War as an Object of Sociological Analysis

War as an Object of Sociological Analysis


Obraztsov I.V.

Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Prof., the Department of Sociology, Head of Sociological Laboratory, Moscow State Linguistic University, Moscow, Russia igorobraztsov@rambler.ru

ID of the Article: 8339


The reported study was funded by RFBR, project No. 19-111-50079


For citation:

Obraztsov I.V. War as an Object of Sociological Analysis. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2020. No 10. P. 106-116




Abstract

The article discusses the problems of sociological analysis of modern wars and armed conflicts. For all the variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, there is still no consensus in the scientific community regarding the determination of the essential characteristics and mechanisms of the emergence of wars. An interdisciplinary approach, on the one hand, opens up opportunities for a comprehensive study of such a complex socio-political phenomenon as war, and on the other hand, erodes the boundaries of sociological analysis proper. The issue of the name and status of sectoral sociology, the subject of which includes war, continues to be debatable. The author seeks answers to questions: What is the modern understanding of war, and on what theoretical basis can it be based? How is war different from other types of military conflicts, what are its essential features? What is the specificity of the sociological approach to the analysis of war? What branch of sociology should/can study war as a social phenomenon and / or as a state of society?


Keywords
war; armed forces; armed conflict; military organization; military sociology; sociology of war

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Content No 10, 2020