The sociological study of

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

, war, and

social conflict Social conflict is the Conflict (process), struggle for Agency (sociology), agency or Power (sociology), power in society. Social conflict occurs when two or more people oppose each other in social interaction, and each exerts social power with re ...

uses sociological theory and methods to analyze

group conflict Group conflict, or hostilities between different groups, is a feature common to all forms of human social organization (e.g., sports teams, ethnic groups, nations, religions, gangs), and also occurs in social animals. Although group conflict is on ...

s, especially

collective violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened o ...

and alternative constructive nonviolent forms of conflict transformation. The

by-law A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

s of the Section on Peace, War and Social Conflict of the

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fif ...

specify:What is the Peace, War, and Social Conflict Section?

The purpose of the Section on Peace, War, and Social Conflict is to foster the development and application of sociological theories and methods for the understanding and study of dynamics of collective conflict and its prevention, conduct, and resolution. Included is the study of military institutions and conflict between collectivities such as countries, ethnic groups, political movements, and religious groups. Also included are the roles of military organizations, other governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and social movements.

See also

Notes

Further reading