Cognitive Warfare Below the Threshold: AI, Decision Speed, and the Future of Competition

Cognitive warfare tools demonstrated in Ukraine and Iran are reshaping gray-zone competition, with adversaries operating faster than US doctrinal frameworks, according to an article applying the Praxis AI Doctrine’s Cognitive Warfare Operationalization Model published by Small Wars Journal at Arizona State University.

Abstract The cognitive warfare tools demonstrated in Ukraine and Iran are not exclusively a high-intensity conflict problem. They are reshaping the gray zone as well, and the adversaries employing them below the threshold of kinetic engagement are operating faster than the doctrinal frameworks governing US competition-phase operations. This article applies the Praxis AI Doctrine’s Cognitive Warfare Operationalization Model to the … Read more https://smallwarsjournal.com/2026/07/28/cognitive-warfare-below-the-threshold/ The post Cognitive Warfare Below the Threshold: AI, Decision Speed, and the Future of Competition https://smallwarsjournal.com/2026/07/28/cognitive-warfare-below-the-threshold/ appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University https://smallwarsjournal.com .