International Relations Theory of War 43
in July–August 2016, had a definite effect on the sole polar power in the
unipolar system, the United States, the only hyperpower of the system.
That dependence led the United States to be involved in the crisis and act
to solve it militarily or diplomatically. The uncertainty principle is the other
condition that leads to the results of the changes occurring in the system
not being predictable and having the potential of improving the state of
the country compared with the state that preceded the occurrence of the
change or worsen it.
The existence of the interdependence principle and the uncertainty principle
leads to international systems having a property that resists change, or
homeostasis.
Homeostasis in the International SystemUnlike the term feedback, which is borrowed from cybernetics, the term
homeostasis has not been successful in entering the field of international
politics analysis.^45
Homeostasis, a term that was developed in psychology,^46 is defined as
a physiological equilibrium that is achieved by balancing of functions and
chemical composition within organisms.^47 Homeostasis conceptualizes
the way in which an organism preserves its environment and continues to
exist in it. In cybernetics, this goal is achieved by the transfer of informa-
tion concerning the environment relative to the goals that the organism
has set and through adoption of appropriate behavioral models. Because
according to the principles of cybernetics information enters the system
constantly, homeostasis itself is a continuous process.^48
The existence of homeostasis means constant movement and not remain-
ing static surrounding the equilibrium point. The result of that dynamism
is that in all models of the systems, including international systems, it is
possible to find a kind of stability range, a certain range in which limited
changes or gentle positive feedback actions occur, which do not cause the
shifting of the system from its equilibrium point because sooner or later
most of these changes have opposing effects, such as negative feedback
actions that restore the system to near the equilibrium point.
In ecosystems, one may find periodicity in the number and decrease of
prey and predators. When predators proliferate, prey dwindles. However,
this positive feedback, which may impair the homeostasis and violate the
equilibrium of the system, reaches an end when the number of predators
increases very significantly and leads to a decrease in the amount of prey,
which in response leads to a significant decrease in the number of preda-
tors because of a shortage of available food.^49 One may therefore see that
fluctuations in the numbers of predator and prey in ecosystems always
range around the equilibrium point while maintaining the homeostasis of
the system.