ABSTRACT
“Welcome to the Human Network,” invites the information and communication technology (ICT) giant Cisco, “When we’re all connected, great things happen” (Cisco, 2011). The “Human Network” could represent what Janine Wedel, a professor of public policy, considers a new form of global governance based on networks of governments, educational institutions, and for-profit companies (Wedel, 2009). Flexians are what Wedel calls the actors moving through the networks between these global institutions. In global networks, flexians promote their own interests and sometimes those of for-profit companies. Flexians also network with educational institutions and private foundations, such as the Gates Foundation. The link between flexians and government bureaucracy involves flexians having personal relationships with bureaucrats. Some flexians may have at one time worked for a government agency. In a global context, flexians often have more allegiance to themselves and their networks than to a particular nation-state. Wedel argues that these networks represent a new form of global governance, particularly with increasing privatization of government services including education services.
