This book is the culmination of a five-year journey that began with an idle conversation about social media and the future of war, long before the Islamic State had reared its ugly head and the Russian government transformed U.S. politics forever. In the years since, we’ve faced shock, surprise, discovery, and—as you might imagine—lots and lots of rewrites. We owe debts of gratitude to more than these pages can fill, but we’ll try our best.
We’d like to start by thanking the whole team at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, especially Barbara Jatkola, Rosemary McGuinness, Michael Dudding, Larry Cooper, and Michelle Triant. Thanks most of all to Eamon Dolan, who invested extraordinary time and effort in shepherding the book through publication. Our agent, Dan Mandel of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, went above and beyond during this whole endeavor, for which we are eternally thankful. He didn’t just represent us and the book; he also served as a sounding board, counselor, and all-around mensch from start to finish. All writers should be so lucky as to have someone like Dan on their team.
Our work was generously supported by the Smith Richardson Foundation, which enables the kind of deep-dive, long-term research so crucial to important issues of public policy. It was also supported by a fantastic team of young researchers, kindly offered by the Arizona State University Center on the Future of War and ably led by Daniel Rothenberg and Peter Bergen. Tremendous thanks to Bill McDonald, Hannah Hallikainen, Erin Schulte, Joaquin Villegas, and Jaylia Yan, whose deft research and editing made this project possible. We hope this peek into “how the sausage is made” will serve them well in their great careers ahead.
We also want to recognize the scholars upon whose work we’ve built, most notably John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt, who kicked this all off. Our mentions in the book provide only a tiny taste of the vibrant and growing field of people working in this topic area, and we encourage you to check out more through the references in the endnotes.
We would like to thank the scores of interviewees who helped us navigate these complex issues. You met many in this book, and there are many you missed out on for reasons of space, but all generously gave of their time, for which we are deeply grateful. We also are appreciative of Walter Parkes giving us permission to quote from the movie Sneakers (1992) and of the inspiration his, Phil Robinson’s, and Lawrence Lasker’s movie has given to a generation of hackers and information warriors since. Thank you to Doan Trang for working with us to design the “LikeWarrior,” off to battle with his RPG and smartphone in hand.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t also tip our hats to “the internet” and all the hundreds of colorful personalities we interacted with over this long process, even—and especially—the haters. Without realizing it, you helped reveal larger truths amid all the noise and confusion.
Finally, we’d like to express a heartfelt appreciation for each other. Any long-term partnership poses challenges, but ours has fruitfully stretched into half a decade. From joint brainstorming sessions to shared horror over the latest online development to passionate arguments about comma placement, we’ve been through quite a lot together and are happier for it.
On a personal level, Peter: I would like to thank my colleagues at New America, ably led by Anne-Marie Slaughter. The organization is a unique place. It serves as an incredible platform to engage on the most crucial issues of today and tomorrow, offering both academic freedom and innovation. As the book demonstrates, these qualities are needed now more than ever. Finally, I would like to thank my family. The long haul of writing a book takes a toll not just on writers but on those they love. It is all the more true for projects like this, which involved delving into difficult, and even sometimes hateful and ugly, issues. Susan, you are my best friend, who keeps everything centered in the chaos. Owen and Liam, when I was on the computer, I was doing work, which I know for you little guys was sometimes hard to understand. But please know that you truly and always come first.
On a personal level, Emerson: I would like to thank the three people who made this achievement possible. Michael Horowitz, a brilliant and supportive professor who first opened my eyes to all this “policy stuff”; Janine Davidson, the perfect mentor and friend, who’s been there for each step of my journey through the nation’s gilded capital; and James Lindsay, whose advice and trust enabled me to take the critical leap from research assistant to bona fide expert. Thanks as well to the Council on Foreign Relations, whose generous research fellowship helped transform this manuscript from mostly theoretical to hard-won reality.
I’d also like to thank four people who really made it possible. David Frankenfield offered wise and steady counsel. From their home in the North Georgia wilderness, Emerson and Virginia Brooking followed every twist and turn of the book-writing process; they bolstered me with love and penned enough encouraging emails to equal several times the length of the final product. And thanks, finally, to Anubhuti Mishra. Her wisdom and patient ear were the rock upon which I built everything I did.