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Networks are a better mental model than states. Within a state, there are many networks. From ideological groupings to digital communities. They aren’t internally homogenous. Between states, the countries themselves belong to networks. Multilateral fora like ASEAN or WEF. China is the closest exception to the rule. Perhaps the most internally homogenous large state, and least globally dependent on others. But even China isn’t fully an exception, if you look closely. All these types of informal networks are becoming more important, relative to formal states, as the 20th century ends and the Internet century begins.