This book is a comprehensive analysis of the various social science approaches to explaining and interpreting war, peace and the military. Its central aim is to trace and reconstruct those basic assumptions constructed and 'thought processes' undertaken by modern social sciences in their research and conceptualization of military violence and the use of force. In addition to such reconstruction, the aim is also to enquire into the preconditions of such thought. This study therefore eschews the development of an explicit 'strategy' (in the sense of a research strategy), but instead is much more concerned with thinking about its subject matter by means of re-thinking and reflecting upon different theoretical approaches and problems. The investigation includes a critical reexamination of the tradition of military-sociological research from the beginning of modern sociology to late-twentieth century theoretical approaches regarding the security-focused and/or war-driven aspects ofmodern society.

Social Sciences and the Military: Preliminary Remarks.- Modern Society and the Military: Early Sociological Approaches.- Political Economy and Military Organization.- Democracy and the Military - Updating the Incompatibility Theorem.- The Issue of Acceptance and Legitimacy of Modern Armed Forces.- The Concept of Modern 'Rational' Security Policy.- War, Peace and Military Violence: A Phenomenological Inquiry.- Rethinking Politics and Social Science beyond the War Paradigm: A Sketch.