Stephen M. Younger (University of Hawaii; Former Associate Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory)
The interplay between leadership, interpersonal violence, and warfare is examined using a combination of observational anthropology and computer simulation. Analysis of 85 islands and societies in Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia at the time of contact suggests that interpersonal violence and warfare are correlated. Violence increases with total population but, at least in some cases, decreases with population density. Most intriguing is that low levels of violence occur for isolated societies with populations below about 1000 persons, cultures with very weak leadership and non-violent self-redress of grievances. Multi-agent computer simulation was used to examine a number of issues identified in the analysis of observational data. It suggests that leaders contribute little to the economy of small societies but have a significant formative role in the normative make up of groups. Simulations agree with observation in the correlation of interpersonal violence and warfare and in the decrease in violence with increasing population density. Several hypotheses, including the role of warfare in resource competition, the value of a warrior class, and the role of warfare in the unification of polities, were examined via simulation.
SFI Host: C. C. Wood