Complex Systems Theory and Development Practice: Understanding Non-linear Realities

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Zed Books, 2002 - 280 pages
Here, for the first time, development studies encounters the set of ideas popularly known as 'Chaos Theory'. Samir Rihani applies to the processes of economic development, ideas from complex adaptive systems like uncertainty, complexity, and unpredictability. Rihani examines various aspects of the development process - including the World Bank, debt, and the struggle against poverty - and demonstrates the limitations of fundamentally linear thinking in an essentially non-linear world.
 

Contents

ONE THE WHOLE CASE IN A NUTSHELL
1
TWO A FALSE SENSE OF ORDER
18
THREE ANCIENT ROOTS TO MODERN IDEOLOGIES
46
FOUR DAWN OF THE PROBABILISTIC
65
FIVE LINEAR RECIPES FOR A COMPLEX WORLD
108
SIX THE WEALTH AND POVERTY OF NATIONS
141
SEVEN FREEDOM TO INTERACT
164
EIGHT CAPABILITY TO INTERACT
186
NINE CONFLICT AND INCAPABILITY
214
TEN AGENDA FOR A NEW PARADIGM
232
REFERENCES
264
INDEX
271
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About the author (2002)

Dr Samir Rihani is Senior Research Fellow, School of Politics and Communication Studies at the University of Liverpool. He is a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers and of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. His long and varied career both in Britain and abroad has included lecturing, consultancy and public service. Since 1992 he has been Managing Director of EPHOR Consultants Ltd. A former Chief Executive of the Merseyside Tourism Board, he is currently a Non-Executive Director of Liverpool Women's Hospital NHS Trust. His doctorate in development studies is from the University of Liverpool and, since January 2000, he has been Joint Editor (with Dr Robert Geyer) of the social-science-forum.org website.

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