System and Process in International Politics

First published in 1957, System and Process combines systems, game, and cybernetic concepts in its theoretical formulations. Since its publication, serious research in international relations has needed to respond to the bold hypotheses that matched equilibrial rules with type of system. Kaplan's life-long interest in finding an objective basis for moral judgments had its scholarly origins in an appendix of this classical book, which incorporated his understanding of philosophy and, in particular, the philosophy of science. A second appendix on 'The Mechanisms of Regulation' explored the cybernetic and recursive nature of knowing.

Morton A. Kaplan is Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of Chicago. He has written or edited 30 books and over 100 articles and monographs. The Political Foundations of International Law, co-authored by N. deB. Katzenbach, one of the leading books in its field, applied Kaplan's theories to international law. It was translated into numerous languages. The subsequent development in books and articles of Kaplan's positions in philosophy have been praised by distinguished philosophers and scientists. Kaplan also organized and chaired many conferences. "The Fall of the Soviet Empire," which he chaired in 1985, was held in the same year as one on Europe in which the Soviet representative stated that the USSR could consider moving its troops behind its national frontiers. His conferences in 1980 and 1981 on South Africa, designed to get rid of apartheid, included leading representatives of the governing party and of repressed groups.