Networks in electoral behavior, as a part of political science, refers to the relevance of networks in forming citizens’ voting behavior at parliamentary, presidential or local elections. There are several theories emphasizing different factors which may shape citizens' voting behavior. Many influential theories ignore the possible influence of individuals' networks in forming vote choices and focus mainly on the effects of own political attitudes – such as party loyalties or party identification developed in childhood proposed by the Michigan model, or on the influence of rational calculations about the political parties’ ideological positions as proposed by spatial and valence theories. These theories offer models of electoral behavior in which individuals are not analyzed within their social networks and environments. In a more general context, some authors warn that the hypothesis testing done mainly based on sample surveys and focused on individuals’ attributes without looking at relational data (relations among individuals) seems to be a poor methodological instrument. However, models emphasizing the influence of individuals’ social networks in shaping their electoral choices have been also present in the literature from the very beginning. Theories emphasizing the relevance of networks There are three main (theoretical and empirical) approaches emphasizing the importance of networks in shaping electoral decisions: using surveys to measure actors’ (in this case voters’) attitudes (Columbia Studies), measuring collective patterns of social groups on an aggregate level as supplementary information (Contextual analysis) and focusing on interpersonal dynamics among individuals. Columbia Studies The relevance of networks in individuals' electoral choices was first identified by Lazarsfeld and his colleagues in The People's Choice: How the Voter Makes Up His Mind in a Presidential Campaign and in Voting: A Study of Opinion Formation in a Presidential Campaign. Their findings were mainly based on a survey gathered in 1940 in Erie County, Ohio and on a survey collected in 1948 in Elmira, New York. The model proposed by them is usually referred to as the model of Columbia Studies. Individuals' perception of the political world is conceptualized in network terms according to this model. The main argument of these books is that the interpersonal influence of their families, friends and co-workers form voters’ political views. Voters’ choices are shaped through interpersonal communication networks. These horizontal networks have a stronger effect on individuals’ political decisions than the opinions and viewpoints presented and framed in the media. Social categories – such as religion and class –