Usages comparés de la notion de réseau

Abstract

What can the comparative use of the notion of network teach us, when it is applied to such a variety of fields in collective action? The objective of the article is dedicated to answer that question, through the synthesis of the analyses previously presented and with a more theoretical reflexion on the uses of that notion. The author highlights possible pitfalls as well as reflexive approaches which can help construct the «unconsolidated» uses of what must be considered as the contemporary dominant model of collective action. Four main lines of comparison are then explored in order to test the very interest of the notion: what members share, sociability networks versus modes of collective action, morphology models (internal structure), and critical analysis of the adjectives generally used to define that notion. Eventually the author focuses on an analytical specificity: the network as an interface and the difficulty to clearly distinguish the interior and exterior of networks because of the fluctuating borders of the analysed «collective».

Keywords

• collective action
• comparison
• social network
• methodological analysis