Unmapping the 21st Century: Between Networks and the State

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.

Nicholas Michelsen is Reader in International Relations and Director of Education in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.

Neville Bolt is Reader in Strategic Communications in the Department of War Studies and Director of the King’s Centre for Strategic Communications (KCSC) at King’s College London.