Communicating Centrality in Policy Network Drawings

We introduce a network visualization technique that supports an analytical method applied in the social sciences. Policy network analysis is an approach to study policy making structures, processes, and outcomes, thereby concentrating on relations between policy actors. An important operational concept for the analysis of policy networks is the notion of centrality, i.e., the distinction of actors according to their importance in a relational structure. We integrate this measure in a layout model for networks by mapping structural to geometric centrality. Thus, centrality values and network data can be presented simultaneously and explored interactively.