An edition of The stack (2015)

The stack

on software and sovereignty

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The stack
Benjamin H. Bratton, Benjamin ...
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Last edited by MARC Bot
April 23, 2026 | History
An edition of The stack (2015)

The stack

on software and sovereignty

  • 10 Want to read
  • 1 Have read

What has planetary-scale computation done to our geopolitical realities? It takes different forms at different scales -- from energy and mineral sourcing and subterranean cloud infrastructure to urban software and massive universal addressing systems; from interfaces drawn by the augmentation of the hand and eye to users identified by self -- quantification and the arrival of legions of sensors, algorithms, and robots. Together, how do these distort and deform modern political geographies and produce new territories in their own image? In The Stack, Benjamin Bratton proposes that these different genres of computation -- smart grids, cloud platforms, mobile apps, smart cities, the Internet of Things, automation -- can be seen not as so many species evolving on their own, but as forming a coherent whole: an accidental megastructure called The Stack that is both a computational apparatus and a new governing architecture. We are inside The Stack and it is inside of us. In an account that is both theoretical and technical, drawing on political philosophy, architectural theory, and software studies, Bratton explores six layers of The Stack: Earth, Cloud, City, Address, Interface, User. Each is mapped on its own terms and understood as a component within the larger whole built from hard and soft systems intermingling -- not only computational forms but also social, human, and physical forces. This model, informed by the logic of the multilayered structure of protocol "stacks," in which network technologies operate within a modular and vertical order, offers a comprehensive image of our emerging infrastructure and a platform for its ongoing reinvention. The Stack is an interdisciplinary design brief for a new geopolitics that works with and for planetary-scale computation. Interweaving the continental, urban, and perceptual scales, it shows how we can better build, dwell within, communicate with, and govern our worlds.

Publish Date
Publisher
The MIT Press
Language
English
Pages
502

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Edition Availability
Cover of: Stack
Stack: On Software and Sovereignty
2016, MIT Press
in English
Cover of: The stack
The stack: on software and sovereignty
2015, The MIT Press
in English

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Book Details


Table of Contents

The models. Introduction ; The nomos of the cloud ; Platform and stack, model and machine
The layers. Earth layer ; Cloud layer ; City layer ; Address layer ; Interface layer ; User layer
The projects. The stack to come ; The black stack.

Edition Notes

Various printings.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Series
Software studies, Software studies

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
004
Library of Congress
QA76.5915 .B73 2015, QA76.5915.B73 2015

The Physical Object

Pagination
xx, 502 pages
Number of pages
502

Edition Identifiers

Open Library
OL27208607M
ISBN 10
026202957X
ISBN 13
9780262029575
LCCN
2015011448
OCLC/WorldCat
906294522

Work Identifiers

Work ID
OL20028558W

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