The Collaborative Condition: Understanding the Nature, Dynamics, and Failures of Working Together

Collaboration is not just something humans do; it is a condition we live in. The Nature and Dynamics of Collaboration offers a timely and wide-ranging examination of how collaboration shapes human life—from its evolutionary roots to its role in contemporary science, institutions, and global challenges. The book brings together diverse examples, frameworks, and perspectives, arguing that while collaboration takes many forms, certain structures and processes are shared. It explores both what makes collaborations work and why they fail. As we face urgent collective crises, especially climate change and growing polarization, this book suggests that studying collaboration is not only intellectually important, but existentially necessary.