 Complex exponentiation is not associative

Using principal complex logarithms, the inner power is $i^i=e^{-\pi /2}$. Consequentlywhich are different. Thus parentheses in nested complex exponentiation cannot be dropped or moved. There is an additional issue when all complex logarithm branches are allowed: each nested operation must retain its own branch choices. In the first expression, the complete set of values is $-i{e}^{-2\pi m}$, $m\in \mathbb{Z}$; in the second, it is $\exp [i(\pi /2+2\pi m)e^{-(\pi /2+2\pi k)}]$, $k,m\in \mathbb{Z}$. The principal-value comparison already establishes nonassociativity; the multivalued sets make the role of branching explicit.