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aligned with anti-democratic forces . Now I wonder if the EU should reconsider its expansion strategies in the light of complexity .
Caveats
Despite the highly original and interesting application of complexity approaches to the subject matter several caveats and questions are important to discuss .
Does a complexity perspective actually ������� plausible policy options ? Put another way , the degrees of freedom complexity approaches allow could mean that almost any hypothesis or interpretation may appear plausible . This could be a problem in the policy domain where , it would appear , at least some level of expert convergence and coherence is need to support significant policy actions at executive level . Put bluntly , if any analyst can claim that complexity supports their pet theory then what use is the framework ?
There is nothing in the book that could not be formulated and articulated ������� complexity concepts . Though I argue it would take many more words and be less generally accessible . This could mistakenly lead a reader , with no knowledge of complexity work , to think that the book ���� fall into the trap of superficial analogies .
Although the book is highly critical of existing Western policy approaches towards international development , the basic goal is not significantly questioned . Liberal internationalist values are generally seen as a good thing and taken on face value . This is an ideological position that I concur with . However , it can be argued that a complexity approach can just as easily ( perhaps ���� easily ) be used to support other positions such as Romantic , Organicist , or other thought 3 . In this sense , given the challenges Root identifies , it would have been interesting to see a more radical ideological re-orientation being presented as an option . Also perhaps more questioning of the reality behind Western liberal values as they have pertained to international relations would have been instructive . Without this , the reader may get the impression that Root is attempting to shore-up a rapidly declining stock . i . e . the idea that Liberal internationalism is what it claims to be .
In this view , it could be argued that the fundamental contribution of complexity approaches , at present , is as a tool of critique and inter-disciplinary communication rather than as a positive basis for new policy . This is not necessarily a negative but could be seen as a feature – as Root indicates in his conclusion . After all , since we do increasingly live in a world of divergent ideological and specialist camps , perhaps finding a basis for communication and critique , which cuts across these fissures , is no small achievement . From a Popperian point of view , refutation is the main mode of rational advance and as Root demonstrates the complexity approach can be used as a tool to bring down exuberant wrong-headed models and polices , ��� to steer us clear of the duel quagmires of Scientism and Historicism 4 .
The book covers a broad range of material based on detailed historical analysis covering varied regions and times . At times one gets the impression that too much was squeezed into a relatively slim volume ( 300 or so pages ). Obviously Root
3
Richard Bronk ( 2009 ). The Romantic Economist : Imagination in Economics . Cambridge University Press .
4
Karl Popper ( 1945 ). The Open Society and its Enemies . Vols . 1 & 2 , Routledge , London .
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