Establishing norms with metanorms in distributed computational systems

Norms provide a valuable mechanism for establishing coherent cooperative behaviour in decentralised systems in which there is no central authority. One of the most influential formulations of norm emergence was proposed by Axelrod (Am Political Sci Rev 80(4):1095–1111, 1986). This paper provides an empirical analysis of aspects of Axelrod’s approach, by exploring some of the key assumptions made in previous evaluations of the model. We explore the dynamics of norm emergence and the occurrence of norm collapse when applying the model over extended durations . It is this phenomenon of norm collapse that can motivate the emergence of a central authority to enforce laws and so preserve the norms, rather than relying on individuals to punish defection. Our findings identify characteristics that significantly influence norm establishment using Axelrod’s formulation, but are likely to be of importance for norm establishment more generally. Moreover, Axelrod’s model suffers from significant limitations in assuming that private strategies of individuals are available to others, and that agents are omniscient in being aware of all norm violations and punishments. Because this is an unreasonable expectation , the approach does not lend itself to modelling real-world systems such as online networks or electronic markets. In response, the paper proposes alternatives to Axelrod’s model, by replacing the evolutionary approach, enabling agents to learn, and by restricting the metapunishment of agents to cases where the original defection is observed, in order to be able to apply the model to real-world domains . This work can also help explain the formation of a “social contract” to legitimate enforcement by a central authority

Trust and Development : The Deep Structure of Institutions-Building and Socio-Economic Performance

This thesis tries to establish first a comprehensive and realistic theoretical system in which trust changes, and then explores different interesting issues using different methods like comparison analysis, econometric analysis and agent-based modeling. The theoretical system restored in this thesis integrates a series of realistic factors in socio-economic environment besides trust, like information, social learning, network, institutions, geographical mobility and so on, and covers gradually increasing levels from individual thoughts and behavior, to interactions, to networks, and to multi-networks. The underlying logic of linking those realistic factors is: Trust, especially its change, is subject to the perception of trustworthiness. Information reflecting trustworthiness plays a decisive role in trust changing. Not conforming to institutions is an important embodiment of untrustworthiness, and is therefore a significant factor causing distrust. Moreover, trustworthiness per se is an institution. Information process and social learning process overlap to a substantial degree. Ways of acquiring information coincide with that of social learning. Through social learning, behavior can directly be acquired (such as, trustworthy behavior), which makes social learning play an important role in nurturing institution-conforming behavior. What is more, social learning can also change thoughts (such as, change cognition to social environments), and then guides conscious behavior (such as, to trust according to trustworthiness). Information functions through personal psychology eventually. Social networks are where information is acquired, social learning is going on, behavior is output and information is diffused subsequently. Geographical mobility changes individual local interaction network. This thesis contains six sections in total: an introduction and 5 chapters. Chapter 1 is the theoretical part of this thesis. It integrates the factors of trust, information, social learning, network, institutions, geographical mobility, etc. guided by the logic stated above, and basically unfolds along the line of individuals, interactions, networks and multi-networks. It can be viewed as composed of three big plates: first, basics of trust; second, trust and trustworthiness per se; third, other factors mentioned above (namely, information, social learning, network, institutions, geographical mobility) constituting the realistic system where trust changes. Besides, several effects of (dis)trust on economic transactions are discussed in detail. Chapter 2 compares or contrasts or presents several socio-economic aspects of China and three Scandinavian countries - Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The selected socio-economic aspects for comparison or presentation include population, network structures, welfare, equality, geographical mobility, social capital, trust, public security, performance of labor market, and economic growth. Not only the possible logic between these aspects and trust (except trust per se) is explained; rich corresponding data of each aspect of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and China is also presented for a relatively comprehensive understanding of the four countries. Chapter 3 quantitatively, empirically explores the impact of others' norm-conforming behavior, others' opinion and geographical mobility on individual general trust using micro data from Chinese General Social Survey 2013 and the provincial data from the Sixth National Population Census of P.R. China. The empirical research proves evidence for the significant impact of others' norm-conforming behavior, similarity degree of opinion with others and individual geographical mobility on general trust. Chapter 4 explores the evolution of interaction and cooperation, supported by individuals' changing, information-driven trust and trustworthiness respectively, on a directed weighted regular ring using agent-based modeling. Under the experimental design and parameter values selection in this chapter, basically as degree of embeddedness in social network, proportion of high trust agents and probability of information diffusion in neighbors increase and as mutation probability of payoff matrix, conflict of mutated payoff matrix and probability of information diffusion in non-neighbors decrease, simulation performs better. Chapter 5 summarizes and concludes

