Systems Theory

Mark Bevir

The concept of a system is abstract. It can often be little more than a metaphor used to describe any complex set of parts that forms a larger whole. At its most abstract, the concept of a system is thus just a way of thinking about macrostructures in terms of the relations among their units; it analyzes objects in terms of their parts and the relations between these parts in an attempt to facilitate problem solving. This concept of a system appears in diverse academic subjects, including biology, chemistry, and engineering, as well as political theory. For example, some biologists think of human beings as a system composed of subsystems (such as the vital organs), each of which performs a process essential to the maintenance of the system as a whole. Systems theorists typically conceive of politics, and especially the state or governance, as a system composed of a series ...

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