Despite a growing recognition of the importance of insurgent group structure on conflict outcomes, there is very little empirical research thereon. Though this problem is rooted in the inaccessibility of data on militant group structure, insurgents frequently publish large volumes of image data on the internet. In this paper, I develop a new methodology that leverages this abundant but underutilized source of data by automating the creation of a social network graph based on co-appearance in photographs using deep learning. Using a trove of 19,115 obituary images published online by the PKK, a Kurdish militant group in Turkey, I demonstrate that an individual's centrality in the resulting co-appearance network is closely correlated with their rank in the insurgent group.
翻译:尽管人们日益认识到叛乱团体结构对冲突结果的重要性,但对冲突结果却很少进行经验性研究。虽然这个问题的根源在于无法获得关于好战团体结构的数据,但叛乱分子经常在互联网上公布大量图像数据。在本文中,我开发了一种新的方法,利用这一丰富但利用不足的数据来源,利用深刻的学习,在照片中共同出现的基础上,将社会网络图的创建自动化。我使用土耳其库尔德激进团体库尔德工人党在线发表的19 115张纪念图像,表明一个人在由此形成的共同存在网络中的核心地位与其在叛乱团体中的级别密切相关。