The information and communications technologies (ICTs) revolution in the Arab world coincides with an era of political turbulence marked by a wave of Islamic political activism, the reinflamed Palestinian-Israeli conflict and, most dramatically, the attacks of 11 September 2001 on the United States and the subsequent American ‘war on terrorism.’ All of this is taking place against a background of globalization and its profound multiple effects on Arab societies. This essay begins with a sketch of ICT development in the Arab world. It contends that ICT is accelerating the erosion of the state’s ability to frame identities and loyalties and is opening the door to transnational political action. Exogenous transnational action affects Arab societies, but transnational forces arising in the Arab and Muslim worlds can have global effects, with attacks on American territory serving as an extreme example. The essay goes on to describe the changing political terrain in the Arab world and the development of networks as powerful structures for contestation, with attention being drawn to the particular successes of Islamist networks. American assertiveness after 11 September has deepened the contradictions in Arab politics and society. The essay concludes with ten propositions concerning the relationships between ICT, political identities, networks and American ‘imperial’ behaviour.‬