The Disinformation Age: Toward a Net Assessment of the United Kingdom’s Cognitive Domain
Abstract
This article analyzes the territory in which the battle of strategic narratives is fought—the cognitive domain—and the nature of the battle itself—cognitive warfare. It exposes three asymmetries between the United Kingdom, Russia and China. These are: (1) the maturity of cognitive warfare doctrine; (2) the ease with which cognitive warfare can be waged vice defended against; and (3) that illiberal states enjoy greater freedom of maneuver in the cognitive domain than their liberal competitors. These asymmetries combine toward a strategic diagnosis that China and Russia are approaching overmatch of the United Kingdom in its cognitive domain, with implications for the latter’s security. Scholars and practitioners facing similar challenges elsewhere may benefit from examining the situation in the United Kingdom.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 19, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.36304/expwmcup.2022.03
Entities
People
- Paul Ottewell