A synthesis and afterword: Handbook of Social Networks and the Environment

Meaningful progress toward a sustainable future requires new strategies to manage the intricate social and social-ecological interdependencies that define our world today. In this concluding chapter of our edited volume Handbook of Social Networks and the Environment, we synthesize some key insights from this collection that demonstrate how a network perspective can advance this agenda and discuss the challenges of studying networks, including intense data needs and data interdependencies. We argue that further methodological developments and mixed-method approaches are needed to enrich our understanding of structure-process feedback mechanisms and the dynamics of social ties across contexts, and that research needs to extend beyond affective or positive ties to also consider negative ties.

We conclude with a call for further exploration of network comparisons and the interplay between diverse types of relationships. Ultimately, we hope that the chapters in this volume further encourage researchers to contribute to this burgeoning field by identifying gaps, employing robust theoretical foundations, and considering practical applications of network analysis in environmental governance and sustainability.