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2 - Complex Adaptive Systems

from Part I - Systems, Relations, Levels, and Explanations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2023

Jack Donnelly
Affiliation:
University of Denver
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Summary

The life sciences and social sciences typically study “complex adaptive systems:” nonlinear, self-organizing, adaptive, multilevel, multicomponent systems in which dense interconnections between elements produce irreducible/emergent systems effects. Systems and their components are partially (in)separable: they can be fully understood neither solely in terms of their parts (some outcomes are emergent) nor solely in terms of the whole (the character of the parts is essential to the nature of the whole). Important implications of a complex adaptive systems perspective for IR include a new view of international systems and their structures; a distinctive understanding of social continuity and social change; new perspectives on levels, theory, and explanation; new tools for comparative analysis; renewed attention to hierarchy; and a distinctive understanding of globalization.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Complex Adaptive Systems
  • Jack Donnelly, University of Denver
  • Book: Systems, Relations, and the Structures of International Societies
  • Online publication: 19 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009355193.003
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  • Complex Adaptive Systems
  • Jack Donnelly, University of Denver
  • Book: Systems, Relations, and the Structures of International Societies
  • Online publication: 19 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009355193.003
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Complex Adaptive Systems
  • Jack Donnelly, University of Denver
  • Book: Systems, Relations, and the Structures of International Societies
  • Online publication: 19 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009355193.003
Available formats
×