Network Collective Action: Agent-Based Models of Pandemics, Riots, Social Movements, Insurrections and Insurgencies

Collective action asks a fundamental question in social science: How do sets of actors
choose courses of action and work together to achieve desired outcomes, often in
opposition to other coalitions? Psychological and economic rationality explanations are
incomplete in emphasizing the mental decision processes of individuals. Collective
action must be understood at the level analysis of interpersonal and interorganizational
relations. Social network theories and methods provide optimal frameworks for
explaining collective action in a variety of settings. This book reviews theories and
empirical research on collective action in several substantive areas, demonstrates how
agent-based models can analyze collective action networks (pandemics, riots, social
movements, insurrections, insurgencies), and concludes with speculations about future
research directions.