Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: We develop an endogenous approach to the practice of denunciation, as an alternative to exogenous historical and sociological accounts. It analyzes denunciation as a response to increasing pressure, which in turn increases pressure on social contacts. The research context is the trial of Waldensians in Giaveno, Italy, in 1335, headed by the inquisitor Alberto de Castellario. A dynamic network actor model attests that coercive pressure not only raises the rate of denunciation but also compels denouncers to implicate individuals who are socially closer to them. We find that coercive pressure starts yielding diminishing returns relatively quickly, with the degree of redundancy of information escalating as a result of preferential attachment, increasingly targeting those already denounced by others, publicly announced suspects, and those having absconded from the trial.
Source: PNAS Nexus
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,202
Awards: G2292762363, Social networks, fertility and wellbeing in ageing populations: Building demographic resilience in Finland (NetResilience), Social networks, fertility and wellbeing in ageing populations: Building demographic resilience in Finland (NetResilience), G434337789, Social networks, fertility and wellbeing in ageing populations: Building demographic resilience in Finland (NetResilience), A Spatial-Relational Approach to the Dynamics of Social Control: Repression and Resistance (DyCont)
OpenAlex ID: W4401726611