weber
What is a social pattern? Rethinking a central social science term
Theory & Society Abstract The main aim of this article is to start a discussion of social pattern, a term that is commonly used in sociology but not specified or defined. The key question can be phrsociologicalconcept of social pattern may look like. A useful and theoretically solid concept of social pattern can in our view be constructed by basing it on Weber’s concept of social action. This means thatboththe behavior of the actorsandthe meaning these invest their behavior with must be taken into account. The article ends with a brief discussion of how to use the concept of social patterns in an effective way and what may endanger such a use.
Giulia Andrighetto
I am a senior researcher at Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden. I am also a senior researcher at the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies of the National Research Council of Italy in ).
Homophily and Insularity Dynamics in an Echo Chambers: Computational Models for the Study of the Conspiracy Subculture in Facebook
Social Indicators Research Abstract The research focuses on developing a computational model (agent-based) to describe and analyse the structure and evolution of a conspiracy bubble within Facebook. Thedescriptiveexperimental
Richard Bellamy: Taking Back Control: Why National Democracy Needs the EU, and the EU Needs National Democracy
Richard Bellamy, Professor of Political Science, UCL and Director of the Max Weber Programme, EUI. Visiting Professor at the University of Exeter. Abstract The muted popular support for, and certain faiI dispute this analysis. I argue that the EU’s role consists of supporting the democratic institutions of the member states, not least by enabling them to regulate their mutual interactions in non-dominating ways. From this perspective, the standard solution to the EU’s democratic deficit would create a domestic democratic deficit within each of the member states, one I contend democracy at the EU level would be unable to compensate for. Indeed, the current rise in Euro scepticism can be regarded as a product of this situation. By contrast, I suggest we conceive the EU as an association of democratic states, the decisions of which are under their joint and equal control. Drawing on the book, the talk will cover why such an arrangement is necessary, the norms that govern it, and the institutional framework required for it to work effectively and efficiently as well as equitably.
