CHEMICAL ORGANIZATIONS IN A TOY MODEL OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

Peter Dittrich () and Lars Winter ()
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Peter Dittrich: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, D-07745 Jena, Germany
Lars Winter: Institute of Sociology, RWTH Aachen University, D-52062 Aachen, Germany

Advances in Complex Systems (ACS), 2008, vol. 11, issue 04, 609-627

Abstract: Because sociology is seeking mechanisms for explaining social phenomena, we discuss in this paper whether and how the metaphor of a chemical reaction network can be employed as a formal mechanism to describe social and political systems. A reaction network is a quite general concept that allows one to model a variety of dynamical systems. Furthermore, a set of powerful tools can infer potential dynamical properties from the network structure. Using a toy model of the political system inspired by Luhmann, we demonstrate how chemical organization theory can be applied and can give insight into the structure and dynamics of the resulting model. We show how chemical organization theory allows one to identify an overlapping hierarchy of important subsystems in these networks. Simulations reveal how this hierarchy constrains the potential dynamical behavior of the model.

Keywords: Social systems theory; modeling; socionics; chemical organization theory; simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1142/S0219525908001878

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