Policy and Complex Systems
This completes the initial overview of the scope of the problem of genocide as viewed from the system level . However , any study of a human social system will include nonlinearity by default . This research narrows its focus on the problem through the lens of complexity theory , using the causal loop diagram of the system to determine an optimal starting point .
Agent-Level View
A complex system is one composed of interacting parts in which those interactions sometimes lead to non-linear , emergent , system-level properties . When examining such systems , the researcher must select an appropriate level of granularity . In the case of genocide , one could model only the internal psychological nuances of an individual person in the face of extremism , and at the other end of the granularity spectrum , one could model the dynamics of states as they interact with other states . Regardless of the frame of reference , local interactions are the primary focus in the study of a complex system . Emergent properties are a critical observation , but understanding their causes requires a thorough grasp of micro-level interactions and dynamics .
Genocide emerges from a system of people interacting with other people . The system-level view as shown in Figure 1 informs the next step , which is an implementation of an ABM . In this case , the system could be anything from a nationstate to a local population of a village , but the more important point of focus is on the nature of human interactions .
Figure 2 shows the inner feedback loops of the diagram in Figure 1 . This section of the diagram helps visualize a very basic set of dynamic interactions and effects . The ABM implemented in this research simulates the dynamics between elite and civilian actors with respect to ideology and compliance in order to understand genocide ’ s lowest level origins .
Figure 2 . Focal points for an ABM .
37