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War helps to build a strong sense of social bonding and solidarity within warring societies.
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Based on R.E Park’s work The Social Function of War: Observations and Notes (1941), we can outline the functions of war as follows: War is one such tension that functionalists believe to have functions towards the development of society. Institutions, generally speaking, have had their origins in some collective action-some common enterprise or social movement that required concert and continuity of action over a considerable period of time (Park, 1941). Accordingly, any type of swift change in the socio-cultural aspects of society is regarded to emerge as and when socio-political unrests occur among two or more social units. They are the structural functionalist perspective, the symbolic interactionist perspective, and the conflict theory perspective.įunctionalism, also called structural-functional theory, views society as a combination of parts forming a structure, and that each of these parts is developed to respond to the biopsychosocial necessities of the society’s members. In this paper, we will look at the three major perspectives that form the sociological theory of war. Studies related to war are often considered an area of political science or international relations, but considering the fact that war has significant consequences for society as a whole, it is pertinent to understand war through a sociological lens via its theories. However, the general characteristics of war can be put together as given by Bernard, “War is organized continuous conflict of a transient character between or among collectivities of any sort capable of arming and organizing themselves for violent struggle carried on by armies in the field (or naval units on water) and supported by civil or incompletely militarized populations back of the battle areas constituted for the pursuit of some fairly well-defined public or quasipublic objective” (as cited in Dennen, 2005). War is considered international war when it occurs between nations and is considered civil war when it occurs domestically. Wars are fought both between and within countries when at least two parties engage in a violent struggle. The definitions of war are innumerable as it changes according to time and type of war. War is only one variety of the numerous conflicts that exist and occur at all levels, owing to a range of disagreements in human societies. Conflict and war are often used synonymously, but it is not the case at all times. Before we understand war through different sociological perspectives, it is important to clarify what war is. It is something that has a presence in every chapter of history and current events and even finds its way into the predictions for the future. “War” is a concept that had and still does has an important role in human civilizations across the globe. Keywords: War, Society, Structural functionalism, Conflict theory, Symbolic interactionism The three perspectives are differing yet provide unique and pivotal views on war and society. Third, the symbolic interactionist perspective focuses on the role of symbols and experiences associated with war and its influence on the members of society. Second, the conflict theorist perspective, which believes that war is created by differences and for the benefit of the societal elite. First, the structural-functionalist perspective views war as a tool to fulfill societal needs by performing its functions. Three major perspectives are discussed here. However, considering its role and relation to society at large, the discipline of sociology has put forth certain theories or perspectives to understand war and its relation to society. The concept of war, strategies and its function as a means of conflict resolution for international disputes have been widely studied under the fields of political science and international relations. Synopsis : War has been an integral part of human civilization as it has significant consequences on individuals, relations and systems in society.