impact of Cognitive Warfare

Contemporary conflicts are increasingly protracted, attritional and politically complex. They no longer respect the geographical borders of a particular state or a region. There is a growing concern over rising reliance on non-kinetic warfare strategies whose effects are neither clear-cut nor easily traceable in real time. This is especially noted of Cognitive Warfare (CogWar); a distinct form of conflict that is redefining war in the 21st century. It operates within multiple grey zones –between war and peace, influence and interference, civilians and combatants (Henschke 2025, 22–23).1 As kinetic wars grow costlier and riskier, CogWar offers belligerents a stealthier alternative: a means to fight without shedding blood.