DOI
doi: 10.18278/jpcs.6.1.7

Summary
The article proposes a reconceptualization of International Relations (IR) theories in light of the advancements made by Complexity Science. The author criticizes traditional schools of thought (idealism, neorealism, rational choice-theory, etc.) claiming that their adherence to linearity allowed them to understand and analyze only a portion of the whole IR system. To overcome this issue, insights from Complexity Science are presented as “a bridge” able to establish a dialogue between these different conceptions of IR. This goal is achieved by presenting a new taxonomy describing the IR system from the perspective of Complex Science. The author clearly divides the different components of the international scenario (agents [people] and meta-agents [institutions, organizations]) and shows the intricacy of their relation, introducing concepts such as: fitness, adaptation, coevolution, self-organization, and information processing. What emerges from this research is that the international realm is highly complex system, only mildly organized

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
This article is very relevant for complex systems knowledge as it presents rather clearly how insights from Complexity Science can be successfully integrated in the analysis of the international system. The paper does not only present complex systems as a way to establish a dialogue between different perspectives in the field of IR, but it goes further by adopting it to establish a new method of analysis.

Point of Strength
- It presents a rather new conception of analysis for IR
- Its analysis is rather deep and it provides a rather clear and useful explanation of the different variables involved in international systems, as well as their interactions
- Finally, the paper presents also an interesting picture of the current debates of IR and a rather useful bibliography of studies adopting Complexity Science in IR.