The article reveals the specifics of policy networks in the public administration system, examines in detail the basic characteristics of networks, as well as the features of the configuration and coordination mechanisms inherent in various types of network coalitions. The author examines networks in the context of their positive and negative impact on the quality of public administration, drawing attention to the conditions for the degeneration of network associations that allow the state, together with non-state actors, to solve socially significant problems into structures that threaten the integrity of the political system. In the context of the author's definition of networks in public administration, the article examines their structural components, reveals the features of the position of network actors, describes the operational functions of networks (exchange of information, financial resources and dissemination of knowledge), emphasizes the importance of the problem of closeness for their functioning. Particular attention is paid to the positioning of state institutions in networks, the author reveals the reasons for their use of a predominantly principal-agent mechanism for coordinating interaction with nongovernment participants, which reduces the degree of their freedom in the network, but at the same time guarantees the observance of socially significant interest in the implementation of programs and projects. The article also discusses in detail the configurations of networks and the specifics of their activities at all stages of decision-making and implementation, emphasizes the opportunities and threats associated with the activities of certain types of network alliances. The author emphasizes that the negative potential of network structures is manifested in a situation of divergence of political and managerial orientations of power and society's expectations against the background of weak institutions and lack of public control over political players, which leads to the gradual replacement of public administration by the rule of latent network groups.

The paper provides extensive methodological discussion of the network approach to legislative studies and gives an overview to different methods and techniques that show great promise to the research of parliamentary politics. The key points of the proposed network theoretical framework are the informal interactions and collaborations of actors and their respective groups, that are tied by linkages of trust and mutual interests. We also keep the focus on the influence of the nodes (MPs) which is being accumulated due to the access to various resources, performance, and individual interests. This article also suggests description of the public data used to reveal the networks of legislative co-sponsorship, which is the well-developed method of legislative studies. In this context we also review some other approaches to obtain information about the ties between the MPs, that have been suggested in the academic literature: the voting data, personal interactions revealed by the interviews, range of connections in the online social networks, official mail, public speech, and others. We show that the network analysis appears to be very insightful for the legislative studies because it allows to perceive parliaments as the “small worlds” each with its own highly institutionalized composition of nodes and ties. We also argue that it is critical to take into consideration the influence of several exogenic forces - voters, the public, and other authorities on the MPs persistent interactions and the respective network structure of the parliament. Finally, we propose two methodological solutions to the research of complex network structures. We debate on the potential implications of the discourse-network analysis in legislative studies. It provides the opportunity to map the advocacy coalitions and model the relations between the nodes, which are based on the similarities and differences of their ideas in the public speeches. We also discuss the potential of the inferential network analysis in regard to the quantitative research in legislative studies. Specifically, we provide a critical review of the modern studies of the inner-parliamentary networks, that are based on ERGMs and their variations (SAOM and TERGM). We show that dyadic interactions between the MPs and political parties can be modeled taking into account both individual covariates (exogenous and endogenous) and network parameters of the current structure of parliament as a whole.

The paper is devoted to the critical reconstruction of the policy network theory in contemporary political science. The number of issues that are still lacking in consensus among researchers are found in Russian policy network studies: the broad understanding of the terminology, limitations to theoretical and methodological grounds in application to Russian area of research, dominance of theoretical articles rather than empirical studies. The authors develop the definition that resolves the opaque understanding of the policy network term in Russian language. They define it as the formats of predominantly horizontal collaboration involving public bodies, private business entities, NGOs and/or uninstitutionalized citizens’ communities that participate in public governance procedures. The limitations of the policy network methodology that is caused by the crisis trends in positivist approach are also argued in the paper. The results of the meta-analysis of the policy network studies (N=37) are represented in the second part of the paper. The authors highlight three logics of the policy networks research: (1) the studies of the specific policy networks and focus on the concrete policies; (2) development of the methods of policy network analysis and their empirical tests; (3) focus on theoretical contribution to the policy network theory based on the empirical and comparative studies. Besides, the conceptualization of the approaches that may help the researchers to overcome theoretical and methodological limitations of the policy network theory is given.

Extrapolating the network approach to the socio-political process as a whole, the article analyzes the phenomenon of connection of network space and political reality, characterized by the mutual influence and interdependence of the phenomena occurring in both areas. There are four main interfaces (public space, institutional outputs, direct action, radical action) of interaction between the network space and the political system. The author substantiates the significance of the phenomenon of connection as a determinant of the modern political process, identifies the main indicators of connection, anticipating significant changes in the political landscape. In conclusion, the author points out both the risks of connection, new challenges for today’s political institutions, and the emergence of new windows of opportunities for the modernization of socio-political institutions. Nine political designs are modeled based on conjugation connection.

