The Zapatista Social Netwar in Mexico

by Ronfeldt, David; Arquilla, John; Fuller, Graham E.; Fuller, Melissa

• ISBN13: 9780833026569
• ISBN10: 0833026569
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-03-09
• Publisher: RAND Corporation

Summary

This study examines the rise of this social netwar, the information-age behaviors that characterizes it (e.g., extensive use of the internet), its effects on the Mexican military, its implications for Mexico's stability, and its implications for future occurrence elsewhere in the world.

Table of Contents

Preface	iii
Figures	vii
Tables	ix
Summary	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
An Insurgency Becomes A Social Netwar	1	(6)
The Advent of Netwar: Analytic Background	7	(16)
Definition of Netwar	9	(8)
Networks vs. Hierarchies: Challenges for Counternetwar	17	(1)
Varieties of Netwar	18	(4)
Mexico---Scene of Multiple Netwars	22	(1)
Emergence of the Zapatista Netwar	23	(22)
Three Layers to the Zapatista Movement	24	(2)
The Indigenas: Growing Desperation and Politicization	26	(5)
The EZLN: Mixture of Vertical and Horizontal Designs	31	(4)
Activist NGOs: Global, Regional, and Local Networks	35	(8)
On the Eve of War	43	(2)
Mobilization for Conflict	45	(16)
The EZLN in Combat---A ``War of the Flea''	45	(5)
Transnational NGO Mobilization---A ``War of the Swarm''	50	(11)
Transformation of the Conflict	61	(24)
Zapatista Emphasis on ``Information Operations''	62	(12)
Attenuation and Restructuring of Combat Operations	74	(5)
Government Efforts at Counternetwar	79	(6)
The Netwar Simmers---and Diffuses	85	(28)
Situational Standoff	85	(3)
From the EZLN to the EPR---Diffusion In Mexico	88	(7)
The Zapatista Netwar Goes Global	95	(3)
Assessments of the EZLN/Zapatista Movement	98	(9)
Actors to Watch: The Military and the NGOs	107	(4)
Basic Implication for U.S. Military Policy: ``Guarded Openness''	111	(2)
Beyond Mexico	113	(42)
Toward a Demography of Social Netwar	116	(2)
Evolution of Organization, Doctrine, and Strategy	118	(2)
Favorable Conditions for Social Netwar	120	(4)
Challenges to Authoritarian Systems	124	(4)
Implications for the U.S. Army and Military Strategy	128	(2)
Concluding Comment	130	(3)
Appendix
A. Chronology of the Zapatista Social Netwar (1994--1996)	133	(8)
B. Rethinking Mexico's Stability and Transformability	141	(14)
Bibliography	155