History of The Concept
Scholars have been interested in systems exhibiting non-linear change for a long time. Since the early 20th century, mathematicians have developed a body of concepts and theory for the study of such phenomena based on the study of non-linear system dynamics. This research lead to the development of concepts such as catastrophe theory; a branch of bifurcation theory in dynamical systems.
In ecology the idea of systems with multiple regimes, domains of attraction or called alternative stable states, only arose in the late 60’s based upon the first reflections on the meaning of stability in ecosystems by Richard Lewontin and Crawford “Buzz” Holling. The first work on regime shifts in ecosystems was done in a diversity of ecosystems and included important work by Noy-Meir (1975) in grazing systems, May (1977) in grazing systems, harvesting systems, insect pests and host-parasitoid systems; Jones and Walters (1976) with fisheries systems; and Ludwig et al. (1978) with insects outbreaks.
These early efforts to understand regime shifts were criticized for the difficulty of demonstrating bi-stability, their reliance on simulation models, and lack of high quality long-term data. However, by the 1990s more substantial evidence of regime shifts was collected for kelp forest, coral reefs, drylands and shallow lakes. This work lead to revitalization of research on ecological reorganization and the conceptual clarification that resulted in the regime shift conceptual framework in the early 2000s.
Outside of ecology, similar concepts of non-linear change have been developed in other academic disciplines. One example is historical institutionalism in political science, sociology and economics; where concepts like path dependency and critical junctures are used to explain phenomena where the output of a system is determined by its history, or the initial conditions; and where its domains of attraction are reinforced by feedbacks. Concept such as international institutional regimes, socio-technical transitions and increasing returns have similar epistemological basis as regime shifts, and utilize similar mathematical models.
Read more about this topic: Regime Shift
Famous quotes containing the words the concept, history of, history and/or concept:
“The more the specific feelings of being under obligation range themselves under a supreme principle of human dependence the clearer and more fertile will be the realization of the concept, indispensable to all true culture, of service; from the service of God down to the simple social relationship as between employer and employee.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)
“The history of any nation follows an undulatory course. In the trough of the wave we find more or less complete anarchy; but the crest is not more or less complete Utopia, but only, at best, a tolerably humane, partially free and fairly just society that invariably carries within itself the seeds of its own decadence.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“It is the true office of history to represent the events themselves, together with the counsels, and to leave the observations and conclusions thereupon to the liberty and faculty of every man’s judgement.”
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626)
“Modern man, if he dared to be articulate about his concept of heaven, would describe a vision which would look like the biggest department store in the world, showing new things and gadgets, and himself having plenty of money with which to buy them. He would wander around open-mouthed in this heaven of gadgets and commodities, provided only that there were ever more and newer things to buy, and perhaps that his neighbors were just a little less privileged than he.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)