The evolution of cooperation between the European community and East Asia

This thesis focuses on the problem of cooperation within the international political economy, with special reference to the European Union's relations with key partners in East Asia. In pursuing this focus, the thesis probes a number of central issues in international cooperation, which thus far have not been applied in detail to inter-regional cooperation. In particular, the argument focuses on the reasons for cooperation and defection, the balance between material interests, institutions and ideas in shaping cooperation, and the shifting balance between bilateral and multilateral modes of cooperation. This research makes use of three bodies of conceptual literature related to IPE and interregionalism. It firstly makes use of existing thoughts on cooperation inherent in modern IPE theory, especially with regard to neorealism, neoliberal institutionalism, and social constructivism, to analyse the balance between bilateralism and multilateralism as well as between material interest, institutions and ideas. Secondly, Robert Axelrod's findings concerning the 'evolution of cooperation' are integrated into the work, making use of ideas which support as well as clarify various means of understanding the global political economy already presented by IPE theories. Thirdly, in the respective chapters, comparisons are drawn between IPE's propositions on cooperation and Axelrod's notions of cooperation in relation to literature on regionalism and interregionalism. These insights are finally combined to set the foundations for a set of questions and propositions on interregional cooperation. These questions and propositions are subsequently analysed through four empirical cases focused on the European Community's political-economic relationship with East Asia. The bilateral cases are observed through a material, institutional, and ideational analysis of the EC's interregional relationships with Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the People's Republic of China. A similar analysis focusing on the multilateral dimension is conducted with the EC's interregional relationship with East Asia as seen through the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM). The observations in both cases include an analysis of trade, institutional development, and the EC's strategic documents. These observations are designed to draw out comparisons of how an evolution of cooperation occurs based on primary values and interests, cooperative modes, the development of accepted codes of conduct, and progressive institutionalisation. It is argued that this material, institutional, and ideational analysis provides insights which are not possible in a more parsimonious or dichotomous approach. The thesis contends that the evolution of cooperation between the EC and East Asia has taken on a strongly material form and that the preferred cooperative mode has been 'active bilateralism', strongly stimulated by the predominantly important issue of trade but with some characteristics of a maturing dialogue and bilateral institutionalisation. The ASEM multilateral forum, suffering increasing indifference, can be seen as 'passive multilateralism' and strongly based on values and ideas, albeit possibly conflicting and incompatible ones. On the basis of the evidence assembled, the empirical cases provide further insight into the initial research questions and suggest that bilateral interregionalism in the EC-East Asia relationship is more grounded in material interests while multilateral interregionalism as seen in ASEM is based more strongly on ideas and values. The research also confirms the coexistence and confluence between bilateralism and multilateralism, the binding role of institutions, the importance of policy areas, and acknowledges the possible effect that a combination of endogenous and exogenous factors may have on the evolution of interregional cooperation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Life in Solitary: Anthropological Assumptions as Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

