Thinking with networks

摘要

In 1996, when the concept of a networked societyrnwas still in its youthful glory days, military policyrnanalysts John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt coinedrnthe term ‘netwar’ to refer to new forms of societalrnconflict: nonlinear, swarm-like, leaderless. Accordingrnto their predictions, netwar will become therndominant form of societal conflict in the twenty firstrncentury. As a result, military strategists as well asrnpolicy makers need to rethink how to engage conflictsrnin an information age as network logics willrndestabilize and potentially dismantle centrist, hierarchicalrndefense strategies and structures.