Geopolitics has long been portrayed as a chessboard of competing nations. The metaphor still holds true for high-level statecraft but does not capture the full complexity of the modern world, argues Anne-Marie Slaughter. Today a vast web of global connections, including trade and finance flows, terrorist networks, and social media, overlay the chessboard, exerting their own powerful influence over events. But while the moves on a chessboard are well understood, no strategies exist to guide policymakers in a world of fluid networks and connections. How should governments navigate the world of the web? Can citizens, NGOs, and cities design and customize networks to find solutions to global challenges?