- Introduction/Welcome
- The basic paradoxes of war: how it builds and destroys, produces love and hate are discussed. Outline of course and general expectations.
- The Nature of War
- War is a product of both “natural” instincts and a social creation involving the imposition of organization and authority structures.
- The Causes of War
- Causes of war may be described as material, cultural, and psychological. At the heart of war is the product of us-them dynamics.
- The Experience of War
- In order to understand the social creation of war we need to
appreciate that this is an activity VERY few would engage in
with control or inducement.
- Making Warriors
- Warriors are taught a set of values of which duty and honor
are fundamental. These are taught through the imposition of
discipline.
- The War of Armies
- Wars are about organized violence and this part of the
course traces the managerial and technological
developments necessary to culminate in total wars.
- The Progress of Battle
- Historical overview of battle formations from phalanx to gunpowder revolution to industrialized war.
- The War of Societies
- Wars can also be about societal survival and we look at three examples: conquest, genocide, and strategic bombing.
- Social Aspects of War: Nation State and Nationalism
- Wars help build states and nationalism
- Social Aspects of War: Democracy, Citizenship, and Social Equality
- Wars also develop citizenship and democratic demands
- The Rise of the Rest
- While the West was dominant for 500 years, beginning in
1945 new forms of war have challenged the technological
and organizational supremacy of old empires.
- New Challenges
- Wars are not fought as they were yet militaries are still organized anachronistically.
- Final Lecture
