Investigating Social Networks and Political participation and voting

social networks matter because people are not simply isolates, and their behaviors result, at least in part, from interactions with other people. In other words, social networks are important because people influence each other through relationships. Aggregating these dyads into networks provides a structural framework for the analysis of the informal relationships that underpin interpersonal influence; and yet, little is known in natural settings for how structural position relates to interpersonal influence. Rational accounts of voter turnout and civic participation are largely driven not by costs or benefits, but by unmeasured valences, and typically perform poorly when predicting outcomes.This paper explores the relationship between mobilization and structural position in social networks. The Rural Social Networks Study gathered relational data from ۳۲ geographically isolated towns comprised of nearly ۵,۰۰۰ respondents. Through a random assignment field experiment, this paper explores the dual role social influence has in information diffusion, political mobilization, and participation. The results show that information diffuses through social-network pathways, and that variations in mobilization can be attributed to social-network variables.

Keywords:

social network , Political , participation , Voting