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STABILITY
the tendency of the variables or components of a system to remain within defined and recognizable limits
despite the impact of disturbances. (Young, p. l09)

(expanded or global stability) The ability of a system to persist and to remain qualitatively unchanged in
response either to a disturbance or to fluctuations of the system caused by a disturbance. This idea of stability
combines the concepts of traditional stability and Holling's new concept of resilience. (Holling)

The capacity of an object or system to return to equilibrium after having been displaced. Note with two
possible kinds of equilibrium one may have a static (linear) stability of rest or a dynamic (nonlinear) stability
of an endlessly repeated motion. (Iberall)

a system is stable if, when perturbed, it returns to its original state. The more quickly it returns, the more
stable it is.

A property of a system's behavior when its equilibrium is disturbed. Equilibria may be unstable, neutral or
stable. An illustration of the three types is provided by a ball respectively balanced on a ridge, placed on a flat
and level surface and in a concave hole. The three types differ in response to displacements. An unstable
equilibrium requires hardly any disturbance to be lost, typically forever, e.g., the state of a volatile fluid, the
beginning of a competitive game, equality among human interactors. A neutral equilibrium is arbitrary or
non-preferential, whereas a stable equilibrium is such that a system returns to it after the displacing
disturbance is removed. E.g., in wartime, civil liberties, production of consumer goods and communications
may be restricted only to be restored after hostilities cease. This marks a stable equilibrium. However, if these
restrictions persist despite the absence of war this would indicate that the equilibrium was neutral. Equilibria
are stable only relative to the magnitude of the disturbance. If a disturbance exceeds the threshold of a stable
equilibrium, it may bring the system to another (unstable, neutral or stable) equilibrium (see polystability,
ultrastability). adaptation is a higher form of stability in which a stable equilibrium is maintained or regained
in the face of disturbances that attempt or temporarily displace the equilibrium. (Krippendorff)

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