IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/fglcxx/v16y2015i2p104-122.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social network analysis and small group ‘dark’ networks: an analysis of the London bombers and the problem of ‘fuzzy’ boundaries

Author

Listed:
  • Morgan Burcher
  • Chad Whelan

Abstract

Social network analysis (SNA) is believed to be capable of revealing significant insights into crime and terror groups, including identifying important individuals and unique approaches to disruption. However, SNA has a number of theoretical and practical limitations, particularly when applied to ‘dark’ networks. While most analysts certainly acknowledge at least some of these limitations, we need to know more about their potential impact in a crime intelligence context. This article aims to go some way towards that end by placing greater scrutiny on the problem of ‘fuzzy boundaries’ when applied to small group networks. SNA is applied to the groups responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the 21 July 2005 attempted London bombings. The article concludes that while SNA is a valuable tool for understanding crime and terror groups, the age-old problem of fuzzy boundaries can have a profound impact on the analysis of small dynamic networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Morgan Burcher & Chad Whelan, 2015. "Social network analysis and small group ‘dark’ networks: an analysis of the London bombers and the problem of ‘fuzzy’ boundaries," Global Crime, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 104-122, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:fglcxx:v:16:y:2015:i:2:p:104-122
    DOI: 10.1080/17440572.2015.1005363
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/17440572.2015.1005363
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/17440572.2015.1005363?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David A. Bright & Jordan J. Delaney, 2013. "Evolution of a drug trafficking network: Mapping changes in network structure and function across time," Global Crime, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2-3), pages 238-260, May.
    2. Gisela Bichler & Aili Malm, 2013. "Small arms, big guns: a dynamic model of illicit market opportunity," Global Crime, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2-3), pages 261-286, May.
    3. Michael Kenney, 2007. "The Architecture of Drug Trafficking: Network Forms of Organisation in the Colombian Cocaine Trade," Global Crime, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 233-259, August.
    4. David Décary-Hétu & Benoit Dupont, 2012. "The social network of hackers," Global Crime, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 160-175, August.
    5. Christian Leuprecht & Kenneth Hall, 2013. "Networks as strategic repertoires: Functional differentiation among Al-Shabaab terror cells," Global Crime, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2-3), pages 287-310, May.
    6. Ferenc Jordan, 2008. "Predicting target selection by terrorists: a network analysis of the 2005 London underground attacks," International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(1/2), pages 206-214.
    7. Thomas J. Holt, 2013. "Exploring the social organisation and structure of stolen data markets," Global Crime, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2-3), pages 155-174, May.
    8. Kathleen M. Carley, 2006. "Destabilization of covert networks," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 51-66, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Annamaria Ficara & Francesco Curreri & Giacomo Fiumara & Pasquale De Meo & Antonio Liotta, 2022. "Covert Network Construction, Disruption, and Resilience: A Survey," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(16), pages 1-43, August.
    2. Julia Verdouw & Kathleen Flanagan, 2019. "‘I call it the dark side’: Stigma, social capital and social networks in a disadvantaged neighbourhood," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(16), pages 3375-3393, December.
    3. Édgar Solano González (Editor) & Manuela Losada Chavarro (Editor) & María Alejandra Osorio Alvis (Editor), 2022. "Investigación y judicialización de violaciones graves al derecho internacional humanitario. Tomo VI," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Derecho, number 1366.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Manzi, Deborah & Calderoni, Francesco, 2024. "The resilience of drug trafficking organizations: Simulating the impact of police arresting key roles," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    2. Alexandra-Maria Bocse, 0. "Hybrid transnational advocacy networks in environmental protection: banning the use of cyanide in European gold mining," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-19.
    3. Alexandra-Maria Bocse, 2021. "Hybrid transnational advocacy networks in environmental protection: banning the use of cyanide in European gold mining," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 285-303, June.
    4. Silve, Arthur & Verdier, Thierry, 2018. "A theory of regional conflict complexes," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 434-447.
    5. Gloria Hongyee Chan & T. Wing Lo & Gabriel Kwun-Wa Lee & Cherry Hau-Lin Tam, 2020. "Social Capital and Social Networks of Hidden Drug Abuse in Hong Kong," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-15, August.
    6. Lange, Juliane & Stahl, Florian & Vossen, Gottfried, 2016. "Datenmarktplätze in verschiedenen Forschungsdisziplinen: Eine Übersicht," Arbeitsberichte des Instituts für Wirtschaftsinformatik 138, University of Münster, Department of Information Systems.
    7. Lindelauf, R. & Borm, P.E.M. & Hamers, H.J.M., 2009. "Understanding Terrorist Network Topologies and Their Resilience Against Disruption," Discussion Paper 2009-85, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    8. Brandy L. Aven, 2015. "The Paradox of Corrupt Networks: An Analysis of Organizational Crime at Enron," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(4), pages 980-996, August.
    9. Dennis B. Desmond & David Lacey & Paul Salmon, 2019. "Evaluating cryptocurrency laundering as a complex socio-technical system," Journal of Money Laundering Control, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(3), pages 480-497, July.
    10. Terrill L. Frantz & Kathleen M. Carley, 2017. "Reporting a network’s most-central actor with a confidence level," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 301-312, June.
    11. Jesse Hammond, 2018. "Maps of mayhem," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 55(1), pages 32-46, January.
    12. Giovanni Immordino & Salvatore Piccolo & Paolo Roberti, 2018. "Criminal Networks, Market Externalities and Optimal Leniency," CSEF Working Papers 519, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    13. A. Fronzetti Colladon & E. Remondi, 2021. "Using social network analysis to prevent money laundering," Papers 2105.05793, arXiv.org.
    14. Szabolcs Mátyás & Endre Nyitrai, 2022. "Spatial Nature and Geographical Characteristics of Drug Crime in Hungary," Laws, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, December.
    15. Sara Jeza Alotaibi, 2022. "A New Internet of Things (IoT) Framework for Public Sectors," International Journal of Information Technology and Web Engineering (IJITWE), IGI Global, vol. 17(1), pages 1-15, January.
    16. Slim, Sadri, 2015. "Un modelo Mundell-Fleming con economía ilegal y lavado de dinero [Modeling illegal economy and money laundering: a Mundell-Fleming framework]," MPRA Paper 64675, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Virginie Masson & Kelsey Wilkins, 2013. "The Small World of 9/11 and the Implications for Network Dismantlement Strategies," School of Economics and Public Policy Working Papers 2013-08, University of Adelaide, School of Economics and Public Policy.
    18. Hübschle, Annette, 2015. "Economic sociology and opportunities for organized crime research," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 16(3), pages 38-41.
    19. David A. Bright & Catherine Greenhill & Alison Ritter & Carlo Morselli, 2015. "Networks within networks: using multiple link types to examine network structure and identify key actors in a drug trafficking operation," Global Crime, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 219-237, July.
    20. Kathleen M. Carley & Michael W. Bigrigg & Boubacar Diallo, 2012. "Data-to-model: a mixed initiative approach for rapid ethnographic assessment," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 300-327, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:fglcxx:v:16:y:2015:i:2:p:104-122. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/FGLC20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.