To what extent is memetic warfare applicable to the Australian Defence Force?

What role could memes play in the future of warfare, and what does that mean for the Australian Defence Force? This article explores the evolution of memetic warfare and examines how memes, narratives and ideas can shape behaviour, influence decision-making and contest the information environment. Drawing on the Russia–Ukraine war and the emergence of online civic resistance groups such as NAFO, it considers how similar dynamics could emerge in a future Indo-Pacific conflict. Rather than presenting memetic warfare as a new military panacea, the article argues that it offers the ADF a useful framework for thinking about narrative and cognitive warfare, with potential applications from operations to training, recruitment and organisational culture.

Read the article (theforge.defence.gov.au/article/what-extent-me…) on the Forge