Rethinking the International System as a Complex Adaptive System
In conclusion , decomposing a la Descartes is useful only if the deconstruction is orderly and descriptive of the agent actions that construct the international system . Hence , the purpose of a formal grammar is to conduct our thoughts , and modeling procedures , in a given order that is representative of the nonlinearity of the system , 8 with the aims being logical clarity and interoperability with the syntax of programming languages used for agent-based modeling ( ABM ).
The following sections serve to provide an overview of IR based on complex systems theory . The next three sections will individuate the generators of the international system , explain how these generators combine to yield together emergent behaviors , and infer what these emergent behaviors entail for the international system .
Generators : Agents and the Translevel Nature of International Relations
The concept of agent is instrumental and is used to identify the foundational building blocks of a CAS . Like any other building block , an agent is a generator whose properties and interactions give rise to aggregate behavior . Depending on the discipline , scholars tend to have different definitions of what an agent is ; however , there are a few common properties that can be traced among the scholarships .
8 This argument differs drastically from the Descartes ’ s view , which claims that the purpose for deconstruction is “ to conduct my thoughts in a given order , beginning with the simplest and most easily understood objects , and gradually ascending , as it were step by step , to the knowledge of the most complex ; and positing an order even on those which do not have a natural order of precedence ” ( Descartes , 1637 , p . 17 ).
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The first property of an agent is autonomy ( Macy & Willer , 2002 , p . 146 ). An agent , by definition , exists autonomously from the system . It possesses unique internal states and rules of behavior that allow him to operate autonomously with the environment and with other agents ( Epstein & Axtell , 1996 , p . 5 ). The second property is self-containment . An agent has to be bounded , identifiable , and discrete ( Macal & North , 2009 , p . 87 ). The third property is interdependence . Agents ’ internal states and rules of behavior are continuously evolving and adapting through interaction with other agents and the environment . Interdependence is also tied to the concepts of adaptation , coevolution , and fitness . Beyond these general properties , there is also a widespread consensus that agents should be adaptive , which means that they should change their internal stimulus-response rules based on a process of learning or evolution ( Macy & Willer , 2002 , p . 146 ).
Agents act , think , and process information autonomously based on their internal states and rules of behavior . Internal states are the attributes of an agent . Humans , for example , have many attributes that define them , such as genes , physical properties , economic preferences , political identity , wealth , and skills ( Epstein & Axtell , 1996 , p . 4 ). Rules of behavior are an assortment of simple stimulus-response rules that determine in which ways an “ agent can change the state of the environment ,