Opinion dynamics on coevolving networks

Abstract

This chapter is devoted to the analysis of some coevolving models for opinion formation that have been extensively studied in the literature. These models are grouped into two main classes: voter models and threshold models. The intrinsic dynamics of these models on static or very slowly varying topologies leads to coarsening and eventually to global order, if no interaction constraints are present. Moreover, the addition of some kind of link dynamics, in the form of removal or rewiring of connections, induces the appearance of new macroscopic patterns, such as stable or metastable coexistence of opinions, or the fragmentation of the network in communities.