Mapping out Elite Networks: Methods and Application to German Political and Economic Elites between 2013 and 2023

We propose a scalable and interpretable method for constructing social networks between elites across diverse arenas. The method decomposes the construction of elite social networks into three steps: a) identifying elites in respective arenas, b) choosing the media that encode interactions among elites, c) decoding the media to measure elite connections. The method complements existing network data collection methods, such as via interviews or archives, which can be challenging to apply at scale in the study of ever-evolving elite politics. We apply this method to construct social networks between political and economic elites in Germany between 2013 and 2023. We report on work in progress that validate and explore the media-based measures of elite connections.