The present paper examines the importance of integrating geographical effects into the analysis of social networks. Specifically, we study the impacts of spatial distance and territorial borders on information exchange within two European cross‐border regions where there is evidence of extensive cross‐border political interaction in the domain of public transportation. We use exponential random graph models to review how these spatial factors influence policy interaction. We show how the effect of distance on the exchange of information between organizations is less obvious than it seems at first sight, when we control for endogenous networks effects with which it tends to be confounded. We also explore moderating effects among the spatial factors studied and in particular how the effect of distance affects information exchange by territoriality. While the probability of interaction decreases with distance in the context of domestic ties, distance does not exert the same friction when it comes to cross‐border ties. These findings suggest that borders are not necessarily a barrier to interaction and that peripheral actors located in border regions may bridge distance in order to access strategic information they do not have access to within their territorial jurisdiction and is likely concentrated in foreign decision centers.

中文翻译：

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边界调节距离：政策互动空间效应的社会网络分析

本文探讨了将地理效应整合到社会网络分析中的重要性。具体而言，我们研究了空间距离和领土边界对两个欧洲跨境地区内信息交换的影响，在这两个地区，有证据表明在公共交通领域存在广泛的跨境政治互动。我们使用指数随机图模型来回顾这些空间因素如何影响政策互动。当我们控制易于混淆的内生网络效应时，我们展示了距离对组织之间信息交换的影响如何不如乍看之下那么明显。我们还探讨了所研究的空间因素之间的调节作用，尤其是距离的影响如何通过地域性影响信息交换。尽管在家庭关系中互动的可能性随着距离的增加而降低，但在跨境关系中，距离并不会产生相同的摩擦。这些发现表明，边界并不一定是互动的障碍，位于边界区域的外围行为体可能会拉开距离，以获取他们在其领土管辖范围内无法访问的战略信息，并且可能集中在外国决策中心。