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Cited by 349

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The Place of Complexity

Thrift, Nigel·1999·Theory, Culture & Society

Abstract

This article is an attempt to understand the increasing profile of complexity theory as a geography of dissemination. In the first part I suggest that complexity theory, itself a rhetorical hybrid, takes on new meanings as it circulates in and through a number of actor-networks and, specifically, global science, global business and global New Age. As complexity theory circulates in these networks, so it encounters new conditions, which generate new hybrid theoretical forms. In the second part of the article, I consider how complexity theory might be interpreted as the emergence of a new structure of feeling in Euro-American societies, which frames the future as open and full of productivity. The conclusion offers some words of warning.

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Metadata

Authors
Thrift, N.
Venue
Theory, Culture & Society
Published
1999-06
Volume
16
Issue
3
Pages
31-69
ISSN
  • 0263-2764 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-3616
OpenAlex
W2112951140
Cited by
349
References
0
FWCI
11.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The Place of Complexity. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1177/02632769922050610
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Thrift, N. (1999). The Place of Complexity. Theory, Culture & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/02632769922050610

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Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.

Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.