CENTREPEACE Organized the Workshop Introduction to Social Network Analysis in R

From June 22 to 26, 2026, the CENTREPEACE project organized a workshop titled Introduction to Social Network Analysis in R at the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University. The five-day program was primarily intended for PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and scholars in the social sciences who were interested in exploring the use of social network analysis in their research.

The workshop was led by Tomáš Diviák from the University of Manchester, Lukáš Lehotský from Masaryk University, Tomáš Lintner from Masaryk University and the University of Manchester, and Petr Ocelík from Masaryk University. The program was designed to be accessible even to participants without prior experience with the R programming environment or Social Network Analysis.

At the beginning, participants were introduced to the basic logic of the network perspective and why relationships between actors are important for understanding social and political processes. The workshop then focused on working in R and RStudio, which enabled participants to prepare, analyze, and visualize relational data within a single environment.

Further parts of the program covered key concepts of social network analysis, such as different types of networks, connectivity, cohesion, and centrality. These tools can be useful, for example, in the study of international relations, security communities, diplomatic networks, or alliances, as they help to better understand how actors are connected and who holds important positions within a network.

During the workshop, participants also addressed issues related to research design, working with actor attributes, and data collection strategies. The program thus emphasized not only the technical aspects of analysis but also how to formulate research questions, select appropriate data, and interpret results in relation to theoretical assumptions.

More advanced sections of the workshop focused on inferential approaches in social network analysis, including methods that allow researchers to examine what influences the formation of relationships between actors. Participants thus gained insight into how network analysis can be used not only to describe relationships but also to explain their emergence and transformation.

The final day was dedicated to participants’ own projects. They had the opportunity to present their research questions, datasets, or project ideas and receive feedback on their feasibility, strengths, and limitations. The workshop thus connected methodological training with the concrete research needs of the participants.

The workshop Introduction to Social Network Analysis in R contributed to the development of methodological skills among early-career researchers and demonstrated how network methods can help in studying complex social, political, and security phenomena. At the same time, it supported one of the main goals of the CENTREPEACE project – strengthening research capacities and creating space for sharing expertise across the academic community.