Usage of Social Network Analysis (Sna) in Crisis Management

Abstract Social systems are complex structures that consist of different sub-systems. Therefore, understanding social systems is more difficult than comprehending electronic or mechanical systems. What makes social systems more complex than other systems is that society is not simply the sum of each individual in the society. In the current global system, the countries, which have become small villages, try to meet national security needs by converting the unknown to known and identifying the correlation among political, military, social and economic events. The current crisis management concepts are conducted through systematic approaches. Besides, the management of social, economic and political crises need to be conducted in a holistic approach covering all sub-systems. At this point, the function of Social Network Analysis (SNA) emerges. SNA, which forms the main subject of this paper, is a tool for examining the structure of a crisis through correlating the sub-elements. The aim of this study is to show how SNA can be used in crisis management. First, SNA is performed on a generic crisis situation and the results are presented. Then, the additional critical data requirements are put forward to manage the crisis effectively.