Globalization and Fragility

In the first chapter of this section, produced by the editors of this volume, we sought to combine concepts from our study of complexity science, globalization, and systemic risk with our work within this scholarly collaboration on historical collapse. Viewing historical societies through the lens of systems theory and complexity, we analyze how social systems reflect the structure and dynamics of complex adaptive systems. In this way, a complex society can be seen as an interdependent and interactive system-of-systems—economic, financial, agricultural, water, energy, and transportation, among others—each adding a layer of complexity and fragility. Drawing on insights of systemic risk from multiple disciplines, we discuss systemic properties and phenomena that contribute to a society’s downfall or ability to withstand shocks and recover from failure. Mindful of the prospect of a modern collapse, we believe that applying systems theory to past collapses will be relevant to understanding the fragilities within our increasingly interdependent, technologically advanced, and complex global systems.