The Logic of International Interaction

TLDR: In this article, the authors point out that the production of inadvertent consequences on the present scale makes management and guidance of the international system increasingly difficult, and the system may therefore be moving into an entropic or disorder crisis.

Abstract: The growth of interaction and complexity represents a long-term trend in the international system and is a potent source of system consequences. As the amount of interaction increases, so does the number of difficult system problems, the number of requisites that must be satisfied if the system is to keep functioning, and, therefore, the fragility of the system itself. As interaction and complexity increase, so, too, does the production of inadvertent consequences, which result from both purposeful actions and apurposive processes. The production of inadvertent consequences on the present scale makes management and guidance of the international system increasingly difficult, and the system may therefore be said to be moving into an entropic or disorder crisis. The analysis points toward improving management capacity to the extent possible and toward slowing the rate of growth of interaction.