SNA All-Star: David Knoke

Dr. David Knoke holds a PhD in Sociology and Social Work from the University of Michigan and is currently a Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota. His research and teaching covers a wide range of social, including intra- and interorganizational, health care, economic, financial, terrorist and counterterror networks.

Dr. Knoke is widely published in the field of Social Network Analysis and his many books and articles reflect his diverse interest areas. Recent works include Economic Networks (2012, Cambridge: Polity Press), which was named by Choice magazine as one of its ‘Outstanding Academic Titles, 2013’ and “’It Takes a Network’: The Rise and Fall of Social Network Analysis in U.S. Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine” (Connections, 33:1-10, 2013).

The latter examines the presence of social network analysis in military doctrine and practices, in particular its influence on the U.S. Army’s counterinsurgency (COIN) doctrine that was applied in both Afghanistan and Iraq.  While the doctrine had some success in Iraq, its application in Afghanistan failed to defeat the Taliban insurgency. Dr. Knoke points out the failure by the military and intelligence community to institutionalize the new COIN doctrine and its SNA methods following the initial success in Iraq and highlights the gap that currently exists within the military for personnel with network analysis skills and training.