ABSTRACT
This chapter views social networks as complex systems in which identity development takes place and it discusses the implications for research. As complex systems, social networks come into being through and depend on the interactions of their members, while at the same time enabling some actions of their members and restricting others. Thus, both the network and its members have agency. Change in social networks is non-linear. Quantitative differences can lead to irreversible qualitative change, and this often occurs through critical events.
In social networks, various forms of identity development take place. Newcomers develop a group identity – a feeling of belonging to the group, and they internalize group norms. Much of identity development takes place through a process of agreeing and disagreeing called “discursive positioning”. When groups of members position themselves differently on dimensions that matter, the network may split, a fractalizing process that may repeat itself infinitely.
This view has implications for research. The non-linearity of change in social networks justifies the use of interventions (and intervention research), as these might be necessary to counter otherwise irreversible qualitative changes. In addition, non-linearity is at odds with attempts to establish fixed causal effects. Instead, I recommend the use of quantitative methods to provide an overview of the network and qualitative and quantitative methods for the interrelated study of both the agency of the network and the agency of its members. Splits in networks should be studied as fractalizing processes that are based on discursive positioning.
