ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book calls attention to a shift in the balance between order and disorder between what some might style as good and evil. As explained in this chapter, the shift which advantages the forces of disorder is the product of technological developments that, quite adventitiously, combine to erode the efficacy of the laws and institutions modern nation-states use to control activity that threatens their existence and prosperity. As we will see in and, it also differs from traditional crime in one particularly notable respect: This chapters examines more complex scenarios that also contribute to the dismantling of the systems on which we have for centuries relied to maintain an acceptable level of order within and among nation-states. It also examins whether this premise has outlived its usefulness, whether we need to move beyond a territorially based model of sovereignty and threat control.
