2014/09/27 by Juan Pablo Cárdenas, Cárdenas, Juan Pablo, Gerardo Ramírez Vidal +3
Physics and Astronomy · Social Sciences · #91D30 #Complex Network Analysis Techniques #FOS: Computer and information sciences #FOS: Physical sciences #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #Primary: 05C82 #Secondary: 90B15 #Social Capital and Networks #Social and Information Networks (cs.SI)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1409.7862
openalex publication_date 2014/09/27 · openalex created_date 2022/10/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In this work we analyzed the relationships between powerful politicians and\nbusinessmen of Chile in order to study the phenomenon of social power. We\ndeveloped our study according to Complex Network Theory but also using\ntraditional sociological theories of Power and Elites. Our analyses suggest\nthat the studied network displays common properties of Complex Networks, such\nas scaling in connectivity distribution, properties of small-world networks,\nand modular structure, among others. We also observed that social power (a\nproposed metric is presented in this work) is also distributed inhomogeneously.\nHowever, the most interesting observation is that this inhomogeneous power and\nconnectivity distribution, among other observed properties, may be the result\nof a dynamic and unregulated process of network growth in which powerful people\ntend to link to similar others. The compatibility between people, increasingly\nselective as the network grows, could generate the presence of extremely\npowerful people, but also a constant inequality of power where the difference\nbetween the most powerful is the same as among the least powerful. Our results\nare also in accordance with sociological theories.\n