The development of networks of organizations in the recent past has led to unique challenges and opportunities on the international stage as the ground shifted towards addressing emanating issues through such systems. All forms of networks emerged from those advocating for human rights and good governance to terrorist units that use their networks to advance their agenda. With the new developments, real issues have emerged, for example, the systems have been very vocal on human rights abuses and the rule of law. “Local social networks empowered opposition political forces in trans-Caucasian Georgia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan.” Similarly, “in transnational arenas, civil society networks have made progress in the course of campaigns to raise environmental awareness, ban anti-personnel landmines, and lobby for peace.” (Arquilla, 2007, p. 200).
“ The networks came to push, to prod, and to confront. They came to solve the supranational problems of injustice, inequity, and environmental degradation that a nation-based capitalist system could never, in their view, deal with adequately,” (Arquilla, 2007, p. 203). Members are not necessarily fighting against the government, but they are driven by proximate goals of environmental management and human rights. Networks have been instrumental in the international fronts. Apart from the terrorist networks, the rest have helped to address issues affecting the community that nations cannot solve.
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“ In Chechnya, small but highly coordinated bands of fighters, waging toe-to toe battles against much heavier forces, actually drove the Russian army out of their homeland,” (Arquilla, 2007, p. 199). The networks have different relationships with the Government. Terrorist groups, insurgents and criminal gangs always tend to fight against the state, and in the recent past, civil societies have joined the bandwagon. Such networks pose a challenge to the state machinery throughout the world. Many states do not have a monopoly of control of armed forces within their frontiers and find themselves confronted by civil wars and insurgents, which leave whole areas of their countries under the control of rebel leaders and warlords,” (Wilkinson, 2007, p. 15). “Terrorists are using the internet not just to spread propaganda, but to organize attacks,” (Weimann, 2010, p. 47). Some of the systems have been instrumental in the fight against issues affecting the society and have received immense support from the community. Where the government is unable to realize the changing landscape, the people will form a robust anti-government movement.
“ Post-modern terrorists are taking advantage of the fruits of globalization and modern technology,” (Weimann, 2010, p. 45). “Al-Qaeda, too, got on its feet with a lethal attack on U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia, a foreshadowing of worse things to come,” (Arquilla, 2007, p. 199). Such groups use their networks to determine and plan terror activities. Despite trying to address issues affecting the society, the networks have been unable to stop depredation on the weak in many parts of Africa and other parts of the world. The following excerpt sums it up “the conflicts which erupted in the summer of 2006 once again provide a tragic demonstration of the capacity of states to have a disproportionate reaction to acts of terrorism and to escalate to the level terror wars causing infinitely more deaths and destructions,” (Wilkinson, 2007, p. 7).
References
Arquilla, J. (2007). Of Networks and Nations . The Brown Journal of World Affairs XIV (1): 199–209.
Weimann, G. (2010). Terror on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Brown Journal of World Affairs XVI (II): 45–54.
Wilkinson, P. (2007). International relations: a very short introduction . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
