Through its publications, INSS provides rigorous, forward‑looking research and analysis on critical national security issues that support the joint warfighter and inform Department of War decision‑makers.
Aug. 24, 2026
Cognitive Warfare and the Brain-as-Battlespace: Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence, and the Emerging Domain of Neurostrategic Competition
Introduction: The Human Brain as BattlespaceEvery competitive or conflictive human activity wields some form of power in attempt to affect behavior. Diplomacy seeks to influence it through politics; economic sanctions seek to modify it through the distribution and access of goods; military operations seek to compel it through the threat or use of
Aug. 18, 2026
Decision Advantage in Cognitive Warfare, Part 2
A central challenge of cognitive warfare is governing the relationship between institutional cognition and an operational environment in which informational, behavioral, and social dynamics evolve continuously and often independently of military decision timelines. To meet this challenge, we propose that future command architectures should emphasize and integrate mechanisms for the adaptive synchronization of human judgment, AI, and the cognitive ecosystem being engaged.
Aug. 11, 2026
Decision Advantage in Cognitive Warfare, Part 1
The functions of observation and orientation, central components of the OODA (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act) loop posited by Colonel John Boyd, U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, military strategist, and influential theorist of decision-making, have long been used to explain the cognitive processes that underpin military leadership and operational effectiveness.
July 30, 2026
NEURINT in the Age of Generative Agentic AI: A Proposed Paradigm for Left-of-Bang Strategic Deterrence
Contemporary competition is becoming ever more focused upon discerning how adversaries perceive, decide, adapt, and influence others. As warfare progressively entails persistent competition in the cognitive domain, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance must likewise evolve.
May 20, 2026
"Strategic Insights" Moves to Monthly Release
Beginning in June 2026, Strategic Insights will shift from a weekly to a monthly release.
May 12, 2026
Irregular Warfare, Part Two: AI Approaches, Implications, and Proposed Recommendations
The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and non-kinetic irregular warfare (IW) represents both a qualitative shift in the nature of strategic threat and a quantitative increase in adversarial operational effectiveness. To be sure, IW has always relied upon exploitation of asymmetries of expectation, capability, attribution, legality, and response thresholds. Certainly asymmetries, and tactics like indirect approaches (e.g., employing covert and clandestine and non-kinetic operations) are factors in both regular warfare and IW.
May 5, 2026
Irregular Warfare, Part One: Updating the Term and the Toolkit
Irregular warfare (IW) is not a new phenomenon, although its contemporary character has been substantively reshaped by advancements in technology, and more specifically, by the developments in AI.
April 27, 2026
Losing the Loop: A Model for Human Operational Involvement Part Two: A Proposed System Toward a Solution
Last week’s “Losing the Loop: Iteratively Autonomous Artificial Intelligence and the Question of Human Operational Involvement” examined how increasing autonomy in agentic AI reshapes the structure, tempo, and locus of human decision-making in operational environments, particularly as these systems transition from analytic tools to increasingly directive and generative components of the human–machine team. Seen in sequence, the logic is cumulative. The first section demonstrates how autonomy can erode the integrity of the decision loop. The second makes that erosion visible, locating the specific points at which human judgment becomes constrained or displaced.
April 21, 2026
Losing the Loop: Iteratively Autonomous Artificial Intelligence and the Question of Human Operational Involvement
The U.S. Department of War is rapidly scaling the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to the warfighter, streamlining routine tasks so operators can focus on what matters most. The successful launch of GenAI.MIL signals both momentum and institutional commitment to embedding AI across operational environments.
April 9, 2026
Cognitive Warfare and the Changing Character of Engagement: A Neurostrategic Perspective
The contemporary battlespace is undergoing a profound transformation in its fundamental logic.