China Aerospace Studies Institute Jan 2023
How China Wins the Cognitive Domain
Josh Baughman
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) believes the cognitive domain is imperative to
achieve victory in any conflict. While kinetic attacks have a specific physical target, in the
cognitive domain the target is the mind. In conflict, great physical damage can be achieved, but
if the adversary still has a will to fight, they have not yet been defeated. Unlike a kinetic attack,
battle for the cognitive domain happens regardless if it is during peace time or war. Ideally,
perceptions and narrative can be controlled in a way to achieve strategic objectives without the
need for actual conflict. Like many conceptual ideas the CCP implements, the cognitive domain
is not something uniquely Chinese, but rather a concept first developed by the United States
Department of Defense in their report to Congress in 2001 titled “Network Centric Warfare”
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Since that time, coverage of the cognitive domain in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) media has
been an area of discussion and analysis. Recently, China’s Academy of Military Sciences
(AMS)
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has published a work titled, "Taking the Pulse of Cognitive Domain Operations" which
breaks down how to succeed in the cognitive domain with eight operational characteristics. This
work provides insight into the possible strategic mindset of the PLA and particularly how
technology, information dominance, and both military and civilian components have a role to
play in the battle to seize the commanding heights of the cognitive domain.
Defining the Cognitive Domain
To understand the cognitive domain it is imperative to understand cognition first. In the
PLA Daily article “A Perspective on the Evolution Trend of Cognitive Warfare” cognition is
defined as, “the process by which people acquire, process, and apply information and
knowledge”.
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Cognition is how we respond mentally to some form of stimuli. If an adversary is
able to control cognition it can disrupt decision making and overall strategy, which is the goal of
cognitive domain operations. In the PLA Daily article “A Brief Analysis of the Basic Meaning
of Cognitive Domain Operations” they define the term:
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The highest level research institute of the PLA and directly subordinate to the Central Military Commission.
