Social Networks

Abstract: This paper is the result of research conducted in Sarajevo in Spring-Summer 2003. Its main subject is the construction and maintenance of ethnic or national identities and their effects on social relationships, especially those among young people.

We want to deconstruct some discourses about identity in Bosnia and Herzigovina (BiH) by reflecting the social and discursive practices that construct and maintain them. I do not mean to accept things as they are without questioning where they come from, why they emerged and the effects they have.

When someone arrives in BiH, they bring with them concepts like ›ethnic group‹ or ›nation‹ to be applied to the reality they face. However, these concepts do not always fit into the situation the visitor finds. We have to be careful with the importation of these kind of con- cepts, because they are discursive practices that are not freed of the effects of people’s own subjectivity and relationships.

Abstract: Social network theory is one of the few if perhaps the only theory in social science which is not reductionist. That is, the theory applies to a variety of levels of analysis from small groups to entire global systems. To be sure, there are emergent properties at different system levels, but these are extensions of what can be done at a lower level and not entirely different forms of organization. The intent in this very brief selective introduction is to present concepts that may be of use in understanding the peace process and especially peace education.

Abstract: This chapter is about two network structures that have been argued to create social capital. The closure argument is that social capital is created by a network of strongly interconnected elements. The structural hole argument is that social capital is created by a network in which people can broker connections between otherwise disconnected segments. I draw from a comprehensive review elsewhere to support two points in this chapter: there is replicated empirical evidence on the social capital of structural holes, and the contradiction between network closure and structural holes can be resolved in a more general network model of social capital. Brokerage across structural holes is the source of value added, but closure can be critical to realizing the value buried in structural holes.

Abstract: In this chapter I review empirical studies directly testing the hypotheses of my 1973 paper “ The Strength of Weak Ties” (hereafter “SWT”) and work that elaborates those hypotheses theoretically or uses them to suggest new empirical research not discussed in my original formulation. Along the way, I will reconsider various aspects of the theoretical argument, attempt to plug some holes, and broaden its base.

Abstract: The intuitive background for measures of structural centrality in social networks is reviewed and existing measures are evaluated in terms of their consistency with intuitions and their interpretability.

Three distinct intuitive conceptions of centrality are uncovered and existing measures are refined to embody these conceptions. Three measures are developed for each concept, one absolute and one relative measure of the centrality of positions in a network, and one relenting the degree of centralization of the entire network. The implications of these measures for the experimental study of small groups is examined.