Bristol University Press Unmapping the 21st Century: Between Networks and the State

This study draws on post-structural political theory to interrogate the concepts of the state and the network and the different ways in which they are understood by citizens, journalists, policy makers, and academics. Unmapping is defined here as showing how the concepts of the state and the network as conceptual maps have blinded us to alternate ways forward. The wide-ranging discussion encompasses capitalism, imperialism, borders, and bureaucracy, as well as war, trade, religion, and revolution. B&w maps and illustrations are included. The authors are affiliated with the Department of War Studies at Kings College London. Distributed in the US by Marston Book Services. Annotation ©2022 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com) The 21st century has been characterized by great turbulence, climate change, a global pandemic, and democratic decay. Drawing on post-structural political theory, this book explores two dominant concepts used to make sense of our disturbed reality: the state and the network. The book explains how they are inextricably interwoven, while showing why they complicate the way we interpret our present. In seeking a better understanding of today’s world, this book argues that we need to pull apart the familiar lines of our maps. By looking beneath and across these lines, an ‘unmapping’ presents new insights and opportunities for a better future. Autorid: Nicholas Michelsen, Neville Bolt