Research Domains and Strategic Categories
The contemporary security environment is increasingly defined by the convergence of conventional warfare, irregular conflict, disruptive technologies, economic coercion, information manipulation, and geopolitical competition. Modern conflicts are no longer confined to traditional battlefields alone. They now unfold simultaneously across physical, digital, cognitive, maritime, economic, and strategic domains, demanding deeper interdisciplinary analysis and long-term strategic understanding. In this evolving landscape, the Centre for New Age Warfare Studies (CNAWS) organises its research ecosystem around clearly defined thematic categories that collectively capture the changing character of warfare, national security, and global strategic competition.
The Research Domains and Strategic Categories section serves as the central thematic gateway to CNAWS’ analytical and research architecture. It enables readers, researchers, policymakers, security practitioners, journalists, and strategic affairs enthusiasts to explore content organised according to major subject domains rather than publication formats alone. While CNAWS publishes a diverse range of content including Research Papers, Detailed Reports, Commentaries, Articles, and Situational Reports, the category system clusters these outputs under broader strategic themes to facilitate deeper topical exploration, stronger knowledge integration, and long-term institutional expertise.
The categories represented within CNAWS reflect both current and emerging dimensions of conflict and strategic competition. These include terrorism and counterterrorism, hybrid warfare, intelligence and covert operations, maritime security, armed conflict, defence technology, cyber and electronic warfare, geopolitical competition, economic statecraft, strategic resources, space security, and future warfare ecosystems. Together, these domains provide a comprehensive analytical framework for understanding the evolving nature of state and non-state threats, military transformations, regional instability, strategic deterrence, technological disruption, and global power competition.
Each category functions as a dedicated thematic research hub aggregating relevant publications across all CNAWS content types. This structure allows readers to access interconnected analyses, assessments, reports, and strategic commentaries relating to a specific subject area through a unified knowledge ecosystem. The categories are also closely integrated with CNAWS’ institutional research departments, enabling a layered analytical structure where thematic subject expertise, institutional research focus, and publication formats collectively contribute to a broader strategic understanding of contemporary and future warfare.
As the strategic environment continues to evolve with the rise of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cognitive warfare, information operations, economic coercion, and multi-domain conflict ecosystems, CNAWS remains committed to continuously expanding and refining its research architecture to address emerging security realities. The Research Domains and Strategic Categories section therefore represents not merely a content directory, but a structured strategic knowledge framework designed to support informed discourse, rigorous analysis, and future-oriented security research in an increasingly contested and complex global environment.
Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Strategic analysis, research papers, reports, and situational assessments on terrorism, insurgency, radicalisation, militant ecosystems, and counterterrorism operations.
Information and Psychological Warfare
Research and analysis on propaganda, disinformation, narrative warfare, influence operations, cognitive warfare, and psychological operations in modern conflict.
Intelligence and Covert Operations
Strategic research on intelligence operations, espionage, covert action, HUMINT, strategic deception, clandestine networks, and national security operations.
Defence Technology and Future Warfare
Research and strategic analysis on AI warfare, drones, autonomous systems, military innovation, ISR technologies, and future battlefield ecosystems.
Cyber and Electronic Warfare
Research on cyber warfare, electronic warfare, cyber espionage, SIGINT, digital conflict ecosystems, and strategic cyber operations.
Space and Strategic Technologies
Strategic analysis on military satellites, anti-satellite systems, space security, orbital warfare, ISR platforms, and emerging strategic technologies.
Armed Conflict and Security
Research and analysis on armed conflict, military escalation, border crises, interstate warfare, strategic stability, and security developments.
Geopolitics and Strategic Affairs
Strategic analysis on geopolitical competition, regional security, strategic alliances, Indo-Pacific dynamics, diplomacy, and global power politics.
Economic and Resource Security
Research on economic warfare, sanctions, energy security, trade competition, strategic resources, supply chains, and geoeconomic conflict.
Maritime Security
Strategic research on maritime security, naval warfare, Indo-Pacific competition, sea power, maritime trade security, and naval modernisation.