Narrative Identity and Cognitive Warfare

Description

Rădulescu, Bogdan-George (2026). ”Narrative Identity and Cognitive Warfare”, in Index Academic, II 2026, DOI: 10.58679/IA40752, https://www.indexacademic.ro/en/pdf/narrative-identity-and-cognitive-warfare/

This article examines cognitive warfare as a strategic struggle over the narrative infrastructures through which societies construct reality, collective memory, and political identity. It argues that contemporary cognitive warfare no longer targets only information itself, but the symbolic and epistemic frameworks that sustain democratic cohesion. In the digital age, social media platforms and algorithmic systems function as performative environments that shape perception, emotional engagement, and the conditions of plausibility. The article’s central argument is that identity narratives can be understood as dynamic “narrative trees” — structured systems of meaning through which individuals and communities organize memory, belonging, and historical continuity. Drawing on cognitive science, media theories, narrative psychology, and information warfare studies, the paper argues that hostile actors engaged in cognitive warfare seek to implant alternative narrative trees capable of gradually reshaping collective identities through algorithmic amplification, emotional repetition, and semantic reframing. The study further explores how Russia and China operationalize distinct forms of cognitive subversion aimed at undermining the liberal-democratic epistemic order. While Russian strategies rely primarily on epistemic destabilization and narrative relativism, Chinese approaches focus on semantic reconfiguration and the gradual reshaping of interpretive frameworks. Ultimately, the article argues that democratic resilience in the age of cognitive warfare depends not only on cybersecurity or fact-checking mechanisms, but also on the preservation of coherent narrative identities and shared frameworks of meaning.

Keywords: cognitive warfare, narrative identity, narrative trees, collective memory, disinformation, algorithmic manipulation, epistemic fragmentation, mediology, digital propaganda, narrative resilience, information warfare, semantic subversion, Russia, China, social media ecosystems