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Why Do Societies Collapse?

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  • Gregory G. Brunk

Abstract

The oldest answered question in the social sciences is ‘Why do societies collapse?’. I advance a theory of the collapse of societies that is based on self-organized criticality, which is a nonlinear process that produces sudden shifts and fractal patterns in historical time series. More generally, I conjecture that weak, self-organized criticality is ubiquitous in human systems. If this conjecture is correct, it would not only explain the source of total societal collapses but the pattern of most other sorts of human calamities and even the frequency distribution of many mundane day-to-day events.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregory G. Brunk, 2002. "Why Do Societies Collapse?," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 14(2), pages 195-230, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jothpo:v:14:y:2002:i:2:p:195-230
    DOI: 10.1177/095169280201400203
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    References listed on IDEAS

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