Complexity theory is compatible and is qualified to become a theoretical framework within IR to explain the diffusion and political impact of COVID-19 worldwide.
Complexity and chaos theory have been associated with modeling and literary fancy, but the suggestions explored here are based on the ethos of rugged practitioners.
Emilian Kavalski reflects on his approach to climate change, propounds the relevancy of ‘complexity thinking’ to IR, and discusses the current “power shift to the East”.
One of the peculiar challenges Complexity may present is that the nonlinearity and unpredictability it posits as being fundamental characteristics of complex systems are profoundly subversive of how we have traditionally understood policymaking. Complex adaptive systems are highly sensitive to initial conditions, as well as potentially subject to a variety of both positive and negative feedback loops, making outcomes unpredictable over the long term.
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