Aclosed community intentionally limits links with outsiders and outside communities. Closed communities may be of a religious, ethnic, or political nature. Governance of closed societies varies. Typically, members of closed communities are either born into the community or are accepted into it. The opposite of a closed community is an open community, which maintains social relations with external communities.[1][2]
Frederic Clements was an American ecologist and pioneer who studied vegetation formation and development, he created the idea that plants are supposed to birth, grow/mature, and decay. Their life cycle is similar to that of a human being. Clements also tested a theory known as "climax community"; he used areas of vegetation in comparison to actual communities. The community (fauna or human) is always constant and thriving, even if there were to be a catastrophic event, an individual or small group can manage to survive and regrow or rebuild in the same area they originated or relocate elsewhere and succeed. The concept of many plants and animals coexisting together, having an ecosystem and building upwards was the theory he aimed for (example: rain forest). The general theory later failed due to the fact that there was little or extremely basic comparable information about the logic of a being, the concept worked more in favor towards smaller organisms. Also, the theory became outdated and later on replaced with new sociological facts or science theories.[3][4]
Limitation and "cut-off" of diversity which leads to more difficulty accepting or incorporating outside concepts
Constantly having the same people in a closed area within a large communities of 50 or more can cause a resident to feel overwhelmed with an urge to escape
The fear of being overpowered or intimidation/competition
Can close themselves so off from advancements that have a hard time reintegrating into society[6]
In a 1957 article published in the Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, archaeologist Eric R. Wolf argued that the organization of subsistence farmers into "closed, corporate communities" is a recurrent feature "in two world areas, widely separated by past history and geographical space: Mesoamerica and Central Java."[7]
Infectious disease presents particular challenges to closed communities; external action (from the government or outside medical personnel) may assist in stopping the spread of the disease.[8][9][10][11]
Soviet Union - Soviet diplomat Anatoly Dobrynin wrote in his memoirs: "In the closed society of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin was afraid of emigration in general (irrespective of nationality or religion)" for fear of causing domestic instability.[19]
"closed cities" — secretive, specially controlled zones that contained nuclear reactors and other sensitive facilities continue to exist in Russia today.[20]
Eritrea - Human Rights Watch has described Eritrea as one of the world's most closed countries.[26] Eritrea has a closed, militarized, and heavily fortified border with Ethiopia, its regional rival with which tensions are high.[27][28]
^Wuthnow, Robert (2013-01-01). Small-Town America: Finding Community, Shaping the Future. Princeton University Press. ISBN9780691157207. JSTORj.ctt2854w2.
^Yagupsky, Pablo; Ben-Ami, Yael; Trefler, Ronit; Porat, Nurith (2016-02-01). "Outbreaks of Invasive Kingella kingae Infections in Closed Communities". The Journal of Pediatrics. 169: 135–139.e1. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2015.10.025. ISSN1097-6833. PMID26545728.
^Charles E. Hurst & David L. McConnell, An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World's Largest Amish Community (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010), p. 253: "The Amish encourage a tight, closed community in which they are expected to marry other Amish, but doing so amplifies the potential for certain chronic inherited health problems, which in turn lead to great medical expenses and heavier economic burdens on the Amish community."
^Linda Dayer-Berenson, Cultural Competencies for Nurses: Impact on Health and Illness (Jones & Bartlett, 2007), p. 297: "The social organization of the Amish is guided by a desire to avoid assimilation and acculturation into dominant American culture ... a closed community like the Amish").
^Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700, 5th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 272.
^Farhad Daftary, The Isma'ilis: Their History and Doctrines, 2d ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2007), p. 189: "Henceforth, the Druzes became a closed community, permitting neither conversion nor apostasy."