Comparative analysis revealed insufficient representation of the theories of network dynamics in comparison with the theories of network statics, with the exception of the “strategic relational theory of network dynamics” by K. Hay and D. Richards, the actor-network theory of B. Latour and the theory of stochastic processes, on the basis of which most models of network dynamics are built. In comparison with the relational and stochastic approaches, the diffusion direction describing the corresponding type of networks is less represented in the publications. The object of this study is diffusion networks, considered as a communicative element of the process of policy diffusion, that is, a channel for policy dissemination from one policy subject to another. The subject of the study is the political practices of cognitive control in diffusion networks. The methodological basis was the concept of the dynamics of diffusion networks, which allows us to describe the effects of “cognitive limitations” that arise in the Internet. In the development of this topic, it is planned to continue the research in the direction of identifying technologies of cognitive control in diffusion networks based on the manipulation of the cognitive abilities of participants in network relations. The empirical part of the study is aimed at testing the theoretical provisions of the concept of the dynamics of diffusion networks on the example of the practices of network control in the form of political cognitive censorship in the course of digital campaigns. To substantiate the conclusions, we use the big data analysis carried out by monitoring the online network space using the resources of the “Medialogia” and “YouScan” systems. The result was the conceptualization of the concept of “cognitive network control” in relation to diffusion networks, the description of the main dynamic indicator - the speed of dissemination of political information in network communities, and the identification of technologies for cognitive strategic influence in digital practices.

The networked society is permeated with processes generated within numerous horizontal structures of the public sphere in the online space. An empirical study based on network analysis and graph visualization methodology allowed us to understand why D. Trump, using the same political communication strategy on Twitter that allowed him to win in 2015, lost the 2020 US Presidential Election. Who and how transformed the political content created by D. Trump's team; who became the influencer that changed and destroyed the discourse field originally created to support D. Trump in the second term campaign? The empirical data (a continuous sample of network data amounted to 2 million messages), which we used to constructs and analyze the discourse fields, comprises the messages published by ordinary users, supporters, opponents and D. Trump's team on Twitter within the period from March 1, 2020 to October 30, 2020. The study showed that D. Trump's second election campaign in 2020 was also based on network populism. However, the “negative information background” (Covid-19, Black Lives Matter) split the discursive fields he formed, which eventually resulted in ban from online platforms and election defeat. The technologies D. Trump used in his first election campaign, and which led him to the US presidency, actually became a potent weapon in the hands of his opponents in the second election campaign.

The article presents the network approach to the study of cities; in particular, it substantiates how cities are embedded in global economic networks through corporate networks of major multinational companies. The peculiarities of the integration of Russian cities into global economic networks are revealed, stressing the context of the evolution of inter- and intra-regional inequality over the period from the early 1990 s to 2020. The focus of this study is to analyze the effects of the 2014-2016 economic crisis, caused in part by international economic sanctions, which in turn played an important role in the behavior of multinational companies in Russia and in assessing the attractiveness of the Russian market for further foreign investment. The empirical part of the paper is done in a case study strategy and focuses on Kaluga, one of Russia's most successful cities in attracting foreign companies. Based on a series of interviews with representatives of foreign automotive cluster companies operating in Kaluga, the main factors of Kaluga's success in attracting foreign investment are identified, as well as opportunities and barriers for the activities of these companies. In particular, it has been determined that a favorable economic and geographic location and personal guarantees from the regional governor for business security are the most important and sufficient conditions for Kaluga's successful integration into global economic networks. It was also possible to determine that local social ties do not play a key role in obtaining economic aid from the state in times of crisis (referring to crises 2014-2016 and 2020-present).

The article deals with the problems of network interactions of urban communities in the context of political conflicts. The theoretical foundations of the study are developed in line with the theory of political networks. In particular, the concept of “heterarchies” is used to describe interactions in the course of conflicts between hierarchical and network structures. The explanatory model proposed by the authors is also focused on the components of the network approach, revealing the mechanisms and ways of shaping the political agenda and making decisions using the potential of political networks. In addition, an analysis of the impact of network interactions on the development of urban communities was carried out. The empirical component of the article is based on the results of research conducted by the authors in three large regional centers of the Russian Federation in 2019-2020. The 2019 study was conducted in the format of semi-structured expert interviews with leaders of urban communities in Voronezh, Krasnodar and Yaroslavl. In 2020, an expert survey was conducted in the same cities. In total, 34 experts were interviewed, representing urban communities, authorities, research centers, business structures, etc. Based on the results of the research, conclusions were drawn about the empowerment of urban communities to participate in decision-making at the municipal level within the framework of network relations, as well as the prevalence of a constructive approach to interactions with opponents in political conflict processes. At the same time, limiting their influence on decision-making processes to the role of the “attentive public”, which is observed at the present time, can contribute to the expansion of destructive, in particular, protest forms of political activity.

