Book Review: The far-reaching power of networks

Author Niall Ferguson explores various networks throughout history and investigates the relationship between influence and power.
Updated 15 January 2018
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Book Review: The far-reaching power of networks

Niall Ferguson, prolific historian and author of 14 books, explores in “The Square and the Tower,” his latest publication, whether it is better to be in a network that gives you influence or in a hierarchy that gives you power. The square represents the market square, or town square, whereas the tower stands for hierarchical control.
The unlimited scope of the subject enables Ferguson to jump around history in 60 chapters that follow neither a chronological order nor any other order for that matter. All the chapters are structured like short essays of unequal length, ranging from two pages to 15 pages, and can be read on their own.
Many of us believe that social networks are a new phenomenon, but the truth is that they have always existed and have played an important role even though many networks have privileged, long-standing and rigid hierarchies.
Up until the 16th century, the word “network” meant a woven mesh made of interlaced thread and it was not until the 19th century that engineers and geographers began to use the word “network” to describe waterways and railways. Then, in the late 20th century, networks were to be found everywhere — we have electrical networks, telephone and television networks and, finally, digital and social networks.
On the other hand, hierarchies contributed to render the exercise of power more efficient and more centralized. This autocratic rule which created social cohesion was perfectly explained by the Tsarist policeman Nikiforych to a young Maxim Gorky: “There’s an invisible thread, like a spider’s web, and it comes right out of his Imperial Majesty Alexander the Third’s heart. And there’s another which goes through all the ministers through his excellency the governor and down through the ranks until it reaches me and even the lowest soldier. Everything is linked and bound together by this thread…with its invisible power.”
Ferguson has taken advantage of the limitlessness of the subject. He jumps freely from one century to another and this lack of rigor is also visible in the chapters, which are written like stories ranging from a couple of pages to eight pages. These stories appeal to all tastes I singled out two stories that are brilliant. The stories on the Rothschild family and Henry Kissinger’s network of power are extensions of his bestsellers, “The House of Rothschild” and “Kissinger 1923-1968: The Idealist,” universally praised for their meticulous research.
The Rothschild family had built the largest concentration of financial capital in Europe by the middle of the 19th century. They succeeded thanks to “the innovations they introduced to the international market for government debt,” according to the book, and they understood the vital importance of a reliable communications network. Eighteenth century British merchant Thomas Raikes noted in his journal that the Rothschilds had become “the metallic sovereigns of Europe.” They were established in Paris, London, Vienna, Frankfurt and Naples and thus exerted a quasi-absolute control over the European exchange. They appeared to “hold the strings of the public purse. No sovereign without their assistance now could raise a loan.” The Rothschild family had the capacity of underwriting loans for Austria, but they were also known for their amazing communications and intelligence network. Thanks to their private couriers they were capable of providing a trustworthy news service which statesmen and diplomats also used because it was much faster than the official courier systems used for relaying diplomatic correspondence.
“Henry Kissinger’s Network of Power,” one of the finest essays in the book, reminds us of the book Ferguson wrote about Kissinger. While in office, Kissinger appeared 15 times on the cover of Time magazine. He was described as “the world’s indispensable man… the right man in the right place at the right time.” Networks played a key role in his “chain reaction” diplomacy.
“Kissinger had understood that networks were more powerful than the hierarchies of the federal government,” writes Ferguson. “Kissinger’s power, still based on a network that crossed not only borders but also professional boundaries, endured long after he left government in 1977… No future national security adviser or secretary of state, no matter how talented, would ever be able to match what Kissinger had achieved.”
Kissinger believed that the strengthening of networks and the weakening of hierarchy reduced the risk of a third world war.
As we reach the end of the book, we are left with many questions. What kind of future lies ahead of us? Are we about to experience a successive wave of revolutions like those that happened from the 16th century to the 18th century? Will the established hierarchies unite their efforts to fight Internet anarchy and strike a deal with the networks for a better future? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, this book is a fascinating and insightful read.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Shooting an Elephant’

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Updated 02 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Shooting an Elephant’

  • While Orwell’s self-awareness is commendable, some readers may find his portrayal of the Burmese people overly passive, raising questions about perspectives that remain unheard in this narrative

Author: George Orwell

George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” relates his experiences of a police officer in Burma who is called on to shoot an aggressive elephant that has broken free from its handler.

However, the essay — first published in 1936, and thought to be autobiographical — quickly turns into a searing indictment of power’s corrosive grip, with the unruly creature becoming a metaphor for the absurdity of empire.

Orwell sets the stage with quiet tension: the heat, the hostile stares of the Burmese, and the weight of his uniform. He is a man trapped — despised by those he governs, yet bound to the system he serves.

When the elephant rampages through a village, the crowd’s expectation becomes a noose around his neck. Orwell’s prose, stripped of sentiment, lays bare the hollowness of authority. He does not pull the trigger out of duty, but out of fear of appearing weak in the eyes of the villagers.

The essay’s brilliance lies in its ruthless self-exposure. Orwell refuses to cast himself as hero or even victim. Instead, he is complicit, a puppet of imperialism, forced to enact its violence in order to maintain the illusion of control.

Yet, one wonders: Does his introspection absolve him, or merely sharpen the hypocrisy? The dying elephant, gasping for air, is not just an animal, but a truth Orwell cannot escape.

