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Networks and Netwar: The Future of Terror, Crime and Militancy
Fathom
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| Seminar Introduction |
The information revolution is changing the nature of conflict for both terrorist and social activist networks, argue RAND researchers John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt. Criminal, terrorist and social activist organizations will be most effective if they develop networking capabilities that are attuned to the information age. Civil society organizations have  been successful in using the Internet to disseminate information that furthers their ethics-based agendas, while "netwarriors" have used highly-interconnected organizational and communication networks for the purposes of war, crime or terror. In 1996, Arquilla and Ronfeldt coined the term netwar--the study of network-based conflict and crime. In the years since, neo-terrorist organizations, such as the al-Qaeda network, have found ways to transform once-decentralized groups into unified networks that have nimbly evaded and disrupted counterterrorist organizations. If governmental powers can understand how modern-day netwar organizations are formed, they may be better able to target and dismantle those terrorist and criminal groups while also empowering and strengthening civil society networks. In this seminar, excerpted from the November 2001 RAND book Networks and Netwar: The Future of Terror, Crime and Militancy and with an updated final section that applies their theory to the attacks of September 11, 2001, Arquilla and Ronfeldt explore these changes in the nature of conflict. For those interested in the ongoing efforts to develop a globally operational counter-terror network, this seminar will introduce the basic concepts of netwar, citing examples of some successful netwar campaigns used by both civil actors and terrorist groups. In the final session, Arquilla and Ronfeldt apply their netwar theory and briefly discuss how a large-scale, decentralized terrorist group was able to organize a series of deadly plane crashes in the United States.
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| Learning Objectives |
- List the three types of organizational networks and explain why the "all-channel" network is harder to develop, maintain and destroy.
- Describe three ways in which information-age communication technologies have benefited terrorist and/or civil society organizations.
- Examine reasons why hierarchical organizations, such as the military, police or intelligence agencies, find it hard to target and dismantle highly-internetted networks.
- List the five theoretical models used to analyze the strength and performance of a given network.
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| Sessions |
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| Credits |
This seminar was excerpted from the RAND 2001 book, Networks and Netwar: The Future of Terror, Crime and Militancy, edited by John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt. Copyright 2001, RAND.
Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy examines a new type of warfare emerging in the wake of the information revolution. Completed shortly before terrorists attacked New York and Washington, the volume includes an afterword, analyzing the implications for the continuing fight against terrorism.
Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime and Militancy
Arquilla, John; Ronfeldt, David (editors)
Paperback (RAND Corporation, 2001)
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| Technical Requirements |
To appreciate this seminar experience, it is critical that you have the appropriate software, plug-ins, and network connections. Please take the time to download the latest versions of the plug-ins mentioned below if you do not already have them.
Browser: Netscape versions 4.x up to 4.76, or Internet Explorer versions 4.x or later. Your browser must have JavaScript enabled and must be set to accept cookies.
Network Connection: The recommended minimum connection is 56K modem with throughput of 34Kbps or more. A faster connection is encouraged to take better advantage of the media elements in the seminar.
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