Social networks: Ideas for future research from the vantage point of political science

In this short piece, Bunce and Csanadi draw upon their expertise in political science and political economy to offer some observations about the analysis of social networks. Using both examples and questions they highlight the importance of structural variations in networks, including differences in the motivations behind network formation; the subsequent development of networks, including extension, contraction and duration; and the effects of individual decision-makers on network dynamics and, at the same time, the effects of network structure and dynamics on individual decision-makers.