In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in the work of Gabriel Tarde. Arguably, the theories he proposed – and methodologies he imagined – constitute a radical break with established theories of the ontology of social structures. Taking its cue from this promise, this paper studies the logics that underpin the emergence of a particular male-dominated network of power (gubbslem in Swedish). Using a large data set from back- slapping patterns in the blogosphere coupled with ethnographic data, the text aims to show how the “becoming” of this network emanates from a myriad of infinitesimal processes, which cannot be reduced to being mere results of a certain social milieu. Following a general introduction to the project, section two and three will outline the theory and method proposed by Gabriel Tarde some hundred years ago. Here, the presentation will roughly follow Bruno Latour in his recent endeavour to align Tarde with contemporary sociology. Section four will discuss the method, and section five the results, of the research in question. The paper is concluded with some notes on the practical uses of this body of theory, and on the operationalisation of similar projects in the future.
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Tracing the infinitesimal in male networks of power