Military Review English Edition November-December 2014 | Page 93

ENTANGLEMENT actor that may be connected along relational lines to other nodes based on a shared characteristic.29 Hubs are especially well-connected nodes when compared to the average number of connections of the other nodes in a particular network.30 Such powerful nodes demonstrate (or at least have potential to demonstrate) a disproportionate influence over other nodes.31 In another example, a broker is a node that serves as the single “go-between” or intermediary for other nodes.32 The geodesic distance between two nodes is the shortest path length—in other words, length is measured by how many other nodes separate the two. The shortest path may depict the most efficient routes for sending or receiving information between nodes. Generally, the greater the proportion of geodesic (short, direct) distances in a network, the more clustered and cohesive it is. The more cohesive, the more resilient it can be to attempts to disrupt communication or resource sharing among the nodes.33 A cut point is a node that, if removed from a network, would sever all connectivity between two or more nodes, like a keystone in an archway.34 Likewise, a bridge describes a relationship or tie that, if removed from a network, would sever the flow between two or more nodes or sections of the network.35 When applied to the social network existing in any particular military unit, these concepts (and their mathematical calculations, if more precision is needed) may provide leaders a lens through which to observe interactions among their personnel. When circumstances warrant, these concepts may provide solid footing on which to act preemptively with administrative mechanisms or to consider the RCM 306 factors more realistically. In other words, SNA would provide commanders with a means to “perform strategic analysis of organized [misconduct].”36 Additionally, seeing where, and to what extent, social networks exist among