The Paradox of Elegance - A Very Short Introduction to the Topology of Complex Social Systems and the 'Small World'-Paradigm in the Realm of Law

摘要

This paper aims to follow up the proposal of the AISB'09 Convention organizers in order to promote the interchange of knowledge and methodologies between the "multi-agent systems"-analyses and the "social network" perspectives. The idea is, first of all, to summarise ten years of research on the "small world"-paradigm and to present the most recent work on the topology of complex legal systems. In light of the extraordinary discoveries achieved in this field, we then stress limits and open problems, both at theoretical and practical levels, of the new paradigm. Law seems, indeed, a good field in which scientists can deepen that fundamental interchange of knowledge and methodologies we need in the study of contemporary social systems.