Citation

Bernard J. Am. J. Sociol. 1965; 70(4): 442-454.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1965, University of Chicago Press)

DOI

10.1086/223878

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

There has been a remarkable revival of interest in the field of conflict in the last decade, due in part to the work of Von Neumann and Morgenstern on the theory of games and the use of this work by the Department of Defense. Much of this work has a psychological orientation. There are differences in emphasis between the relationalistic (strategic) and the non-rationalistic approaches. Schelling has transformed classic game theory into a theory of interaction. Rapoport rejects the game approach as leading to absurd results. Richardson's collective-behavior model is espoused by both Rapoport and Boulding, but it is used differently by them. The bureaucratization of violence has been commented on by Hannah Arendt. The theory of non-violence has not been cultivated; but Schelling's concept of the co-ordination game may prove useful. Sociological research tends to be empirical rather than theoretical, but it now applies more sophisticated techniques than in the past. Experimental studies, based on laboratory "games" and simulation studies, combine theoretical and empirical approaches. Some of these games are as useful as projective tests as they are as techniques for studying conflict.