The Oxford Handbook of Political Networks

Networks are omnipresent in our natural and social world, and they are at the heart of politics. Relationships of many types drive political institutions, processes, and decision-making. Therefore, it is imperative for the study of politics to include network approaches. Already, these approaches have advanced our understanding of critical questions, such as: Why do people vote? How can people build problem-solving coalitions? How can governments and organizations foster innovations? How can countries build ties that promote peace? What are the most fruitful strategies for disrupting arms or terrorist networks?

This volume is designed as a foundational statement and resource. The contributions offer instruction on network theory and methods at both beginner and advanced levels, as well as an assessment of the state-of-the-discipline on a variety of applied network topics in politics. Through this dynamic collection of essays, The Oxford Handbook of Political Networks elucidates how the field is transforming and what that means for the future of political science.

Jennifer Nicoll Victor is an associate professor of political science at Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. She has a BA in Political Science from University of California, San Diego, and an MA and PhD in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis. She is the co-author of Bridging the Information Gap: Legislative Member Organizations in the United States and the European Union (University of Michigan Press, 2013). She is a co-founding contributor to "Mischiefs of Faction" published on Vox.com, and formerly served in the US Senate as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow.

Alexander H. Montgomery is an associate professor of political science at Reed College. He has a B.A. in physics from the University of Chicago, an M.A. in energy and resources from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.A. in sociology and a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University. He has been a Residential Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in Nuclear Security in the US Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy) working for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Mark Lubell is a professor in the University of California, Davis, Department of Environmental Science and Policy and Co-Director of the Center for Environmental Science and Behavior. He is an interdisciplinary environmental social scientist who studies cooperation problems in environmental policy using quantitative and qualitative methods. He received his PhD in political science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His current research topics include water management, environmental behavior, sustainable agriculture, and behavioral economics experiments in cooperation. Lubell has received numerous grants from the National Science Foundation and US Department of Agriculture, and publishes in political science, public administration, and environmental sciences journals.