The significance of informal practices and institutions in political and economic life in Russia has been largely recognized by a variety of research fields within social sciences. As existing literature shows, informal deformation also affects state bureaucracy including the recruitment process into the highest executive agencies. Patronage ties are more than merely individual deviation. Its systematic nature necessitates considering it as a network structure, which can be done through the theoretical tools provided by Social Network Analysis. Based on existing approaches to the quantification of patronage ties, the author proposes a new perspective, which comprises studying them as a model of a weighted graph. The patronage ties can differ significantly in terms of their stability and power, and researchers might take this diversity into account when analyzing patronage networks. To this end, the author proposes the patronage tie index comprising three parameters, namely the duration of a shared work experience, its frequency, and the fact of promotion. Relying on these assumptions and on the basis of systematic biographical analysis, the author examines the structure of patronage networks within two of Russia's regions, namely Perm Krai and Chelyabinsk Oblast. The analysis shows that it is difficult to discern the general pattern of the structuring of such networks. These are different in terms of degrees of cohesion and centralization. The matching of the network positions with the types of official positions does not reveal the general pattern either. Presumably, the specific models can be explained by the individual strategies available for particular leaders.

The article examines the foreign Russian-language blogosphere on Instagram through the lenses of the public sphere theory. The study revealed active cooperation of bloggers living in different countries during coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in March-April 2020. More than 4,000 Russian-speaking Instagram users commenting on posts became members of the networked publics because of this cooperation, the audience coverage of the most popular bloggers exceeded the threshold of one hundred thousand subscribers. Bloggers who initiated contributory publications on the situation with COVID-19 in their countries were points of crystallization of public discussions for people with migration experience, who are often excluded from the national public spheres of both their home countries and countries of residence. By inviting their subscribers to get acquainted with the situation in different countries, bloggers have formed a global arena that arises at the intersection of online public groups that have developed around bloggers. The main mechanism for creating such an arena is the cooperation of bloggers aimed at their own promotion and helping other bloggers in opposing the algorithms of the online platform. Collaboration in the form of a one-time publication of posts on the same topic, united by a unique hashtag and including direct links to bloggers from other countries, leads to the emergence of online ad hoc, or situational, global media in Russian. In the arena constituted by ad hoc media, Russian-speaking migrants living in different countries could discuss the measures that states were taking to defeat the pandemic. At the same time, this global networked public remains a “weak public” that has not transformed into a participatory counter-public sphere.

The aim is to explore political actorness of international internet-audience, describing networks as a political phenomenon, assessing relations within the international internet-community, defining internet-audience identity, and compiling global effects of international audience' s online activities. The research based on interpreting Latour's actor-network theory, the Habermas' theory of communicative action, and the theory of the political reality construction reveals that the international audience concept is simultaneously narrower than a mass audience and broader than a language community. Our findings indicate that the international internet-audience is a specific segment of politically engaged citizens supporting, generating, and disseminating political ideas in the network space, primarily in social networks, beyond national, linguistic, and ethnic borders. This content is represented in government officials' rhetoric, media coverage, public discourse of political actors and, thus, can reach a wider audience. Consequences of online activities can be found in both network forms of political participation (liking, sharing or commenting a political post; writing political content online; signing online petitions; contacting politicians and media online; donating), and in the local and global offline activities (picketing; participating in protest marches; membership in political organizations; volunteering; partaking in “colour-coded” revolutions). Parallel to conscious attempts of constructing international audience identity for solving foreign policy challenges citizens' self-identity is formed in the global political space. Together with horizontally integrated architecture of the internet-audience and relations based on partnership and trust between its members local, multicultural, international, cosmopolitan or transnational identity is developed.

The paper analyses content on socio-political topics published in contemporary Russian sociological journals: “Sociological Studies”, “Sociological Journal”, “Siberian Socium” and “Social Sciences and Humanities. Domestic and Foreign Literature. Series 11. Sociology”. The publications that were the subject of our interest were predominantly under the heading of political sociology and/or in thematically similar sections. Among the most discussed topics in the pages of the journals are the following: the domestic political agenda, primarily related to the manifestation of protest and civic activism of Russians; the role of individual political actors or institutions (state, Russian President, elite, youth, etc) in the socio-political transformations in the country; problems and outcomes of post-Soviet transformations; foreign policy issues (confrontation between Russia and Western countries, threats to national security), socio-political structure of other world powers. A small proportion of the studies in this segment focus on new concepts and theoretical and methodological approaches in political sociology, or on socio-political phenomena that have not yet been sufficiently explored. The thematic repertoire of journals depends on their genre peculiarity. General sociology journals are characterised by coverage of a wide range of political issues. In the journal “Siberian Socium”, as expected, there is a prevalence of works with a regional focus, but there are also some more general works. Abstract journal “Sociology”, due to its specificity, is primarily represented by secondary information and analytical materials (abstracts, literature reviews, book reviews), which as a rule are based on foreign-language sources of scientific literature.