Military Sociology and Sociology of War

1. Define the military as a state and social institution and its influence on the society and individuals, to be aware of and to be able to compare its specific qualities.
2. Define and synthetise sociological concepts and theories in military sociology
3. Analyze, comprehend and organise the dynamics of small and medium social groups
4. Analyze and comprehend concepts, institutions and processes of civil-military relations
5. Identify the causes of making wrong decisions
6. Analyze and apply sociological perspective, theories and methods on the contemporary problems of the miltary and warfare
7. Analyze and comprehend war as a social phenomenon and to apply that knowledge when choosing a doctrine
8. Analyze and to be familiar with and to apply the principles of good leadership
9. Analyze, comprehend and evaluate sociological research of the military and war and to apply it in leadership and management
10. Analyze, comprehend and predict the modus operandi of the armed forces in the multicultural environment

Classes are held in the form of lectures.

Classes are held in the form of seminars.

During the course, students are assigned independent tasks (preparation of oral presentations).

Mentoring work for students who choose the topic of their graduation thesis from this course.

1. Lectures: Military and war as sociological topics - a short review of the beginning and the development of the scientific discipline. Exercises: Classics of the social history of war: Herodotus, Thucydides (selected texts)
2. Lectures: Military as an institution and a profession (institutional and professional model of the military). Institutional characteristics of the military:patriotism, loyalty to the nation and the state, lifelong commitment, historical traditions, features of a total institution. Exercises: Social theories of war and military doctrines: Scharnhorst, Clausewitz (selected texts)
3. Lectures: Typical and distinctive features of the military profession: expert knowledge and skills in employing violence, lifelong learning, advancement through the whole or the major parts of the organisation and frequent changes of posts within the organisation, profession autonomy and self-regulation (awards, penalties, controlled personnel recruitment and advancement) under continuous civilian sector supervision, obligation to serve the nation in the most difficult conditions with no right to compensation, a special value system to maintain professionalism and obligations towards society, committment to the profession and the organisation at all times and in all relations, restrictions of family life. Exercises: Classics of sociology and theories of state as a violence monopolist: Max Weber (selected texts)
4. Lectures: Entry in the institution, personnel selection, education and training, institutional assimilation and its phases, patterns of service and promotion, codex of behaviour, military etiquette and rituals, political activity of the military personnel, return to civilian life. Composition of the armed forces being socially representative of the general population, the position of the minorities within the military ( national, sexual and other minorities). Exercises: Samuel Huntington, civil-military relations (selected texts)
5. Lectures: Women and gender policy in the armed forces. Military families. Military as a social institution (absorbing surplus labour from the labour market, benefits). Exercises: Samuel Huntington, military professionalism (selected texts)
6. Lectures: Modern and post-modern military, social changes and their impact on the military. Exercises: Morris Janowitz, technology development and military profession dynamics (selected texts)
7. Lectures: Sociology of combat. Cohesion, motivation, esprit de corps, leadership. Exercises: Charles Moskos and modern and post-modern militaries (selected texts)
8. Lectures: Civil-military relations. History of the relationship between the military and the political community, civilian supervision of the armed forces (institutions and procedures), fluctuations in staffing by using the obligatory and volunteer recruitment, implications of massive armies on changes of social relations, nations and militaries, autonomy and integration of the military institution into the society (military education system, military health system, housing, retirement pensions.) Exercises: Michael Mann, Martin Shaw and power issues (selected texts)
9. Lectures: Civil-military relations (continuation) Exercises: Origins of human agressiveness and violence (selected texts)
10. Lectures: Human agressiveness. Theories of social violence and value systems. Exercises: Mary Kaldor, Martin van Creveld and warfare transformations (selected texts)
11. Lectures: Conceptualisation of war as a social phenomenon. Doctrines of deciding upon starting a war and the issues of when and why societies wage war. Organisation and mobilisation of the society for war and in war. Exercises: Siniša Malešević and the new sociology of war and violence (selected texts)
12. Lectures: Impact of war on the society, societal and social consequences of war. Exercises: International operations and multicultural context of military operations (selected texts)
13. Lectures: New wars: identity and civil wars, low intensity conflict, peacekeeping and humanitarian military operations in multicultural environment, assymetric conflicts and counter-terrorism and their social correlates responsible for war . Exercises: International operations and multicultural context of military operations (discussion with stakeholders)
14. Lectures: Policing tasks of the military and problems of the legitimacy of the use of armed forces in non-international armed conflicts and riots. Exercises: Analysis of a model sociological research
15. Lectures: Ideology, enemy image, media coverage of the war and its spectacularisation. Exercises: Presentations of selected seminar papers