Modeling Interest Groups with SWARM

本项目探讨了利益集团成员增长和政治立场采取的一般理论。该理论模型代表了一个大的政治格局中许多个人和利益集团的相互作用。该模型的驱动力是利益集团企业家适应潜在成员并与之互动的程度。核心研究问题涉及利益集团制度的演变，其中几个集团可能形成并争夺成员，同时试图积累影响政治结果的资源。这些组织通过改变自己的政策立场、招募力度和组织的其他特征来相互竞争。该模型在操纵这些参数的同时寻找稳定性的模式。这项研究结合了形式模型和计算模型。圣菲研究所开发的一个名为SWARM的计算机程序包被用来进行模拟。这些模拟被用来产生关于群体地位和成员的假设，以及这些如何影响个人何时加入和留在兴趣群体。

This project explores a general theory of membership growth and political position-taking by interest groups. The theoretical model represents the interaction of many individuals and interest groups in a large political landscape. The driving force in the model is the extent to which interest group entrepreneurs adapt to and interact with prospective members. The central research questions concern the evolution of an interest group system in which several groups may form and compete for members while attempting to accumulate resources with which to influence political outcomes. The groups compete with one another by altering their policy positions, the magnitude of their recruiting efforts and other attributes of the group. The model looks for patterns of stability while manipulating many of these parameters. The research uses a combination of formal models and computational modeling. A computer package called SWARM, developed at the Santa Fe Institute is used to conduct the simulations. These simulations are used to generate hypotheses about group positions and membership and how these affect when individuals will join and stay in interest groups.