The subsystem concept has been widely utilized by political scien tists for many decades. The various concepts that fall under this ru bric have been greatly modified and improved in recent years. However, a number of problems persist. This essay explains why the subsystem concept has been so popular and enduring, and then discusses three problems in the application and use of subsystem concepts. It then proposes that a different approach, which emphasizes function rather than structure, be utilized, and develops the idea of a "hierarchy of conflict" to help improve the utility of the subsystem model. This per mits the development of a typology of subsystem strategies, and the formulation of basic hypotheses.
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