The Role of Cognitive Warfare in Social Crises in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Shahmohammadi, Mohammad; Fatemi, Seyyed Davood

doi:10.20241403/CRPS.2408.1005.1.1.3

The Role of Cognitive Warfare in Social Crises in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

mohammad shahmohammadi ¹

Seyyed Davood Fatemi ²

¹ Head of Human Resources Management Research Group

² Doctorate in political science and national security

10.20241403/CRPS.2408.1005.1.1.3

Abstract

With the advancement of technologies, the complexity of wars naturally increases. Cognitive warfare, a novel phenomenon in cognitive and strategic sciences, is defined as the fifth dimension of warfare, where modern humans attempt to achieve maximum strategic benefits at minimal cost. One can observe this warfare in the social crises of recent years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly since the 1999 (1378) crisis onwards. This research aims to "explain the role of cognitive warfare in social crises in the Islamic Republic of Iran." The researcher also seeks to answer the primary question of the study: What is the role of cognitive warfare in social crises in the Islamic Republic of Iran? This study is applied and developmental in nature, conducted using a descriptive-analytical method, and data was collected using a mixed method (quantitative and qualitative). In the qualitative part, content analysis was employed, while statistical methods were used in the quantitative section. The statistical population in the quantitative part includes 60 experts, and in the qualitative part, the snowball method was used until theoretical saturation, which was reached with 10 experts. Some findings from this research indicate that social crises in different societies are not identical and are influenced by major variables such as internal factors within countries, like the public's tolerance threshold, and external factors, such as interference by opposing governments. These crises are fundamentally complex, context-dependent, and largely shaped by the cognitive frameworks of elites, celebrities, and other social groups. In this article, an attempt was made to examine social crises over the past decades in Iran and identify and introduce the key characteristics and cognitive warfare variables affecting these crises.

Keywords

Hybrid warfare

cognitive warfare

crisis

social crisis

Islamic Republic of Iran

20.1001.1.30926459.1403.1.1.4.9

QURAN

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