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Here, we propose and apply a methodology that overcomes this limitation and is able to find and characterize also the different possible unbalanced structures in signed networks. Applying our methodology to 24 empirical networks, from social-political, financial, and biological domains, we find that unbalanced mesoscale structures are prevalent in real-world networks, including cases with substantial balance at the microscale of triangles. In particular, we find that assortativity often prevails regardless of the interaction sign and that core-periphery structures are typical in online social networks. Our findings highlight the complexity of mesoscale relational structures, the importance of using computational methods that are a priori agnostic to specific patterns, and the importance of independently evaluating micro- and mesoscale predictions of social balance theory.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.aee5886","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T18:06:59Z","timestamp":1791569219000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34133\/aaas_crossmark","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mesoscale structures in signed networks"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0749-1204","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Wei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006 NSW, Australia."},{"name":"Centre for Complex Systems, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006 NSW, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6547-2015","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Olga","family":"Boichak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Art, Communication, and English, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006 NSW, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5596-3758","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Tristram J.","family":"Alexander","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Complex Systems, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006 NSW, Australia."},{"name":"School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006 NSW, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4505-0517","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Tiago P.","family":"Peixoto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Critical Computational Studies, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60629 Frankfurt am Main, Germany."},{"name":"Institute of Computer Science, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60629 Frankfurt am Main, Germany."},{"name":"IT:U Interdisciplinary Transformation University, 4040 Linz, Austria."},{"name":"Department of Network and Data Science, Central European University, 1100 Vienna, Austria."},{"name":"Complexity Science Hub, 1030 Vienna, Austria."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1932-3710","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Eduardo G.","family":"Altmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006 NSW, Australia."},{"name":"Centre for Complex Systems, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006 NSW, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"221","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"B. 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