Peace and War

<p>Is war necessary? In <em>Peace and War </em>prominent anthropologists and other social scientists explore the cultural and social factors leading to war. They analyze the covert causes of war from a cross-cultural perspective: ideologies that dispose people to war; underlying patterns of social relationships that help institutionalize war; and the cultural systems of military establishments. Overt causes of war-environmental factors like the control of scarce resources advantageous territories and technologies or promoting the wel-fare of people like oneself-are also considered.</p><p>The authors examine anthropologists' role in policy formation-how their theories on the nature of culture and society help those who deal with global problems on a day-to-day basis. They argue that both covert and overt mechanisms are pushing the world closer to a devastating war and offer strategies to weaken the effects of these mechanisms. This anthropological and historical analysis of the causes of war is a valuable resource for those studying war and those trying to understand the place of social science in framing pacific options.</p>