The 32 authors who have contributed to this book's 16 chapters include military experts, political scientists, psychologists, economists, sociologists, and complexity scientists. Their objective is to show how concepts from the sciences of complex adaptive systems can be applied to modern geopolitical problems such as terrorism, insurgency, and ethnic and regional violence-in terms of the title, to build a bridge between "conflict and complexity." There is no lack of modern literature analyzing conflict with geopolitical, psychological, and sociological tools, and the study of complex adaptive systems has enjoyed deep attention for three decades. The volume seeks to show that the latter set of tools can provide a powerful new perspective on the former set of problems. As a member of the complex adaptive systems research community, I am inclined to believe this claim, and would welcome an integrated and persuasive statement of the case. Unfortunately, this book is an uneven response to this need.
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