Mapping trade and governance networks in West Africa

Chapter 3 discusses the methodological characteristics of social network analysis and its application to the study of the role of women in trade networks and the governance of women’s economic activities in West Africa. It shows that the analysis of social networks differs from that of value chains, usually used to visualise the phases of the process at which actors are integrated from raw materials to final product. Rather, social network analysis maps the ensemble of actors involved in an agricultural sector or in a type of public policy and measures their structural importance with respect to their attributes, such as gender or nationality. In recent years, social network analysis has seen a resurgence of interest amongst international organisations, progressively becoming a tool for public policy and a lever for local autonomy.