Weaponization of the Social Sciences and Strategic Reconstruction of the National Academic System: A Policy Proposal

Wei Meng

No tznu3_v1, SocArXiv from Center for Open Science

Abstract: This study aims to explore the potential role and pathways for transforming social sciences within the national security and strategic competition landscape. Its objectives address pressing challenges including the inadequate alignment between social sciences and national strategy, insufficient conversion of academic findings into policy and practical tools, intensifying disinformation offensives and countermeasures, and uneven allocation of research resources. Methodologically, this study combines strategic intelligence analysis with policy evaluation, employing comparative case studies, interdisciplinary literature reviews, and institutional design frameworks. It draws upon the DARPA ‘Heilmeier Eight Questions’ and the EU's mission-oriented innovation model for its arguments. Findings indicate that by establishing a national-level social science research platform, optimising research funding mechanisms, fostering closer alignment between academic pursuits and strategic imperatives, and developing deepfake forensics alongside cognitive immunity systems, social sciences may evolve from traditional knowledge accumulation into resources serving strategic decision-making and cognitive competition. This transformative trajectory enhances political narrative power and cognitive dominance, bolsters institutional adaptability, and furnishes nations with combined soft and hard competitive advantages on the international stage. The conclusion posits that the strategic utilisation of social sciences is not a singular pathway but a multi-layered, multi-stage exploratory process, offering significant reference value for enhancing national security and international influence.

Date: 2025-09-08
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:socarx:tznu3_v1

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/tznu3_v1

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