Complex Adaptive Systems

Abstract

▪ Abstract The study of complex adaptive systems, a subset of nonlinear dynamical systems, has recently become a major focus of interdisciplinary research in the social and natural sciences. Nonlinear systems are ubiquitous; as mathematician Stanislaw Ulam observed, to speak of “nonlinear science” is like calling zoology the study of “nonelephant animals” (quoted in Campbell et al. 1985 , p. 374). The initial phase of research on nonlinear systems focused on deterministic chaos, but more recent studies have investigated the properties of self-organizing systems or anti-chaos. For mathematicians and physicists, the biggest surprise is that complexity lurks within extremely simple systems. For biologists, it is the idea that natural selection is not the sole source of order in the biological world. In the social sciences, it is suggested that emergence—the idea that complex global patterns with new properties can emerge from local interactions—could have a comparable impact.

Occupation and Social Complexity

“…The pursuit of applying complexity theories to the vagaries of social dynamics will entail the cooperation of a contingent of interdisciplinary perspectives (Lansing, 2003;Stewart, 2001).…”

“…Research conducted in the fields of anthropology, sociology and the area of group studies provides a useful glimpse into the application of complexity science to social systems. First, an anthropological investigation hypothesized that the complexity principle of bottom-up organization was evidenced in Balinese farming practices that led to the development of complex irrigation networks supporting multiple communities (Lansing, 2003). It was argued by the author that irrigation networks linking multiple villages over great expanses of land emerged solely through the cooperation of local farmers.…”

Adaptive Governance of Social-Ecological Systems

“…Also, the human dimension reflects properties of complex adaptive systems, such as a diverse set of institutions and behaviors, local interactions between actors, and selective processes, that shape future social structures and dynamics (32)(33)(34)(35).…”

We adapt … but is it good or bad? Locating the political ecology and social-ecological systems debate in reindeer herding in the Swedish Sub-Arctic

“…This implies that analytical attention is shifted from the causal forces at work on individual system components -and the detailed implication of each local interaction -to the behavior of the system as a whole. Anthropologist Stephen Lansing points out that the resulting focus on global patterns at the system level, come at a cost: "The observer must usually give up the hope of understanding the workings of causation at the level of individual elements" (Lansing 2003(Lansing :1985. The SES approach's central tenet is that systems are characterized by constant change that is not understood by analyzing its components in isolation but rather by the relationship between building blocks (Rogers et al 2013).…”