Event-focused network analysis: a case study of anti-corruption networks

Abstract

Research on diffusion and transfer increasingly relies on the concept of policy networks, but often in inductive, descriptive, and anecdotal ways. This article proposes a more robust method for the comparative analysis of policy networks, a method we term 'event-focused network analysis' (EFNA). The method assumes that networks are most clearly revealed in 'events'conferences, meetings, workshops, etc. Databases of participants at these events provide the foundation for social network analysis of the networks of which they are part. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has hundreds of such events annually that are connected to a myriad of policy issues, thus allowing cross-sectoral network comparisons. The article begins with a review and critique of current approaches to network analysis, explains the EFNA approach, and then applies it to anti-corruption networks centred in the OECD. The case study shows the promise of the method, particularly in being able to trace a wider range of actors than is typical, taking us beyond the 'usual suspects' in conventional transfer studies.

Social Network Data Collection: Principles and Modalities

“…We can again distinguish between data about offline and online behaviors. Trace data about offline behaviors can be extracted from (offline or online) historical archive records (e.g., Bloch et al, 2022), population register data (Van der Laan et al, 2022), newspaper archives for discourse and policy networks (Nagel and Satoh, 2019), epidemiological contact tracing data for COVID-19 contagion (Hâncean et al, 2020), Scopus or Web of Science records for coauthorship (Akbaritabar and Barbato, 2021), policy event descriptions (Pal and Spence, 2020), or national statistics for networks of flows among countries (Danchev and Porter, 2018), to name but a few options. Many of these data sources are digitized, facilitating research (see e.g., McLevey and McIlroy-Young, 2017).…”

Characterization of Group Behavior of Corruption in Construction Projects Based on Contagion Mechanism

“…If there is corruption between any two individuals in the corrupt group, a link is established. The corrupt personnel and the corruption relationship between personnel are abstracted as the network nodes, the edge of the network respectively, then the corruption relationship network is established [ 5 , 60 ]. The corruption network can be represented by the adjacency matrix An ∗ n , so that if there have been corrupt behaviors between personnel, then a ij = 1, otherwise a ij = 0.…”

Regulatory transfer in transitioning economies: responses to corruption and weak state institutions

“…Thus, the circulation, interaction, advocacy and showcasing of policy innovation, reform and "best practice" continues unabated (Montero 2017;Baker et al 2016;Pal 2012;De Francesco 2016). And while contemporary research still retains a strong case based approach (Pal 2014;Hadjiisky, Pal, and Walker 2017;Wood 2015;Foli, Béland, and Fenwick 2017) the critique of modern policy transfer is now much broader, adopting a diversity of methodologies to understand the structure and functions of transnational networks (Pal and Spence 2020;Francesco and Guaschino 2020), the influence of social norms and the role of positive dispositions embedded through cultural affiliations (Legrand 2021). A consistent critique of the field is the dominant analysis of North-North transfer extensively focused on Europe, OECD countries and international organizations (Stone, Porto de Oliveira, and Pal 2020).…”