This article examines the relevance of leading social science network theories for
the analysis of social relations in particular fields and as a guideline for
democratic planning practice. The first section explains the risks of using the
network metaphor in social science analysis: the confusion of normative and real
features of networks may lead to an abstract representation of institutional
structures and power relations and naïve expectancies regarding democratic
planning opportunities. The second section reviews institutional network theories in
social science. The survey focuses on: the ‘raison
d’Ítre’ of the network, the typical behaviour of its
agents, the types of communication, interaction with the environment and creation of
its own institutions. Section 3 examines how these network theories deal or do not
deal with power and suggests improving the theorizing of the role of power in
networks by providing a more solid reading of power relations in institutional
structures and personal relationships in networks. This solidity could be offered by
a combination of Regulation Theory and Bourdieu's theory of practice. The
final section provides some guidelines on how a better reading of institutional
structures and power relations may improve the impact of democratic planning.
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