Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Military sociology is an interdisciplinary subfield of sociology that employs sociological concepts, theories, and methods to analyze the internal organization, practices, and perceptions of the armed forces as well as the relationships between the military and other social institutions. Some of the topics generally covered in military sociology include small group process related to race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, leadership, policy, veterans, historical cases, United States and foreign military organization, international affairs, manpower models, the transition from conscription to all-volunteer forces, the social legitimacy of military organization, the military as a form of industrial organization, and civil-military relations. The military institution and members of the armed forces have been an abundant source of information to address a broad range of sociological subfields including demography, stratification, social psychology, comparative sociology, and theory. Military sociologists often use both the differences and similarities between the military and society in conducting their analysis. The differences often spring from the unique cluster of duties and sacrifices asked of service members and the technology they use to perform their jobs. The similarities examined often assume that the military is a microcosm of society. This assumption stems from ... log in or subscribe to read full text