Complex Adaptive Systems in a Contentious World

This article is about developing and implementing interventions that are systemically viable in a world that is constantly evolving. Geopolitical and economic forces, environmental stressors, and the weaponization of information confront us with an unprecedented level of complexity, requiring new ways of seeing and being when intervening in conflictual situations. I draw on the Complex Adaptive Systems paradigm to explore how world order emerges from the dynamics of network relationships between the players in the cyber-social landscape. This treatment elaborates on mechanisms underpinning resilience, adaptation, and transformation of socioeconomic systems in turbulent contexts. It emphasizes a need to reconsider conventional logics and mindsets. In its final analysis the article suggests that world leaders need to choose whether to persist in defending the international rule-based order or to embrace network thinking and create conditions under which each country can find a sustainable niche in a global ecosystem