The global interorganizational network before and during a global pandemic

In a study published at the Social Networks journal with Ryan Federo, we explored the structural characteristics of the global interorganizational network (GIN)—comprising multinational companies (MNCs), intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs)—before and during a global pandemic (i.e. COVID-19).

The main takeaway of this research is to demonstrate how to capture and analyze the global interorganizational network by using media-reported events extracted from big data compiled by the GDELT project and the Goldstein Scale.

You can access the open dataset we extracted from GDELT in here, which we used in our network analysis.

The interactive network graphs

Here are the visual representations of the network that emerged from our analysis. The following two graphs are the interactive network graphs of the GIN before and during COVID-19, respectively. You can freely identify the organizations constituting the network by hovering the pointer over the nodes. The circles (nodes) in orange are MNCs; blue are IGOs; and gray are NGOs. The lines (edges) in green are on average cooperative interactions  between the nodes, while those in red are conflictive ones.

Before the pandemic

During the pandemic

The degree of coreness in the network

The following graphs show the degree of coreness in the network.

Before the pandemic

During the pandemic

Sub-groups

The next graphs display the sub-groups formed in the network.

Before the pandemic

During the pandemic

Ultimately, our multi-level analysis of the network allowed us to conclude that the GIN is simultaneously characterized by fragmentation, polycentricity, and complexity. Interestingly, we find that this network is highly concentrated on the usual suspects and the actors forming the network behave differently before and during COVID-19.

For more details about this research get the open-access article:
Federo, R., & Bustamante, X. 2022 The ties that bind global governance: Using media-reported events to disentangle the global interorganizational network in a global pandemic
Social Networks, 70, 253-266.