Abstract
This paper considers the frequency-size statistics of wars. Using several alternative measures of the intensity of a war in terms of battle deaths, we find a fractal (power-law) dependence of number on intensity. We show that the frequency-size dependence of forest fires is essentially identical to that of wars. The forest-fire model provides a basis for understanding the distribution of forest firest in terms of self-organized criticality. We extend the analogy to wars in terms of the initial ignition (outbreak of war) and its spread to a group of metastable countries.
Keywords
Self-organized criticalityCriticalityAnalogyFractalBattleStatistical physicsIntensity (physics)MetastabilityDistribution (mathematics)EconometricsStatisticsMathematicsPhysicsHistoryNuclear physicsMathematical analysisEpistemology
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Publication Info
- Year
- 1998
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 06
- Issue
- 04
- Pages
- 351-357
- Citations
- 166
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
David Roberts,
Donald L. Turcotte
(1998).
Fractality and Self-Organized Criticality of Wars.
Fractals
, 06
(04)
, 351-357.
https://doi.org/10.1142/s0218348x98000407
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1142/s0218348x98000407