Analyzing Radicalism Spread Using Agent-Based Social Simulation

Tasio Méndez, J. Fernando Sánchez-Rada, Carlos A. Iglesias & Paul Cummings (2019). Analyzing Radicalism Spread Using Agent-Based Social Simulation. In Danny Weyns, Viviana Mascardi & Alessandro Ricci (editors), Engineering Multi-Agent Systems 6th International Workshop, EMAS 2018 Stockholm, Sweden, July 14–15, 2018 Revised Selected Papers. Springer Verlag.

Abstract:
This work presents an agent-based model of radicalization growth based on social theories. The model aims at improving the understanding of the influence of social links on radicalism spread. The model consists of two main entities, a Network Model and an Agent Model. The Network Model updates the agent relationships based on proximity and homophily; it simulates information diffusion and updates the agents’ beliefs. The model has been evaluated and implemented in Python with the agent-based social simulator Soil. In addition, it has been evaluated through sensitivity analysis.