Illuminating Dark Networks: The Study of Clandestine Groups and Organizations
Luke M. Gerdes
Jul 2015 · Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences Book 39 · Cambridge University Press
Ebook
277
Pages
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About this ebook
Some of the most important international security threats stem from terror groups, criminal enterprises, and other violent non-state actors (VNSAs). Because these groups are often structured as complex, dark networks, analysts have begun to use network science to study them. However, standard network tools were originally developed to examine companies, friendship groups, and other transparent networks. The inherently clandestine nature of dark networks dictates that conventional analytical tools do not always apply. Data on dark networks is incomplete, inaccurate, and often just difficult to find. Moreover, dark networks are often organized to undertake fundamentally different tasks than transparent networks, so resources and information may follow different paths through these two types of organizations. Given the distinctive characteristics of dark networks, unique tools and methods are needed to understand these structures. Illuminating Dark Networks explores the state of the art in methods to study and understand dark networks.
About the author
Luke M. Gerdes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the United States Military Academy, West Point. In 2011 he worked as a visiting researcher with the Strategic Studies Institute at the US Army War College. He is the past recipient of West Point's Minerva Fellowship in the Study of Islamic Ideology and Asian Cultures, as well as the Smith Richardson World Politics and Statecraft Fellowship. His research focuses on the application of network science to the study of clandestine groups, with a regional emphasis on Asia.
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