History of Anthropological Research on War (original) (raw)

Review of J. Haas, ed., THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF WAR

The nine articles in "The Anthropology of War" provide useful data and references on war in various prestate societies, argue sundry polemical points about how and why war and peace should be studied and explained, and raise certain methodological and explanatory issues which deserve discussion here even though no consensus on them, nor even any substantial clarification of them, appears to have been achieved at the week-long 1986 seminar from which the articles have been drawn. The stated goal of the seminar was arriving at "a better understanding of the causes of both war and peace in prestate societies and the impact of war on the evolution of those societies" (xi), and the articles contribute in varying degrees to meeting this goal, sometimes in ways different from those intended or claimed by the authors themselves.

Anthropology and War: Theory, Politics, Ethics

The anthropology of war and peace: Perspectives on …, 1989

The pia" 01 tllb chlpter 1$ to fi .. t .umm8flze that model and then d lscuSl ils relevancy to oonlompotaty wa., 110111 In ;ls own direo=t 1m• plleallull' and in what It Indicate. aoout vario us applied ~rf(}ft •. The moo,,1 ;. based .... lllly on data about ntm.late socletl .. s. Stilles are COlUidered only all In endpoint 10 thai evoluti",,,,ry conllnuum. To aUempllo.".lyu modem war w ith thi, model wuu ld .equi.., much wor k and m.ny modlHaotionJ a nd uten. lons of theory. The pi h"re i! more mode.t: to .how lila! the gene ... 1 feat",," of Ihe model Seem relev.n' to contemporary connlct. and thl! this apparenl rel evlney • ugge.l. gu ideline. for future , ..... an:h. The model i. mlleri,II't In orientation. Involving Ih"", pre,nlses. Fl rll. th., the demographic c/u.recteri5liCi 01 • society, H. technology. and U. pIInem of exlracUng and processlna .etOurces from the nllul'II l environment ,"lnll'llstruChll'1l", shal'" th~ suelely ', weial. economk:. In d poliUCIII o'pnlutlon '''strur;tur~'') •• nd that boIh Inf.lUt .uctu ... and strucw", .hll'" the ldeoJogial superttructu.., of th~ socl~ty. The relatlon. hip betw""n th."., analytic level. I. thought of as I ne.t.m hi erarchy of p.ogres.lvely mo.e limiting con,t.ain t •. The mom bft.lc fteto,. elt,bllsh the genel'lll out lin.,. or posslbllitie. of a wa. system. Other fao:;lors opel'llte with in Ihose limits. PO'OS"'uively n .. rowlng 1>'»' .lblUtlM tow.rds I very IImilM I'll". of ltCIually possibla patlern •. Within this dele.mlnlstk: Il'IImework. theM "' .... i .... sign ifiQln l role lor I nd l~ldu.1 vlrialion .nd choice. Fu"her. the model asserts that beliefs In d a\lltud.,.. although largely derlvltlve ..... still In l!S$<!nU al part of the lunctioning of w.r system •. This opens the possibility th.: Idell dev~loped by .mh1Opolog!st. may ha~e In Impact "!n the real world: ' prov ided they take Inlo account th mo", brulic constr,lnlS sh'p1na contempor&ry wlr. The IeCOnd premite concerns the motlvallon of tho$e who decide on w.o. 11 besin. with the fl'"OPO"itlon that hu "", n. will I llemp! to ",al ntlln or enhance the e~lsting level of the tMOUn:e5 available to them. of the co.ts Involved In obtalnlna theM! ..... ource •. Ind of the se<:urlty of th"" and other bft.lc IIvlns condition •. Since warfalll typo lcelly endange .. some or .11 of th ...... tile decJ'lon to fight will ooxur when decb lon maken perceive mlteriJ l benefits whleh out"'elgh the expectable CO$t_ wa,. will ooxur when decillon makert believe it M!rvl!S Iheir material Interetts. This premise directs attention 10 the inlerests .nd actions of those who decide mllltlry policy. nd. in doing so. b,..,.k, o ut of a functlonal i' l perspective In which social INllern.. re explained by Ihelr con tributio n to the mftlntenance of whole social systom •. It doe. not SU88 •• t , "psycholoSI. tl c al'prOllch. " since the struCtu." of leadership. interests. and option. a.e all determined by socl,1 proceSfeS. And whUe this does contl'lldlct view. that wars re5ult