Abstract

N. Luhmann and K.R. Popper argue, the first, that civilization does not tend to limit the use of violence and, the latter, that it opposes a state of chaos, madness, barbarism and war. How to solve the contradiction of such opposed philosophical and sociological theories? Do we have a mathematical model or an empirical basis to do it? We can propose: (i) A philosophical-juridical argument, the theory of “international regimesµ; (ii) A sociological one, the theory of “small-world networksµ and (iii) mathematical one, the theory of deterministic chaos applied to the phenomenon of sanction (also definable as coercive force, deterrence or even “just warµ).