Network concepts are omnipresent in contemporary diagnoses (network society), management practices (network governance), social science methods (network analysis) and theories (network theory). Instigating a critical analysis of network concepts, this article explores the sources and relevance of networks in Foucault’s social theory. I argue that via Foucault we can trace network concepts back to cybernetics, a research programme that initiated a shift from ‘being’ to ‘doing’ and developed a new theory of regulation based on connectivity and codes, communication and circulation. This insight contributes to two debates: Firstly, it highlights a neglected influence on Foucault’s theory that travelled from cybernetics via structuralism and Canguilhem into his concept of power. Secondly, it suggests that network society and governance are neither a product of neoliberalism nor of technological artefacts, such as the Internet. They rather resulted from a distinct tradition of cybernetically inspired theories and practices.

网络概念在当代诊断（网络社会），管理实践（网络治理），社会科学方法（网络分析）和理论（网络理论）中无处不在。在对网络概念进行批判性分析之后，本文探讨了福柯的社会理论中网络的来源及其相关性。我认为，通过福柯，我们可以将网络概念追溯到控制论，这是一个引发了从“存在”到“做”的转变的研究计划，并开发了基于连通性和编码，通信和流通的新监管理论。这一见解引发了两场辩论：首先，它强调了对福柯理论的一种被忽视的影响，该理论从控制论到结构主义和坎圭尔姆，从控制论传播到他的权力概念。其次，它表明，网络社会和治理既不是新自由主义的产物，也不是互联网等技术手段的产物。他们宁可来自网络启发理论和实践的独特传统。