نوع مقاله : مقاله علمی
نویسندگان
1 استادیار گروه روابط بینالملل، دانشکده حقوق و علوم سیاسی، دانشگاه تهران
2 دانشجوی دکتری روابط بینالملل، دانشکده حقوق و علوم سیاسی، دانشگاه تهران. تهران. ایران
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Ballot boxes were once symbols of hope and popular participation; however, today in many countries they have turned into a hidden battlefield—a battle fought not with weapons, but with perceptions, beliefs, and narratives. Countries independent of the West, especially those that have chosen a path different from the U.S.-led global order, are consistently confronted with accusations such as corruption, inefficiency, and lack of legitimacy. In this context, their electoral processes have increasingly become targets of media and cognitive attacks, with efforts made to delegitimize their outcomes. In such countries, elections are not merely political events but strategic opportunities for external actors.
Cognitive warfare, as a battlefield of the mind, encompasses a set of strategies and actions aimed at shaping societal perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors. In the age of information and communication, cognitive warfare can exert profound and far-reaching effects on the political destiny of states. Accordingly, the main research question of this study is: What strategies and tools does cognitive warfare employ within the context of electoral processes?
Using a qualitative approach and thematic analysis method, along with semi-structured interviews conducted with 11 academic elites in the fields of international relations, political science, security, and media through snowball sampling, this study analyzes the strategies and tools of cognitive warfare in electoral competition. Data analysis was carried out using MAXQDA software and coding procedures. The reliability of the analysis was assessed using Holsti’s reliability coefficient, and its validity was confirmed through expert review, triangulation, and participant validation.
The findings indicate that cognitive warfare actors pursue two main objectives—destabilization and influence—by adopting strategies such as societal polarization, delegitimization of governments and electoral institutions, disrupting post-election consensus among losers, creating social cleavages, reducing voter participation, instilling perceptions of electoral illegitimacy, steering public opinion, and influencing political decisions. These strategies are reinforced through the use of false, misleading, and harmful information, and can lead to the erosion of social capital and electoral legitimacy, particularly in democracies independent of the West.
کلیدواژهها [English]
)