'Studies on the Nature of War' aims to place in perspective the sociocultural variables that make outbreaks of war probable, and identify for policy-makers steps that can be taken to control these variables. This first volume of the series is designed to show the many effects that war produces on the societies that are addicted to them. Twelve papers describe the evolution from antiquity to modern times of the interpretation of the causes of war and of its effects; the causes of war among pre-industrial societies; war in an ancient empire, the Roman, in a modern one, the Austro-Hungarian, and in the Soviet empire; and the various aspects of the impact of war on society, for instance, the correlation between war and personal violence, the manipulation of public communication, and the costs of war.
CONTRIBUTORS: G. AUSENDA, R. POZZO, C. DANDEKER, R. B. FERGUSON, R. L. CARNEIRO, J. A. TAINTER, T. J. CORNELL, N. RUDENSKY, A. AKLAEV, D. LESTER, P.M. TAYLOR, W. R. THOMPSON.
CONTENTS: The evolution of learned thinking on the significance of war from classical Greece to the Renaissance: A survey. G. AUSENDA and R. POZZO; The causes of war and the history of modern sociological theory. C. DANDEKER; The general consequences of war: An Amazonian perspective. R. B. FERGUSON; The role of warfare in political evolution: Past results and future projections. R. L. CARNEIRO; Evolutionary consequences of war. J. A. TAINTER; The effects of war on the society of ancient Rome. T. J. CORNELL; War and nationalities problems: The end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. G. AUSENDA; War as a factor of ethnic conflict and stability in the U.S.S.R. N. RUDENSKY; War and social stress and their effects on the nationalities in the U.S.S.R. A. AKLAEV; War and personal violence. D. LESTER; The effects of war on communications. P.M. TAYLOR; Assessing the costs of war: A preliminary cut. W. R. THOMPSON.