Abstract. -Many real systems are made of strongly interacting networks, with profound consequences on their dynamics. Here, we consider the case of two interacting social networks and, in the context of a simple model, we address the case of political elections. Each network represents a competing party and every agent, on the election day, can choose to be either active in one of the two networks (vote for the corresponding party) or to be inactive in both (not vote). The opinion dynamics during the election campaign is described through a simulated annealing algorithm. We find that for a large region of the parameter space the result of the competition between the two parties allows for the existence of pluralism in the society, where both parties have a finite share of the votes. The central result is that a densely connected social network is key for the final victory of a party. However, small committed minorities can play a crucial role, and even reverse the election outcome. Introduction. -Interacting and interdependent networks have recently attracted great attention [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] . Here, the function of a node in one network depends on the operational level of the nodes it is dependent on in the other networks. Investigated examples range from infrastructure networks as the power-grid and the Internet [1] to interacting biological networks in physiology [10] . Understanding how critical phenomena [11, 12] are affected by the presence of interactions or interdependent networks is crucial to control and monitor the dynamics of and on complex systems. In this context it was shown that interdependent networks are more fragile than single networks, and that the percolation transitions can be first order [1] .
Halu et al. REF consider two interacting social networks, and hence study the case of political elections using simulations.
Connect and win: The role of social networks in political elections
EPL 102 (2013) 16002
Physics Computer Science