Studying Networks Geographically: World Political Regionalization in the United Nations General Assembly (1985–2010)

Abstract

The author investigates the political regionalization process on a world scale. It is assumed that political actors must work increasingly often on a supranational basis, a constraint that explicable by the globalization process, understood not only—and not primarily—as an economic or financial phenomena but rather as the rise of global issues demanding a governance shift. The chapter begins with a brief overview of network analysis in geographical studies, where two main traditions exist: one focused on technical networks, the other on flows. The previous decade showed an increasing hybridization of methods from both social network analysis and complex networks studies. The author then presents the field of observation (the United Nations General Assembly—UNGA—from 1985 to 2010) and the methodological choices made. Network analysis appears relevant as decisions in the UNGA imply negotiations between actors. Because nearly all states are present at the UNGA, this institution allows one to observe patterns of cooperation on a world scale both dynamically and thematically. A variation of the CONCOR method (research of equivalence) for weighted matrices allows the author to map the geographical clusters revealed by voting positions. A second analysis examines patterns of speeches, considered as bipartite graph, and reveals the growing importance of regional groups at the UNGA. Lastly, theoretical models of cooperation among actors are proposed.