Dimitris Christopoulos

Exceptional or just well connected? Political entrepreneurs and brokers in policy making

Policy brokers and policy entrepreneurs are assumed to have a decisive impact on policy outcomes. Their access to social and political resources is contingent on their influence on other agents. In social network analysis (SNA), entrepreneurs are often closely associated with brokers, because both are agents presumed to benefit from bridging structural holes; for example, gaining advantage through occupying a strategic position in relational space. Our aim here is twofold. First, to conceptually and operationally differentiate policy brokers from policy entrepreneurs premised on assumptions in the policy-process literature; and second, via SNA, to use the output of core algorithms in a cross-sectional analysis of political brokerage and political entrepreneurship. We attempt to simplify the use of graph algebra in answering questions relevant to policy analysis by placing each algorithm within its theoretical context. In the methodology employed, we first identify actors and graph their relations of influence within a specific policy event; then we select the most central actors; and compare their rank in a series of statistics that capture different aspects of their network advantage. We examine betweenness centrality, positive and negative Bonacich power, Burt’s effective size and constraint and honest brokerage as paradigmatic. We employ two case studies to demonstrate the advantages and limitations of each algorithm for differentiating between brokers and entrepreneurs: one on Swiss climate policy and one on EU competition and transport policy.

The Motivation of Social Entrepreneurs: The Roles, Agendas and Relations of Altruistic Economic Actors

Abstract Social entrepreneurs present a contradiction if one accepts that economic motivation is premised on personal gain alone. The economic activity of social entrepreneurs is presumed altruistic, their actions intending to primarily benefit others. The theoretical and actual motivations, social networks and values of these actors are compared in this article. A series of semi-structured interviews of prominent social entrepreneurs in the west of England form the basis of analysis. Subjects were selected through a nomination-referral technique that allows targeting for interview those who are considered prominent in the sector within the chosen location. Two types of analysis are attempted: a narrative exploration of their motivations and a semantic networks analysis of their statements. There is evidence of a conceptual association between those actors’ success, entrepreneurship, motivation and social relations that indicate profitable avenues for future research. Some policy recommendations are offered in the conclusion. The multiple roles of social entrepreneurs and the multiple audiences they address indicate multidimensional agency. The development of the sector depends on comprehending conflict inherent in their multiple agendas.

Islamic Terrorism and the Malian Rebellion

Using Social Network Analysis, this article illuminates the relationship between the Islamists and rebels involved in the Malian conflict. We use publicly available data to demonstrate that the connection between Islamists and rebels depends on brokers who defected from the Tuareg rebellion to radical groups. Our work also details the internal relationships within each of the subgroups. By using descriptive network analysis, we are able to show that both groups were affected by the accidental disappearance of one of the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb emirs, and the death of one of the architects of the Tuareg rebellion. Both events affected social cohesion. The article concludes with a discussion of the influence that the French-backed intervention may have on the evolution of the conflict, and how network analysis could contribute to a better understanding of terrorist activities in the region.

Elite social capital and the regional economy

This article examines elite interaction and its potential to affect local development. A theoretical discussion sets the stage for a systematic exploration of the social capital of regional elites in a comparative study of 12 European Union regions. The working assumption is that elite social capital and trust between elite groups reflect on the regional development record. A survey of experts captures a number of proxy variables on elite social capital. In a cross-sectional study we observe an association between levels of gross domestic product and the propensity of elites to act in concert. Associations are also evident between concerted action and similarity in attitudes between regional elite actors.

Reputational leadership and preference similarity: Explaining organisational collaboration in bank policy networks

This article contributes to our understanding of the formation of policy networks. Researchsuggests that organisations collaborate with those that are perceived to be influential in order to accessscarce political resources. Other studies show that organisations prefer to interact with those that sharecore policy beliefs on the basis of trust. This article seeks to develop new analytical tools for testing thesealternative hypotheses.First,it measures whether perceptions of reputational leadership affect the likelihoodof an organisation being the target or instigator of collaboration with others. Second, it tests whether thedegree of preference similarity between two organisations makes them more or less likely to collaborate.The article adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining exponential random graph models (ERGM)with qualitative interviews, to analyse and explain organisational collaboration around United Kingdombanking reform.It is found that reputational leadership and preference similarity exert a strong,positive andcomplementary effect on network formation. In particular, leadership is significant whether this is measuredas an organisational attribute or as an individually held perception.Evidence is also found of closed or clique-like network structures, and heterophily effects based on organisational type. These results offer significantnew insights into the formation of policy networks in the banking sector and the drivers of collaborationbetween financial organisations