War, hypercomplexity and computer simulation

Abstract

AbstractThe scientific study of war has not yet shown any indication of a major breakthrough. For such a breakthrough to materialize it is paramount to approach the war phenomenon from a dynamic systems perspective. Perceived from this angle, war is placed in both an evolutionary and systems point of view, specifically implying a vision of war as one aspect of the international political process, connected in various ways with other injurious forms of interaction as serious disputes and low level conflict behavior, but also supportive behavior like trade and co‐operation. War constitutes a ‘normal’ event: no less than other social phenomena, it is the result of different over‐time conjunctures of common underlying behavioral mechanisms and resulting processes of interaction occurring within the higher level system's structure. In view of the ‘hypercomplex’ nature of the concerned dynamics, the development of computer (simulation) models will become essential in the study of war and peace.