Network Society

Can society be understood as a network, and if so, how should that view be put to use? This volume tests that claim critically. It grants that the idea has real promise and then asks what it can actually deliver. Analysing society this way means addressing practical needs while also drawing out the opportunities and usefulness of network thinking. The authors also ask whether social life has truly become more relational or only appears that way, as digital social networks might suggest. The work questions whether the familiar concepts of structure and exchange, and the traditional holist and individualist paradigms in both functionalist and conflict forms, still suffice. It also considers whether new concepts, theories or tools are needed to represent and explain contemporary reality.

The discussion builds on earlier work on established social networks (Scott, 2003), the distinction between groups and networks (Vergati, 2008), the logics of networks (Serra, 2003), and the formation of social capital and ties (Di Nicola, 2006; Mutti, 1998). It follows spatial change along two seemingly opposed routes, the dematerialisation of space and its reconstruction through relational dynamics and forms, and argues that both lead to a shared process of de-spatialisation and re-spatialisation. Rather than resting on a single theory, the study of networks draws on several theories that converge on space and on a common logic (Serra, 2001).

The book's distinctive contribution lies in combining sociological, anthropological and linguistic perspectives. It applies these to European governance, institutional life, the linguistic landscape of the city of Rome, and communication technology. It suits readers interested in sociology, social theory and the study of contemporary communication.