Unlike traditional anti-colonial critiques that focus solely on oppression, “Shooting an Elephant” exposes the trap facing the oppressor.

Orwell’s shame is palpable, his confession unflinching. There is no redemption here, only the sickening realization that power does not liberate, but enslaves.

While Orwell’s self-awareness is commendable, some readers may find his portrayal of the Burmese people overly passive, raising questions about perspectives that remain unheard in this narrative.

The elephant falls, but the real tragedy is that no one — not the crowd, the empire, or even Orwell — walks away clean.

The bullet that kills the elephant also shatters the myth of imperial righteousness. And in that destruction, there is a terrible truth: Tyranny corrupts both the oppressed and the oppressor, leaving both bleeding in the dust.

 


What We Are Reading Today: Republics of Knowledge

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Updated 02 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Republics of Knowledge

Author: Nicola Miller

The rise of nation-states is a hallmark of the modern age, yet we are still untangling how the phenomenon unfolded across the globe. Here, Nicola Miller offers new insights into the process of nation-making through an account of 19th-century Latin America, where, she argues, the identity of nascent republics was molded through previously underappreciated means: the creation and sharing of knowledge.

Drawing evidence from Argentina, Chile, and Peru, Republics of Knowledge traces the histories of these countries from the early 1800s, as they gained independence, to their centennial celebrations in the 20th century.

Miller identifies how public exchange of ideas affected policymaking, the emergence of a collective identity, and more. She finds that instead of defining themselves through language or culture, these new nations united citizens under the promise of widespread access to modern information.

 


What We Are Reading Today: The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting

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Updated 01 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting

  • Focusing on brittle fracture and rock friction, this book will appeal to graduate and research scientists in seismology, physics, geology, geodesy and rock mechanics

Author: Christopher H. Scholz

A massive earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand recently. Humanitarians are struggling to deliver assistance.

Why do earthquakes happen? “The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting” offers a study on connections between fault and earthquake mechanics, including fault scaling laws, the nature of fault populations, and how these result from the processes of fault growth and interaction.

Focusing on brittle fracture and rock friction, this book will appeal to graduate and research scientists in seismology, physics, geology, geodesy and rock mechanics.

 


What We Are Reading Today: Thailand’s Political History

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Updated 31 March 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Thailand’s Political History

  • Moving into the twentieth century, it traces the emergence of the Thai nation state, the large-scale investments in modern infrastructure

Author: B. J. Terwiel

“Thailand’s Political History” tackles some of Thailand’s most topical and pressing historical debates.

It discusses the development and evolution of the Siamese state from the early Sukhothai period through the fall of Ayutthaya to the rise of the Chakri dynasty in the late 18th century and its consolidation of power in the 19th.

Moving into the twentieth century, it traces the emergence of the Thai nation state, the large-scale investments in modern infrastructure.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘E.D.E.N. Southworth’s Hidden Hand’

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Updated 31 March 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘E.D.E.N. Southworth’s Hidden Hand’

  • Southworth’s fiction tackled issues that were often considered taboo, including domestic violence, poverty and capital punishment

In her upcoming book, “E.D.E.N. Southworth’s Hidden Hand: The Untold Story of America’s Famous Forgotten Nineteenth-Century Author,” Rose Neal, who has a Ph.D. in English, revives the legacy of a now-obscure novelist who was once a household name.

Born in 1819, Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte, Southworth — better known by her initials, E.D.E.N. — was one of the most prolific and widely read American writers of the 19th century.

Christened with a long name, Southworth once joked: “When I was born, my family was too poor to give anything else, so they gave me all those names.”

She would later shorten it to the distinctive E.D.E.N., under which she built her literary empire.

With more novels to her name than Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Mark Twain combined, Southworth once captivated audiences with feisty heroines who rode horses, fired pistols, and even became sea captains.

Her most famous novel, “The Hidden Hand,” was so popular that readers named their daughters after its fearless protagonist, Capitola.

“Despite being one of the most beloved and well-known writers of the 19th century, as domestic sensational fiction declined in popularity, Southworth was entirely forgotten, as was an entire generation of women writers,” Neal writes. “For Southworth, it was partly because she had done so well at hiding her own progressive ideas. Nevertheless, she should be rediscovered and given her rightful place in American history.”

Southworth’s fiction tackled issues that were often considered taboo, including domestic violence, poverty and capital punishment.

Although she was raised in a slave-owning family, she wrote for The National Era, an abolitionist magazine, and encouraged her longtime friend Harriet Beecher Stowe to publish “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

She also supported the early women’s rights movement and advocated for better education and living conditions for those in poverty.

Neal’s journey to uncover Southworth’s story began unexpectedly as she pursued her master’s degree. She asked her colleagues whether they were familiar with this author she had unearthed. “They had never heard of Southworth or any of her novels,” she writes.

“How did a novelist as popular as Southworth slip into the dustbin of history?” she wonders.

With this biography, Neal pieces together Southworth’s story through her novels, letters and other documents, setting the record straight on a woman whose influence was far greater than history has acknowledged. Like her heroines, Southworth was bold, determined and ahead of her time.

The book comes out in May and is available for pre-order.