According to Farrell and Newman, economic networks have become more horizontal and created increased interdependence that limits state power.

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Farrell and Newman argue that global economic networks have become more hierarchical and characterized by asymmetric interdependence, not more horizontal; this makes states potentially more able to exert coercive power through network "choke points" rather than less powerful.

1. Relevant concepts
- Horizontal (distributed) networks: many nodes with diffuse control, making coercion or targeted interruption difficult.
- Hierarchical or hub-and-spoke networks: central nodes (gatekeepers/chokepoints) through which much traffic or transactions flow.
- Asymmetric interdependence: one actor’s dependence on a network or node is greater than another’s, creating leverage.
- “Weaponized interdependence” (Farrell & Newman): states exploit control of central nodes (financial messaging systems, dominant tech platforms, payment rails, internet infrastructure) to coerce other states.

2. Step-by-step reasoning
- If networks were becoming more horizontal, control would be dispersed and states would find it harder to target specific nodes to exert pressure.
- Farrell and Newman document the opposite trend: certain firms, platforms, and infrastructure have become central hubs (e.g., SWIFT/financial messaging, dominant cloud providers, major app stores, payment networks).
- Centralization creates asymmetric interdependence: many actors rely on a few hubs, while those hubs (or states that control them) do not depend as much on any single client.
- Therefore states that can access or control these hubs gain new levers of power—e.g., sanctions via exclusion from payment systems, or blocking access to major platforms.

3. Intermediate “calculation” steps (conceptual)
- Many users → one hub = high concentration.
- High concentration + state access/control → capacity for targeted coercion.
- Thus interdependence does not automatically limit state power; it can amplify it in asymmetric networks.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- Farrell and Newman’s central claim is that interdependence, given hierarchical network structure, creates vulnerabilities exploited by states—contradicting the notion that networks have become more horizontal and thus limit state power.

5. Why the other option is incorrect
- “True” would assert networks are more horizontal and constrain states; this contradicts the authors’ evidence and the weaponized interdependence argument.

Conclusion: The statement is False, matching the provided answer.

According to Farrell and Newman, economic networks have become more horizontal and created increased interdependence that limits state power.判断题

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