SELF-ORGANIZED CRITICAL MODELS IN SOCIAL STUDIES
The article is focused on the approaches of the theory of self-organized criticality (SOC) to the study of social phenomena. The SOC-theory has heuristic possibilities for explaining some nonlinear effects, such as spontaneous outbursts of socio-political activity as a result of violation of causes and effects proportionality. The author presents attributes of a critical state, specifically pink noise. Pink noise identification allows applying self-organized critical models (SC-models) for the simulation of the investigated systems. Simple SC-models are the generalized simulation of a number of phenomena. The models demonstrate some fundamental regularity of SOC. SC-models were created mainly for imitation of natural-science phenomena. However, many SC-models can be transferred to social studies. The author considers some SC-models which are most successful and popular. The main goal of the article is to discuss social meanings that can be compared with the following models: BTW-model (sand heap model), DR-model, forest fire model, BS-model (model of evolution), block and spring model, branching process model. Modern social risks are a systemic challenge that stimulated the study of nonlinear unexpected effects of socio-political dynamics. SC-models are able to simulate the conditions for transition to a critical state, the occurrence of avalanches (large-scale social transformations, revolutions, mass movements, etc.) under the influence of ordinary factors and weak impulses. SC-models show the mechanism by which the micro-level rules for the interaction of the simplest elements can generate a complex nonlinear behavior of the system, due to the cause-effect loops.