On Mechanism, Process and Polity: An Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation Approach

Abstract

The present approach provides a theoretical account of political culture-based modeling of political change phenomena. Our approach is an agent-based simulation model inspired by a social-psychological account of the relation between the individual agents (citizens) and the polity. It includes political culture as a fundamental modeling dimension. On this background, we reconsider the operational definitions of agent, mechanism, process, and polity so as to specify the role they play in the modeling of political change phenomena. We evaluate our previous experimental simulation experience in corruption emergence and political attitude change. The paper approaches the artificial polity as a political culture-based model of a body politic. It involves political culture concepts to account for the complexity of domestic political phenomena, going from political attitude change at the individual level up to major political change at the societal level. Architecture, structure, unit of interaction, generative mechanisms and processes are described. Both conceptual and experimental issues are described so as to highlight the differences between the simulation models of society and polity.