The Development of Agent-based Simulation Methodology for Empirical Research of International Relations

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24243023
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: International relations
• Research Institution: Aoyama Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: YAMAKAGE Susumu 青山学院大学, 国際政治経済学部, 教授 (10115959)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): ENDO Mitsugi 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 教授 (70251311) ; SAKAMOTO Takuto 独立行政法人日本貿易振興機構アジア経済研究所, 地域研究センター, 研究員 (40456182) ; MITSUTSUJI Katsuma 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 研究員 (30647441)
• Research Collaborator: SUZUKI Kazutoshi ; YUKAWA Taku ; ITO Gaku ; KAI Ayako ; TSUCHIYAMA Jitsuo ; AOI Chiyuki
• Project Period (FY): 2012-10-31 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 国際関係 / 政治学 / 社会科学方法論 / シミュレーション / マルチエージェントモデル / 人工社会 / 自己組織化 / 複雑系

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Beyond getting insight and analogy through the simplified and abstract models according to “KISS” principle, we built agent-based (multi-agent) models for empirical research that relate to the target phenomena in more straightforward way. The model shows the agents whose traits and properties are consistent with empirical evidence behave like the entities in the real world with simple rules. We replicated the pastoral people in African developing countries, insurgent groups in Afghanistan, and European great powers up to the time of the first world war, in order to reveal the micro-mechanism that exist behind the phenomena. Through the agent-based models, we could get non-trivial implications about the international relations at various levels. We suggest the multi-agent modeling as a useful methodology for international studies.

Free Research Field

国際関係理論／比較地域体系論／人間の安全保障論／人工社会構築技法