New Delhi, Aug. 8 -- When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, geopolitical power was measured in armies, alliances and nuclear deterrence. Nations defended sovereignty by securing borders and protecting strategic assets. Three decades later, that understanding of security is no longer sufficient. The decisive contest is increasingly about preserving the cognitive sovereignty of democratic societies.

Algorithms now shape what billions read, watch and believe, making influence as consequential as force. Democratic sovereignty increasingly depends upon citizens exercising independent judgement amid personalised information and engineered persuasion. Protecting sovereignty therefore requires protecting cognitive sovereignty--the freedom to think, ...