War is a highly complex and dynamic form of social conflict. This new book demonstrates the importance of using sociological tools to understand the changing character of war and organised violence. The author offers an original analysis of the historical and contemporary impact that coercion and warfare have on the transformation of social life, and vice versa. Although war and violence were decisive components in the formation of modernity most analyses tend to shy away from the sociological study of the gory origins of contemporary social life. In contrast, this book brings the study of organised violence to the fore by providing a wide-ranging sociological analysis that links classical and contemporary theories with specific historical and geographical contexts. Topics covered include violence before modernity, warfare in the modern age, nationalism and war, war propaganda, battlefield solidarity, war and social stratification, gender and organised violence, and the new wars debate.
- The first systematic survey of the sociology of war
- Applies sociological concepts and theories to the study of war and violence
- Combines history with theory and empirical examples
- Links discussions of warfare with broader, sociological literature
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Reviews & endorsements
“With its combination of theoretical acumen and historical insights, this book is a significant step forward in the reintegration of war into the sociological canon. Both students and experienced scholars will appreciate Malesevic’s perspectives on how war made us who we are.”
Miguel A. Centeno, Professor of Sociology and International Affairs, Princeton University
“This is a major contribution, at once a survey of key intellectual fields (sociological theory, the history of war understood in comparative terms and an analysis of the key social variables involved) and a major piece of innovation, based a powerful appreciation of ideological and bureaucratic development. There is no better book on the subject.”
John A. Hall, James McGill Professor of Sociology, McGill University
“An incisive examination of the theoretical literature on warfare and violence. Lucid and wide-ranging, this will be an invaluable guide to scholars and students.”
John Hutchinson, Reader in Nationalism, Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science
“Malesevic ranges with authority and intelligence over the major debates concerning war in human societies past and present, arguing powerfully and provocatively for a theory centred on social organization and ideology. This is easily the best general account of the Sociology of War.”
Michael Mann, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles
"...at once powerful social theory and excellent comparative-historical sociology." - Liliana Riga, University of Edinburgh; Canadian Journal of Sociology
"Siniša Malešević's comprehensive work combines an impressive collection of theoretical insights with a sweeping review of violence, warfare, and coercion throughout the ages." -Erica Chenowet, Perspectives on Politics
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Product details
- Date Published: July 2010
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521731690
- length: 374 pages
- dimensions: 247 x 175 x 18 mm
- weight: 0.74kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Introduction: war, violence and the social
Part I. Collective Violence and Sociological Theory:
1. War and violence in classical social thought
2. The contemporary sociology of organised violence
Part II. War in Time and Space:
3. War and violence before modernity
4. Organized violence and modernity
5. The social geographies of warfare
Part III. Warfare: Ideas and Practices:
6. Nationalism and war
7. War propaganda and solidarity
Part IV. War, Violence and Social Divisions:
8. Social stratification, warfare and violence
9. Gendering of war
Part V. Organised Violence in the 21st Century:
10. New wars?
Conclusion.
Look Inside
Instructors have used or reviewed this title for the following courses
- Approaches to the Study of IR
- Big Wars
- Causes of Collective Violence
- Conflict, War, and Peace
- Domestic Terrorism
- Honors Seminar on War and Terrorism
- International Politics
- Introduction to peace Studies
- Military Ethics
- Military Sociology
- Peace and Conflict
- Peace, War and World Politics
- Policy and Politics of Conflict
- Political Economy of Civil Wars
- Political Science Seminar on International Politics
- Politics of Conflict and Revolution
- Senior Seminar in International Politics
- Senior Synthesis
- Social Conflict
- Sociology of Conflict
- Sociology of Violence
- Sociology of War and Peace
- Terrorism
- The Experience and Consequences of War
- Theories of International Politics
- Theory of World Politics
- Topics in Social Problems
- Understanding Violence
- Violence and Culture
- Violence and Institutions
- Violence and Society
- War and Society
- research methods and the study of violence
- sociology of war
Author
Siniša Malešević, University College Dublin
Siniša Malešević is Senior Lecturer in the School of Political Science and Sociology at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He has written and edited many books, chapters and journal articles including Ernest Gellner and Contemporary Social Thought (with Mark Haugaard, Cambridge, 2007), Identity as Ideology: Understanding Ethnicity and Nationalism (2006) and The Sociology of Ethnicity (2004).