Observing the Future: Systems Theory Meets Science Fiction

Submit your paper here from 1 April 2026!

Introduction  

​​Science fiction has long functioned as society’s laboratory for thought experiments, anticipating the complexities of technological integration, ecological collapse, and social evolution. Yet, while sociological readings of the genre are common, a dedicated application of systems theory—specifically the work of Niklas Luhmann and second-order cybernetics—remains a significant scholarly gap. This Special Issue seeks to establish a novel interpretive bridge between these two fields.

We invite contributions that move beyond standard criticism to analyze science fiction narratives as complex models of social systems. In an era defined by the rapid ascent of autonomous artificial intelligence, the fragmentation of public discourse, and increasing systemic interdependencies, the concepts of autopoiesis, operational closure, and functional differentiation are more relevant than ever. Science fiction provides the unique narrative space to simulate these dynamics.

Contributors are encouraged to examine how SF literature and media model the functional differentiation of society. How do fictional worlds depict the distinct codes of subsystems such as politics, science, law, and the economy? How do dystopian narratives explore the "hypertrophy" of specific subsystems—where one logic distorts the others? Furthermore, we seek analyses of the emergence of non-human autopoietic systems, investigating the structural coupling between human communication and artificial intelligence.

By framing science fiction as a crucial form of society’s self-observation, this issue aims to demonstrate how the art system processes latent possibilities and paradoxes. We welcome interdisciplinary research that tests the explanatory power of systems theory against the imaginative rigor of science fiction.​

List of Topic Areas

• ​​​Investigations into the "hypertrophy" of social subsystems (e.g., totalitarization of politics, economization of life) and dedifferentiation in utopian and dystopian literature.
• The emergence of non-human communicative systems, including Artificial Intelligence and alien consciousness, and their structural coupling with human society.
• Science fiction as a specific function of the art system, allowing society to observe its own evolution, paradoxes, and latent possibilities.
• Systems-theoretic readings of ecological crisis, the environment, and global interdependencies in speculative fiction.
• Examining the fragmentation of public discourse, "echo chambers," and the breakdown of communication through the lens of SF narratives.​​

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/kyb
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/k#jlp_author_guidelines
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to”.  

Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

Key Deadlines

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: ​01/04/2026​ 
Closing date for manuscripts submission: ​15/01/2027