Intergroup Relations and Social Networks
We study how friendship, advice, support but also negative ties form within and between ethnic, cultural, and religious groups, and what that means for attitudes, identity, and belonging.
Social network analysis has become an increasingly influential lens for understanding intergroup relations across the social sciences. Drawing on both ego-centered and whole-network data, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies alike have consistently shown that social networks remain segregated along ethnic, cultural, and religious lines.
In recent years, novel applications of social network analysis have deepened our understanding of the processes underlying the emergence of intra- and intergroup ties, as well as their consequences — including intergroup attitudes, group identities, and group-related norms and behavior.
This research network brings together social network researchers working on theoretical, methodological, and empirical innovations that advance our understanding of the causes and consequences of intergroup relations in social networks.
Members
Click a name to read more about their research.
Meetings
The network gathers regularly to share ongoing work. Click a meeting for the full program.
Projects
Here are examples of some of the large-scale research projects about intergroup relations and social networks that are directed by members of the European Research Network. Click a project for a brief summary and a link to its own website.
Get Involved
The network organises symposia at two major social network conferences each year and welcomes researchers working on intergroup relations and social networks to present their work.
Sunbelt
The annual conference of the International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA) and the largest global gathering of social network researchers, spanning sociology, psychology, statistics, computer science, and beyond. Our network convenes a symposium on intergroup relations and social networks each year.
insna.org/events →EUSN
The main European venue for social network research, held biennially and endorsed by INSNA. EUSN 2026 takes place 11–15 August 2026 in Norrköping, Sweden, hosted by the Institute for Analytical Sociology at Linköping University. Our network organises a dedicated symposium on intergroup relations and social networks.
liu.se/en/event/eusn-2026 →Mailing List
Sign up for our mailing group to ask questions, distribute your work, and be informed about the network's activities.
groups.io/g/networks-intergrouprelations →Interested in presenting? If your research addresses the causes or consequences of intergroup relations in social networks — theoretical, methodological, or empirical — we invite you to submit to our symposium at Sunbelt or EUSN. Reach out to Tobias Stark to express your interest ahead of the relevant call for papers.
Publications
Peer-reviewed articles and books by network members since 2022, grouped by year and listed alphabetically by first author within each year. Network members are shown in bold.
This list covers peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and edited volumes. Preprints, working papers, datasets, and unpublished reports are not included; see individual member pages or Google Scholar for complete, up-to-date lists.