Claims about human nature are unavoidable in political theory. A theory about which social arrangements are best for human beings must make some claims about the nature of the human beings - how they behave, what they desire, etc. These anthropological assumptions provide the theoretical foundation for political theory and the building blocks of social models. One way of criticizing a sociopolitical theory is to target these assumptions and argue that it is premised upon a wrong or too simple view of human behavior. Simplified assumptions are often used in scientific models, as they can lead to hypotheses that can be tested empirically. The simplified assumptions can be justified if they lead to correct predictions. This is more complicated in social theory where the building blocks in the model are human beings because the models can affect the behavior of their subjects. This can happen in different ways: Directly, because humans are responsive to the way they are described - how we think of ourselves directly impacts how we behave - and indirectly, because the hypotheses of social models are often used as legitimation of policies and institutional designs that regulate human relations and behavior. The models about human nature thus become part of human nature. This leads to a second way of critiquing sociopolitical theories: Not by stating that they misrepresent a true human nature but that they describe humans as affected by such theories and by the social arrangements the theories are used to justify. I find this line of critique more fruitful as it does not rely on the claim that there exists a true human nature that is static and unaffected by social arrangements and beliefs. This dissertation examines how claims about human nature impact political and economic theories and how these theories impact human behavior and subjectivity. It focuses on individualistic theories premised upon a view of humans as solitary creatures whose preferences can be modeled as if they are independent of others. Such models lead to the theoretical primacy of conflict between independent subjects and the theoretical implausibility of cooperation and trust between them - thus, certain social and political arrangements are seen as necessary. This view exists in the political philosophy of Hobbes and Rawls, and in the social theory of Rational Choice which has been the foundation of neoclassical economics and neoliberal policies. The critical issue is not so much that it is a wrong view of human nature but rather that it affects human subjectivity and behavior - that there is a risk that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. That could be the case if one form of social arrangement and ideology could ever be hegemonic, but in reality we occupy different social roles in different relations, leading to different forms of subjectivity and rationality that clash and interact in unpredictable ways.Staðhæfingar um mannlegt eðli eru óhjákvæmilegar í stjórnmálakenningum. Kenning um hvaða samfélagslega skipan sé best fyrir mannverur verður að innihalda einhverjar fullyrðingar um eðli manna - um hvernig þeir hegða sér, hvað þeir þrá og þar fram eftir götunum. Þessar mannfræðilegu ályktanir skapa fræðilegan grunn stjórnmálakenninga og eru uppistaðan í samfélagslegum líkönum. Ein leið til að gagnrýna samfélags-pólitíska kenningu er að veitast að þessum ályktunum og færa rök fyrir að þær séu byggðar á rangri eða einfaldaðri mynd af mannlegri hegðun. Vísindaleg líkön styðjast iðulega við einfaldaðar ályktanir vegna þess að þær geta leitt af sér tilgátur sem unnt er að sannprófa. Einfaldaðar ályktanir geta verið réttmætar ef þær hafa nákvæmt forspárgildi. Þetta er eilítið flóknara þegar samfélagskenningar eru annars vegar og uppistaða samfélagslíkansins eru mannverur vegna þess að líkönin geta haft áhrif á hegðun fólks. Það getur gerst með mismunandi hætti: með beinum hætti vegna þess að mannfólk er móttækilegt fyrir lýsingum á þeim - hvernig við hugsum um okkur hefur bein áhrif á hvernig við hegðum okkur - og óbeint vegna þess að tilgátur samfélagslíkana eru oft nýttar til að réttlæta stefnur og stofnanagerðir sem setja reglur um mannleg samskipti og hegðun. Líkön um manneðli verða þannig hluti af manneðlinu. Það getur af sér aðra leið til þess að gagnrýna samfélags-stjórnmálakenningar: ekki með því að fullyrða að þær gefi ranga mynd af hinu sanna manneðli heldur að þær lýsi hvernig menn mótist af slíkum kenningum og þeirri samfélagsskipan sem kenningarnar nýtast til að ljá lögmæti. Ég tel þessa síðari leið frjórri vegna þess að hún reiðir sig ekki á staðhæfingu um að til sé sönn mannleg náttúra sem sé kyrrstæð og ónæm gagnvart samfélagslegri skipan og viðhorfum. Þessi doktorsritgerð felst í rannsókn á því hvernig staðhæfingar um manneðli hafa áhrif á stórnmála- og hagfræðikenningar og hvernig þessar kenningar móta hegðun og sjálfsveru manna. Beint er sjónum að einstaklingsmiðuðum kenningum sem byggja á mynd af stakstæðum einstaklingum hverra langanir (e. preferences) eru látnar ráðast af því sem væru þeir hverjir óháðir öðrum. Í slíkum líkönum er tvennt sett fræðilega á oddinn, átök milli sjálfstæðra einstaklinga og ósennileiki samvinnu og trausts þeirra á milli - þar af leiðandi er viss samfélagsleg og pólitísk skipan talin vera alger nauðsyn. Þetta viðhorf má sjá í heimspeki Hobbes og Rawls og í samfélagskenningu um skynsamlegt val (Rational Choice Theory) sem hefur verið grunnur nýklassískrar hagfræði og nýfrjálshyggju-stefnu. Vandinn er ekki sá að þetta sé röng sýn á manneðlið heldur miklu frekar að hún hafi áhrif á sjálfsveru og hegðun fólks - að það er hætta á að hún verði að sjálfrætinni spá (e. self-fulfilling prophecy). Það gæti orðið tilfellið ef ein samfélagsskipan og samsvarandi hugmyndafræði yrðu allsráðandi, en veruleikinn er hins vegar sá að við gegnum ólíkum hlutverkum í mismunandi samböndum, sem geta af sér ólíkar gerðir sjálfsveru og skynsemi sem rekast á og verka hver á aðra með ófyrirsjáanlegum hætti.This dissertation was completed at the University of Iceland with partial funding from Rannsóknamiðstöð Íslands and the research projects Embodied Critical Thinking, The Reality of Money, and Feminist Philosophy Transforming Philosophy

Advances in Computational Social Science and Social Simulation

Aquesta conferència és la celebració conjunta de la "10th Artificial Economics Conference AE", la "10th Conference of the European Social Simulation Association ESSA" i la "1st Simulating the Past to Understand Human History SPUHH".Conferència organitzada pel Laboratory for Socio­-Historical Dynamics Simulation (LSDS-­UAB) de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.Readers will find results of recent research on computational social science and social simulation economics, management, sociology,and history written by leading experts in the field. SOCIAL SIMULATION (former ESSA) conferences constitute annual events which serve as an international platform for the exchange of ideas and discussion of cutting edge research in the field of social simulations, both from the theoretical as well as applied perspective, and the 2014 edition benefits from the cross-fertilization of three different research communities into one single event. The volume consists of 122 articles, corresponding to most of the contributions to the conferences, in three different formats: short abstracts (presentation of work-in-progress research), posters (presentation of models and results), and full papers (presentation of social simulation research including results and discussion). The compilation is completed with indexing lists to help finding articles by title, author and thematic content. We are convinced that this book will serve interested readers as a useful compendium which presents in a nutshell the most recent advances at the frontiers of computational social sciences and social simulation researc