Diane Hendricks has written a working paper that adds another piece of research to the exploration of how complexity theory might translate from the natural sciences to the social sciences. Her area of interest is in peace and conflict studies. Here is a paragraph from the Introduction: Complexity theory in the natural sciences has brought fresh insight into the nature and working of complex systems and some have hoped that applying this theory to social systems, albeit necessarily in an adapted form, could be equally revealing and useful. I confess to being among their number although the degree and extent of the usefulness and applicability of complexity in these areas is not yet clear to me. I am, however, convinced of the potential to, at the very least, facilitate a more realistic (i.e. closer to the reality of how the social world works) and open approach to analysis and action for change. This working paper is an exploration of ideas, opinions and attempts related to the application of complexity theory to the field of conflict transformation and some early reflections on these.
These are important explorations and we are only beginning to understand how complexity theory might apply. We need to carefully work through whether there is something of substance in this approach or whether it is a fad that turns out to lack real explanatory power for organizing and designing human institutions and the resulting interactions. I am, like Diane, optimistic that there is indeed significant fruitfulness in researching these applications.
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