Political Networks

The Political Networks Section aims to provide a multidisciplinary space of convergence for scholars that, while holding diverse research interests share an analytic approach to network processes in political life, coupled with strong attention to the integration of theory and empirical data. Political networks are conceived of in a broad sense - as defined around political actors, events that are relevant to the political biographies of individuals as well as around the use of digital communication technologies within political dynamics. Thus, ties can consist of exchanges of resources, information, and symbols, as well as of collaborations and communications that may occur both on- and offline. This section proposal is endorsed by the Standing Group on Political Networks. European countries have become synonymous with crises: the economic crisis, the environmental crisis, the refugee crisis and, currently, the health Covid-19 crisis. The recurrence of crises has drastically affected collective actors, including civil society organisations, social movement organisations, trade unions, loosely organised informal groups. Collective actors have proven very resilient to their changing environments adapting their modes of coordination across issues and sectors, modifying their repertoire of actions - fueled by the hybridisation between practices of social movement organisations and more established civil society organisations – revising their alliances and collaborations in a context of increasing shrinking resources and escalating competition within the organisational field. This panel aims to explore the aforementioned changes by two main types of actors coping with the economic, environmental, social, health and political consequences of the various crises: i. challengers active in contentious politics and ii. Organisations and groups operating in service and good provision. Specifically, the following dimensions associated to inter-organisational networks are expected to be explored: a) the nature of alliances: specifically, the types of ties and networks structures, including clustering effects between groups and services; b) the type of actors involved in the networks, focusing in their homogeneity and/or heterogeneity, while re-examining the classic divide between political oriented actors versus services provision actors, their organisational forms, issues and domains of activities c) the degree of contentiousness, protest action repertoires and solidarity networks; d) the frames and collective identities mobilised within networks. Conceptual and theoretically-informed empirical papers, on single cases or comparative analyses, utilising qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods are welcome. Short Bios Petr Ocelík is an assistant professor at Masaryk University. He uses SNA to study climate and energy policies in the Czech Republic. Manuel Fischer is a research group leader at Eawag and an adjunct professor at the University of Bern. He relies on SNA concepts and methods to study a diversity of phenomena, such as policy-making, telecoupled governance, or cross-sectoral integration.