From Epistemic Erosion to Cognitive Conflict: A Multi-Level Analysis of Democratic Vulnerability
Abstract:
Cognitive warfare (CW) exploits vulnerabilities in democratic media, institutional and civic infrastructures. This study asks how internal structural decay—specifically market-driven reforms, populist governance, and regulatory capture—creates openings for CW operations. A comparative analysis reveals that vulnerability stems from these intersecting domestic factors rather than from democratic openness. Adversaries leverage multi-level feedback loops of disinformation and polarisation to degrade epistemic foundations. Effective responses require systemic reforms: reinvestment in public-interest media, robust institutional safeguards, and enhanced civic education— to rebuild societies’ capacity for collective sense-making and resilience.
AUTHORS
GATE (Big Data for Smart Society) Institute, Sofia University
Sofia, Bulgaria
Dr. Keith Peter Kiely is an experienced researcher and Research Group Lead at the GATE institute. Kiely is currently the scientific coordinator of the Bulgarian-Romanian Observatory of Digital Media (BROD). He has over 9 years of experience in data analysis and research in both industry and academia. He holds a MA in international studies from the University of Limerick and a Ph.D. from Queen’s University Belfast in Politics with a thesis in the area of United States foreign policy discourse and national identity. His research interests include policy formation and identity, misinformation and propaganda, identity politics, discourse analysis and practices, and political philosophy.
GATE (Big Data for Smart Society) Institute, Sofia University
Sofia, Bulgaria
Yana Naydenova is a PhD student at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. She holds a BSc in Politics and International Relations from University College London and an MSc in Crisis and Security Management: War Studies from Leiden University. Her doctoral research examines the 2023 Israel-Palestine war, with a particular focus on non-military approaches to counterterrorism. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of cognitive warfare and terrorism.
Published In
Journal of Information Warfare
The definitive publication for the best and latest research and analysis on information warfare, information operations, and cyber crime. Available in traditional hard copy or online.
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