Dynamic Network Analysis and the Study of Dark Networks: Assessing the Effects of Changes in British Counterterrorism Policy on Radical Islamist Networks in the UK, 1999–2008

Network analysis is growing in popularity as an empirical method in political science. As with any novel method, early applications can reveal a range of promises and pitfalls. This article examines the use of dynamic network analysis in Horne and Bestvater’s article, “Assessing the Effects of Changes in British Counterterrorism Policy on Radical Islamist Networks in the UK, 1999–2008.” As a computational form of network analysis, special attention is given to definitions and concepts in network analysis, the appropriate uses and limitations of dynamic network analysis, the process of constructing and analyzing computational networks, lessons learned from a multi-year research project, and the method’s unique promise as a tool for counterterrorism policy evaluation.