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  • Book
  • Open Access
  • © 2020

Lewis Fry Richardson: His Intellectual Legacy and Influence in the Social Sciences

Editors:

  1. Nils Petter Gleditsch

    1. Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Oslo, Norway

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  • Examines the work of Lewis F Richardson, who is unique in occupying an important position in two disparate academic fields: meteorology and peace research

  • Reviews his work in peace research, where he pioneered the use of mathematical models and the meticulous compilation of databases for empirical research and is regularly cited for these contributions

  • Discusses the strict standards he set not only for his scientific work but also for its ethical aspects

  • Reveals how, as a Quaker and pacifist, he refused to work in preparation for war, paid a heavy price in terms of his career, and (at least in the social sciences) was only recognized as a pioneering scholar posthumously

Part of the book series: Pioneers in Arts, Humanities, Science, Engineering, Practice (PAHSEP, volume 27)

Sections

Softcover Book USD 24.99
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Hardcover Book USD 24.99
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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
    PDF

  2. Lewis Fry Richardson – A Pioneer Not Forgotten

    • Nils Petter Gleditsch
    Pages 1-12Open Access

  3. Lewis Fry Richardson: A Personal Narrative

    • Dina A. Zinnes
    Pages 13-24Open Access

  4. The Influence of the Richardson Arms Race Model

    • Ron P. Smith
    Pages 25-34Open Access

  6. Richardson and the Study of Dynamic Conflict Processes

    • Kelly M. Kadera, Mark Crescenzi, Dina A. Zinnes
    Pages 45-56Open Access

  8. From Hand-Counting to GIS: Richardson in the Information Age

    • Kristian Skrede Gleditsch, Nils B. Weidmann
    Pages 73-85Open Access

  11. On the Frequency and Severity of Interstate Wars

    • Aaron Clauset
    Pages 113-127Open Access

  12. The Decline of War Since 1950: New Evidence

    • Michael Spagat, Stijn van Weezel
    Pages 129-142Open Access

  14. Back Matter

    Pages 143-148
    PDF
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About this book

This is an open access book. Lewis F Richardson (1981-1953), a physicist by training, was a pioneer in meteorology and peace research and remains a towering presence in both fields. This edited volume reviews his work and assesses its influence in the social sciences, notably his work on arms races and their consequences, mathematical models, the size distribution of wars, and geographical features of conflict. It contains brief bibliographies of his main publications and of articles and books written about Richardson and his work and discusses his continuing influence in peace research and international relations as well as his attitude to the ethical responsibilities of a scientist. It will be of interest to a wide range of scholars.  This book includes 11 chapters written by Nils Petter Gleditsch, Dina A Zinnes, Ron Smith, Paul F Diehl, Kelly Kadera, Mark Crescenzi, Michael  D Ward, Kristian Skrede Gleditsch,  Nils B Weidmann, Jürgen Scheffran, Niall MacKay, Aaron Clauset, Michael Spagat and Stijn van Weezel.

Lewis F Richardson occupied an important position in two academic fields as different as meteorology and peace research, with academic prizes awarded in both disciplines.

In peace research, he pioneered the use of mathematical models and the meticulous compilation of databases for empirical research.

As a quaker and pacifist, he refused to work in preparations for war, paid a heavy prize in terms of his career, and (at least in the social sciences) was fully recognized as a pioneering scholar only posthumously with the publication of two major books.

Lewis Fry Richardson is one of the 20th century’s greatest but least appreciated thinkers—a creative physicist, psychologist, meteorologist, applied mathematician, historian, pacifist, statistician, and witty stylist. If you’ve heard of weather prediction, chaos, fractals, cliometrics, peace science, big data, thick tails, or black swans, then you have benefited from Richardson’s prescience in bringing unruly phenomena into the ambit of scientific understanding. Richardson’s ideas continue to be relevant today, and this collection is a superb retrospective on this brilliant and lovable man.

Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor, Harvard University, and the author of The Better Angels of Our Nature and Enlightenment Now 



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Keywords

  • Open access
  • Armed conflict
  • Arms races
  • Conflict and contiguity
  • Boundaries
  • Mathematical models
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Editors and Affiliations

  • Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Oslo, Norway

    Nils Petter Gleditsch

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Bibliographic Information

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Softcover Book USD 24.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book USD 24.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions