NCJ Number
63495
Editor(s)
H ECKSTEIN
Date Published
1964
Length
347 pages
Annotation
SOCIOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL ANALYSES OF ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE GOVERNMENTAL POLICIES OR ORGANIZATION BY VIOLENCE CLARIFY THE SETTING VARIABLES THAT ARE CRUCIAL TO QUESTIONS ABOUT INTERNAL WAR.
Abstract
THE 1961 SYMPOSIUM OF THE CENTER OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY ADDRESSED THE APPLICATION OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCIENCE THEORIES TO THE STUDY OF INTERNAL WARS. THE ESSAYS FROM THAT SYMPOSIUM DO NOT CLAIM TO SUPPLY RIGOROUSLY TESTED EMPIRICAL GENERALIZATIONS ABOUT WARS, BUT DO INDICATE WHICH THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND SCHEMA APPLY TO THE INTERNAL WAR PHENOMENON. THE ESSAYS DISCUSS SETTINGS AND PREREVOLUTIONARY CONDITIONS WHICH MAY ACCOUNT FOR, IF NOT CAUSE, INTERNAL WARS. ONE PAPER EXAMINES THE IMAGE OR MODEL OF A SOCIAL SYSTEM WHICH ALLOWS FOR INTERNAL CONFLICT AND PEACEFUL INTEGRATION. ANOTHER SET OF PAPERS COVERS THE COURSE AND FORM OF INTERNAL CONFLICTS AND POSES QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE LEVEL OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT, POLITICAL EQUALITY, AND POWER CAPABILITIES IN A SOCIETY. DISCUSSION OF THE PREPARATORY PHASE AND EXPANSION OF INTERNAL VIOLENCE INDICATES THAT TERROR SERVES BOTH AS A DISTINGUISHABLE TYPE OF WARFARE AND AS AN ILLUSTRATION FOR A THEORY OF THE DYNAMIC SEQUENCE OF CONFLICT. IN A PREVIOUSLY UNEXPLORED AREA OF SOCIAL SCIENCE, ONE PAPER DESCRIBES THE COURSE OF EVENTS IN A CONFLICT AS CONDITIONED BY THE INITIAL RESPONSES TO THAT ESTABLISHED AUTHORITIES' REVOLUTIONARY THREATS. INTERNAL WARS ALWAYS SUCCEED IN CHANGING SOCIETIES REGARDLESS OF WHO WINS, EVEN IF THE CHANGES DO NOT ACCORD WITH THE INTENTIONS OF ANY PARTICIPANT OR IF THE OLD ORDER ENDURES. INTERNAL WARS ALWAYS HAVE LONG-RANGE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (TWK)