IS INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AN OPTIMAL SURVIVAL STRATEGY?: A COMPLEX ADAPTIVE MODEL

Abstract

This paper shows the emergence of strategies as a natural result of the seemingly competitive (selfish) actions of countries all over the world. It is posited that in the long term, the natural instinct of social atoms to dominate and accumulate wealth through competition will eventually prevail. At this stage, Darwin’s evolutionary principle of natural selection (survival of the fittest) will begin to take over the process. The study utilized the simulation model of Artificial World Creation made popular for use in the analysis of Complex Adaptive Systems. A Complex Adaptive System is a system consisting of multiple elements, each possessing a characteristic and interacting with other elements in the system. Through these interactions, the elements learn or adapt and change their strategies to maximize benefits for themselves. The particular model used in this study is the Cooperation Model. Results revealed that cooperation is not always the best strategic action that nations in the international community can adopt to maximize benefits for themselves. Cooperation is optimal when the global resources available are low and limited. However, under a high resource availability regime, competition appears to be the better choice of strategic action.