Book Discussion: The Square and the Tower

The Institute of Public Policy has hosted a series of discussions focusing on recent Armenian publications/translations. The initiative aims to introduce significant fiction and non-fiction books to a broad audience of readers.

The most recent discussion centered around Niall Ferguson's book "The Square and the Tower." Avetik Mejlumyan, the IPP’s director, and Davit Sargsyan, the book's translator, delved into its key features, modern historiographical approaches, and global trends.

According to Avetik Mejlumyan, the book explores the interaction between networks and hierarchies throughout history, highlighting periods when one prevailed over the other.

"Networks have played a crucial role in two historical eras. The first 'network age' began in 15th-century Europe with the invention of the printing press and continued until the late 18th century. The second era began in the 1970s and continues today."

Participants expressed interest in the book's methodological aspects, questioning the author's insights, the creative process, and the dynamics between networks and hierarchies.

"If you think that social media is a modern phenomenon, this book will challenge that notion," remarked the translator. "It reveals that such networks have always existed and exerted significant influence. Historians traditionally focused on states, kings, wars, and victories, but Ferguson's work shifts our perspective."

Network theory is reshaping our understanding of the past and present, predicting which hierarchies will withstand the latest wave of network challenges and which will falter.