The multilateral institutions network as a source of structural power: An application of Social Network Analysis in International Relations

Abstract

The core subject of this article is the importance of the multilateral institutions network for the promotion of state goals. Accordingly, in this article I employ Social Network Analysis, an interdisciplinary analytical framework widely applied in the International Relations field and in social science in general. Additionally, I introduce a network-based type of structural power derived from the network of social relations that emerges through interstate interaction in multilateral institutions. Overall, I propose that international politics is not exclusively contingent on the distribution of material capabilities but also on the structural configuration of interstate interactions in the multilateral institutions network.