Theory of Networks

Theoretically, polarization is associated with a higher probability of social conflict. This paper, in a microeconomic model based on the theory of social networks, analyses how changes in the network's structure affect the level of some basic parameters associated with the concept of polarization. This study shows that under upward monotonic preferences, longer sets of affiliations for each individual reduce polarization, whereas under downward monotonic preferences, longer sets of the so-called bad affiliations increase polarization. Finally, in the case of a non-monotonic system of preferences, an expansion of the affiliations set will alter the resulting polarization order in different ways depending on the preferences themselves.

Theoretically, polarization is associated with a higher probability of social conflict. This paper, in a microeconomic model based on the theory of social networks, analyses how changes in the network's structure affect the level of some basic parameters associated with the concept of polarization. This study shows that under upward monotonic preferences, longer sets of affiliations for each individual reduce polarization, whereas under downward monotonic preferences, longer sets of the so-called bad affiliations increase polarization. Finally, in the case of a non-monotonic system of preferences, an expansion of the affiliations set will alter the resulting polarization order in different ways depending on the preferences themselves.

“Contagion” (2011) is a movie about a mysterious deadly infectious biological virus that can be transferred from China to Chicago, Hong Kong and London in the matter of hours to create a global contagion within days. The intensity of speed and violence on screen was enough to fill us with horror. Stepping outside from the theater, we usually fail to notice that movies often reflect reality. If you think about it, we are also living in an era which a deadly contagion under another shape is spreading without control: the media technology virus. Nowadays, the head-spinning proliferation of mass information sharing has been enabled in the context of globalization and rapid technological changes. Countless information sharing forms are invented and produced daily: peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, wireless community networks, terrorist networks, bio-warfare agents, political swarming and mass demonstrations, mobile phones with photo and video sharing features, just to name a few. They all take on the name of “viral media text” whose production and dissemination are able to shape and determine the most crucial events, even life and death.

This emerging phenomenon posits two effects. First, it engenders authoritarian tendencies by government whose power is being decentralized and challenged. Second, mass information sharing gets recognized by the mass as beneficial to their freedom of speech. This paper will discuss the underlying structure in which such networks operate, as well as analyze the dual function of connectivity. In order to do this, I will adopt in viral media texts with two basic theoretical models. First, the theory of Networks by Alexander Galloway and Eugene Thacker in their work The Exploit (2007); and second, the Vector theory by Paul Virilio in Speed and Politics (1986) and later developed by McKenzie Wark in his seminal work Virtual Geography (1994). Generally, the interconnection between vector, node and network has successfully established a framework in the context of the War On Terror, to the point governments’ policies towards citizens can be justified and legitimized without much effort. This paper will explore the role of networks and viral media texts in solidifying or challenging notions of power, control and governance from the viewpoints of both the government and the public by analyzing, along with some others, two major case studies: the Innocence of Muslims conflict in September 2012 and the Boston Marathon Bombings Twitter updates in April 2013.