  Using a large database (~ 215 000 records) of relevant articles, we
empirically study the "complex systems" field and its claims to find universal
principles applying to systems in general. The study of references shared by
the papers allows us to obtain a global point of view on the structure of this
highly interdisciplinary field. We show that its overall coherence does not
arise from a universal theory but instead from computational techniques and
fruitful adaptations of the idea of self-organization to specific systems. We
also find that communication between different disciplines goes through
specific "trading zones", ie sub-communities that create an interface around
specific tools (a DNA microchip) or concepts (a network).
