Heterarchy

A governance mechanism that is neither hierarchy nor market (anarchy) is usually called a network. It is described as horizontal and nonhierarchical, but its basic organizing principle can more positively and appropriately be called heterarchy. Etymologically speaking, heterarchy consists of the Greek words heteros, the other, and archein, to rule. In a heterarchy, a unit can rule, or be ruled by, others depending on circumstances, and hence, no one unit dominates the rest.

The earliest academic discussion of the concept can be attributed to Warren S. McCulloch, a pioneer in cybernetics, who in the mid-1940s regarded a neural [Page 411]network as an archetype of heterarchy. The value of the concept was rediscovered decades later by social scientists in as diverse disciplines as archeology, management, sociology, political science, and law.

James A. Ogilvy presented the simplest illustration of heterarchy as a game of rock, paper, and scissors, in which rock beats scissors, which beats paper, which in turn beats rock. A similar, though far more complex and dynamic, logic can apply to the checks and balances among three branches of a government as well as the relationship between sovereign states and international institutions such as the European Union (EU) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Archeologists have also found heterarchies of power in certain ancient societies.

Heterarchy in a social system constitutes a circular relationship among actors variously ranked according to different metrics; thus, it is characterized by multiple hierarchies and distributed authority, rather than by the lack thereof. Gunnar Hedlund contended further that hierarchies and even markets could be observed in some multinational corporations, in which heterarchy could be conceived as a metagovernance mechanism of flexible coordination among transactions organized by variant governance modes. Other scholars have further advanced the concept of metagovernance at a national level.

Circularity in heterarchy presupposes direct links among nonadjacent levels, especially those between the highest and lowest. Kyriakos M. Kontopoulos argues that heterarchy, or tangled hierarchy, involves many-to-many relations among levels, in contrast with hierarchy—a layered and fully nested structure of one-to-many connections. Likewise, David Stark maintains that units in heterarchies are characterized by interdependence, whereas dependence and independence define hierarchies and markets, respectively. Heterarchy in this sense is a set of multiple and intricate links, usually across such conventional divides as levels, departments, and sectors, that form a multicentric network of heterogeneous actors with distinctive resources and capabilities.

Heterarchical networks are considered both flexible and dynamic; authorities therein are not institutionally fixed but, rather, change places as situations evolve. Heterarchy is arguably the most efficient and effective governance mechanism for facilitating multilateral exchange of information and for vibrantly organizing and enabling distributed intelligence and innovation, with open source software development being a prominent example.

Heterarchy is envisaged as an increasingly influential organizing principle of regional and global governance, at least in some geographical and functional areas. Some scholars regard the EU as a heterarchical networked polity, and others have conducted research on emerging private authority and heterarchy in a global society. Global governance is one of the most fertile grounds for heterarchies because of the current development of transnational networks among actors within or across public, private, and civic sectors ranging from local to global levels, which deal with problems that cut across various issues.

...