Quantifying Global Networks of Exchange through the Louvain Method
Provides a novel quantitative framework for policymakers to understand global inter-country relationships based on legislative reports.
Analyzed 2,010 CRS reports (1996–2024) to build a network of 172 countries and 4,137 shared interests, using the Louvain method to identify communities and eigenvector centrality to measure influence. Results aim to improve evidence sourcing for policy analysis.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports provide detailed analyses of major policy issues to members of the US Congress. We extract and analyze data from 2,010 CRS reports written between 1996 and 2024 to quantify inter-country relationships, representing 172 countries as nodes and 4,137 shared interests as edges within a weighted, bidirectional network. Through the Louvain method, we extract non-overlapping communities from our network and identify clusters with shared interests. We then compute the eigenvector centrality of countries to highlight their network influence. The results of this work could enable improvements in sourcing evidence for analytic products and understanding the connectivity of our world.