The Finnish Defence Forces
The Finnish Defence Forces
02/25/2026 | Press release | Archived content
A Research Bulletin on the Conceptualisation of Cognitive Warfare in the NATO Framework
This research bulletin examines the conceptualisation of cognitive warfare and its distinctive features in relation to information warfare and psychological warfare.
The review draws on publicly available sources and focuses on how cognitive warfare has been defined and framed in NATO documents and discussions.
The review applies a conceptual research approach. First, it analyses what kind of image of war is conveyed by NATO's definitions and conceptualisations of cognitive warfare. Second, it considers what kinds of thinking and operational models the concept of cognitive warfare requires from society and the armed forces.
The review is informed by ongoing research conducted within the multinational Multinational Capabilities Development Campaign (MCDC) project (2025-2026), which is producing a book on ways to counter cognitive warfare. The forthcoming volume, Countering Cognitive Warfare, emphasises measures aimed at strengthening resilience at both the societal and individual levels.
In its concluding section, the research bulletin assesses how these resilience-based approaches respond to NATO's cognitive warfare concept. It also highlights additional areas of activity that require further development.
2026:2 NATO's Concept of Cognitive WarfareFile opens in a new tabpdf369kB
Senior scientist, PhD Miina Kaarkoski
The Finnish Defence Forces published this content on February 25, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 05, 2026 at 07:23 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]