TRANSITIONS BETWEEN POLITICAL REGIME TYPES IN THE 20TH CENTURY: UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL-SCIENCE DATA WITH COMPLEXITY SCIENCE

Karoline Wiesner (Personal webpage)

Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Potsdam, Germany
The science of complexity has its roots in physics and mathematics. Today it has developed into a discipline that contributes to all areas of science and, more recently, also to humanities. I will discuss the fundamental concepts of complexity and explain how they translate from natural to social systems. I will then explore the possibility of doing quantitative political science inspired by physics. I will present recent results obtained on transitions between political regime types.