The Exploit: A Theory of Networks - asounder

20 Prolegomenon
sovereign is globally networked, extending into all countries and all
social contexts as a localized native (not as an interloper or occupying
force), it is at the same time able to emit a single command decision,
from a single location. The network is smart enough to distinguish
between distributed organizational mechanics and directed
commands, for in fact they are the same thing. In this way, a networked
sovereign is able to “flip the switch” and watch as command decisions
propagate rapidly around the globe. An example today would be something
like an operating system security update. It emanates from a
single networked sovereign (a software company) but is a type of
material command that is issued in a global, relatively instantaneous
manner. Of course, the antagonists in this scenario, e - mail worms or
zombie botnets, operate through exactly the same logic. Global - single
commands require an exceedingly high level of technological organization
and interconnection. Today they appear mainly as exploitations
of technoscientific “opportunities” or are issued as patches or
therapies to combat such material threats, but they may also be issued
in the cultural sectors, representing a greater evolution of today’s
strategies of “just - in - time production” and trend spotting and rapid
response. If networked sovereigns wield tactics like the global - single
command event, it is interesting to ponder what an asymmetrical response
to such an event would look like. Geography alone will not
save you. Nor will agility or guile. These are the questions addressed
in the following sections on liberation and counterprotocological
practices.
So networks and sovereignty are not incompatible. In fact, quite the
opposite: networks create the conditions of existence for a new mode of
sovereignty. America is merely the contemporary figurehead of sovereignty -
in - networks.
While in the past networks may have posed significant threats to
power in everything from the grassroots social movements of the 1960s
to guerrilla armies and terrorist organizations, it is not the case today.
Networks are not a threat to American power. In fact, the opposite is
true: networks are the medium through which America derives its