Fragiele

Fragiele is a term used in interdisciplinary discussions to describe a state of fragility in complex systems, where the resilience is low and small perturbations can trigger large-scale changes. The concept is used to analyze the vulnerability of networks, organizations, infrastructure, and ecological systems. It emphasizes the nonlinearity of risk, the existence of tipping points, and the importance of redundancy, monitoring, and adaptive capacity.

Etymology and usage of the term fragiele reflect its status as a neologism. It derives from the Latin fragilis, meaning easily broken, and has been adopted across languages to convey a similar sense of vulnerability. Because fragiele is not tied to a single canonical definition, its interpretation can vary by field and context, sometimes overlapping with ideas of fragility, robustness, or resilience.

Applications of fragiele appear in several domains. In network science, fragiele describes how vulnerable a network is to node failures or targeted attacks. In materials science and engineering, it relates to the propensity of a material or structure to fail under stress when approaching critical thresholds. In ecology and climate science, fragiele is used to discuss tipping points, abrupt regime shifts, and the challenges of maintaining system integrity under stress. In policy and risk assessment, fragiele frames the need for precautionary planning for low-probability but high-impact events.

Criticism surrounding fragiele centers on definitional clarity. Some scholars argue that without precise metrics and context-specific operationalization, the term risks vagueness. Advocates counter that fragiele remains a useful heuristic for highlighting thresholds, nonlinearity, and the need for adaptive, modular design in complex systems.

See also: fragility, resilience, tipping point, robustness.