Introduction
The peer-reviewed, open access journal Network Science (Cambridge University Press) is collaborating with the 2025 Political Networks and Computational Social Science Research Conference (PolNet-PaCSS) hosted by Harvard University and Northeastern University to put together a Special Collection (virtual special issue) of articles entitled Political Networks: New Trends & Directions.
This Special Collection aims to showcase how network analysis can illuminate fundamental questions across the discipline of political science. The collection will emphasize methodological innovation and empirical contribution, featuring research that demonstrates the unique analytical leverage provided by relational approaches to political phenomena. Rather than focusing on isolated political actors or institutional attributes, these studies will reveal how structural positions, relational patterns, and network dynamics shape political outcomes across diverse contexts - from individual behavior and organizational collaboration to systemic processes of conflict and cooperation. By bringing together a network lens with substantive political questions, this collection will demonstrate the continuing evolution of network science as a tool for understanding complex political systems. The diversity of approaches and applications represented we aim to publish in this collection - spanning behavioral analysis, institutional studies, and digital politics - will illustrate the broad applicability of network perspectives to political inquiry while contributing novel insights that advance both network science and political science scholarship.
We encourage submissions by authors interested in featuring their research in the collection. Network Science is indexed in Web of Science (2024 Impact Factor: 1.5; Q2 in Social Science - Interdisciplinary) and Scopus (2024 CiteScore: 3.0; Q2 in Social Sciences: Sociology and Political Science).
Domains
We invite submissions that apply relational methods to deepen our understanding of political dynamics, particularly those that leverage contemporary innovations in network analysis methods and data gathering techniques. Submissions may cover various domains, with a particular focus on:
- Conflict and Cooperation: Studies of alliance formation, diplomatic networks, or patterns of conflict and collaboration within and between political systems.
- Digital and Hybrid Networks: Research on how technological platforms, algorithms, and digital networks interact with traditional political structures and processes.
- Electoral and Legislative Processes: Network approaches to understanding campaign dynamics, legislative behavior, coalition formation, and representational relationships.
- Institutional and Organizational Networks: Analysis of networks among political institutions, interest groups, bureaucratic agencies, or other organizational actors that influence policy processes.
- Political Behavior and Public Opinion: Research examining how social networks shape individual political attitudes, participation, and decision-making across various social environments.
Timetable
The 2025 PolNet-PaCSS conference takes place on August 13-14, 2025. You can still register to attend on the website. Authors will receive initial feedback on their papers at the conference. To allow sufficient time to incorporate changes, the submission deadline for the Special Collection is:
- October 15, 2025.
Authors not participating in the conference are also able to submit to the Special Collection.
Network Science publishes on a continuous basis, so articles are published as soon as they are ready after acceptance. Earlier submissions therefore stand a better chance of earlier publication. All articles will be assembled into a specially curated collection dedicated to Political Networks: New Trends & Directions and will be cited in an editorial written after the collection's completion.
How to Submit
Authors should consult the Preparing your Materials section of the Network Science website for full guidance, but a quick guide follows:
- Network Science operates a double-blind review process so authors should prepare an anonymised manuscript and a title page;
- LaTeX and Overleaf templates are available for authors who wish to use them;
- We encourage authors to make replication materials available (see the journal's Research Transparency policy);
- Please remember to include a competing interest statement, funding statement and data availability statement in your title page;
- Submit using the NWS Manuscript Central site and select Political Networks: New Trends & Directions from the special issue question in the submission form.
Authors can contact the journal's Managing Editor via nws@cambridge.org with any questions about the submission process.
Equitable Open Access
Network Science publishes all articles on an open access (OA) basis: freely available to read and redistribute, under a Creative Commons license. There are no financial barriers for authors: any article if accepted after peer review will be published OA, irrespective of the author's funding situation or institution.
OA at Cambridge University Press (CUP) is funded through a mixture of sources:
- Most authors are covered by Transformative Agreements that CUP holds with over 2,000 institutions worldwide. If an article has a corresponding author based at one of these institutions, the cost of publishing OA s covered by the agreement.
- Authors who are not covered by these institutional agreements, but who have funding available from a grant or body that specifically budgets for OA publication are expected to pay an article processing charge (see APC level here). We recognise that a small minority of authors are in this position. The charge ONLY applies if the author specifically has funding for this purpose.
- Authors without Transformative Agreement or funding will be able to obtain a waiver after acceptance. Authors complete a waiver form and obtain a code that reduces the APC to zero in our system.
In summary, thanks to the extensive list of agreements - and the waiver processes for authors - there is no financial barrier to publication on an OA basis in Network Science. Authors should feel free to submit irrespective of where they are based and whether or not they have funding.
Guest Editors:
- Cassy Dorff, Associate Professor, Vanderbilt University
- Jared Edgerton, Assistant Professor, Pennsylvania State University
- David Lazer, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Comuter Sciences, Northeastern University, and Co-Director, NULab for Digital Humanities and Computational Social Science
- Shahryar Minhas, Associate Professor, Michigan State University