U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Advent of Netwar: Analytic Background

NCJ Number
178795
Journal
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: July-September 1999 Pages: 193-206
Author(s)
John Arquilla; David Ronfeldt
Date Published
September 1999
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The information revolution is fostering the rise of network forms of organization whereby small, previously isolated groups can communicate, link up, and conduct coordinated joint actions; this trend is leading to a new mode of conflict known as netwar.
Abstract
Netwar is defined as an emerging mode of conflict in which protagonists use network forms of organization, doctrine, strategy, and technology. The authors analyze the rise of netwar and identify information age behaviors that characterize netwar. They consider the role of technology in the organizational design of netwar, as well as general propositions about the information revolution and their implications for netwar and counter-netwar. The use of netwar by ethnic and nationalist groups, terrorists, criminals, and social activists is discussed. 32 references and 18 notes