Fighting a Hydra: A Note on the Network Embeddedness of the War on Terror

James Moody

Download the Paper (PDF format) - August 30, 2006 Related Files: scaleupcalc.htm (7 kB) Network Scale-up web calculator scaleupcalc.zip (2 kB) Winzip version of calculator for download Tell a colleague about it. Get Acrobat Reader Submit a "Reader's Comment" Printing Tips: Select 'print as image' in the Acrobat print dialog if you have trouble printing. This work has been peer reviewed.

ABSTRACT:
While we typically count the number of people directly affected by violence, war and state action with casualty reports, we often ignore how these people are embedded in larger networks. In this paper, I estimate the number of people who know somebody who has been killed, injured or detained in the US war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, and thus likely at higher risk to joining a resistance movement. Since such numbers are constantly changing, an on-line web-calculator for the estimates is included so that readers can make their own estimates as well. Better understanding how friends and families are affected by such actions will help us understand the wider implications of military action.