# Study Guide: Chapter 16 — War And Terrorism

> Organized by textbook section. Review the objectives, study topics, key takeaways, and questions for each section.

## 16.1: Sociological Perspectives on War and Terrorism

### Study Topics
- Learning Objective
- Table 16.1 Theory Snapshot
- Conflict Theory
- Symbolic Interactionism
- Figure 16.1 International Peace Symbol

### Key Terms
- **conflict theory** — The view that society is composed of groups with different interests arising from their placement in the social structure.
- **crime** — Behavior considered so harmful or offensive that it is banned by the criminal law.
- **economy** — The social institution that organizes the production, distribution, and consumption of a society’s goods and services.
- **Functionalism** — The view that social institutions are important for their contributions to social stability.
- **imperialism** — The use of military power and other means to extend a nation’s influence and control over other nations.
- **militarism** — An overemphasis on military policy and spending.
- **military-industrial complex** — The close relationships among military leaders, government officials, and defense contractors.
- **power elite** — C. Wright Mills’s term for the government, big business, and the military, which he said collaborate to advance their own interests.
- **Symbolic interactionism** — A perspective in sociology that focuses on the meanings people gain from social interaction.
- **terrorism** — The use of unexpected violence to intimidate or coerce people in the pursuit of political or social objectives.

### Key Takeaways
- War and terrorism serve several functions, including the creation of social solidarity.
- According to conflict theory, war advances the interests of the military-industrial complex, while militarism takes money away from unmet social needs.
- Symbolic interactionism emphasizes the importance of symbols in support for war and terrorism and the experience of civilians and veterans as victims of war.

### Review Questions
1. Which one of the three perspectives on war and terrorism do you most favor? Why?
2. Why do you think the flag has so much symbolic importance in American society?

## 16.2: War

### Study Topics
- The World at War
- The United States at War
- Table 16.2 US Participation in Major Wars
- Explaining War
- War as a Social Phenomenon
- Population Change and Environmental Change
- Ideology and Prejudice
- Civilians: The Casualties of War
- Children and Our Future
- Veterans: The Casualties of War
- Rape and Sexual Assault
- Applying Social Research
- Helping American Veterans
- Other Impacts of War
- Militarism and the US Military Budget
- Figure 16.2 US Defense Outlays, 2000–2011 (Fiscal Year 2005 Dollars)
- Clarifying the Military Budget
- The US Military Budget in International Perspective
- Figure 16.3 International Military Spending, 2010
- Lessons from Other Societies
- US Arms Exports

### Key Terms
- **civil war** — War within nations.
- **crime** — Behavior considered so harmful or offensive that it is banned by the criminal law.
- **drug** — Any substance other than food that, when taken into the body, affects the structure and/or functioning of the body.
- **economy** — The social institution that organizes the production, distribution, and consumption of a society’s goods and services.
- **family** — A group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment and who care for one another.
- **health care** — The provision of medical services to prevent, diagnose, and treat health problems.
- **imperialism** — The use of military power and other means to extend a nation’s influence and control over other nations.
- **life expectancy** — The average age to which people can be expected to live.
- **militarism** — An overemphasis on military policy and spending.
- **military-industrial complex** — The close relationships among military leaders, government officials, and defense contractors.
- **political economy** — The interaction of political and economic institutions and processes.
- **Prostitution** — The selling of sexual services.
- **race** — A category of people who share certain inherited physical characteristics, such as skin color, facial features, and stature.
- **sexual harassment** — Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is used as a condition of employment or promotion or that interferes with an individual’s job performance and creates an intimidating or hostile environment.
- **terrorism** — The use of unexpected violence to intimidate or coerce people in the pursuit of political or social objectives.

### Learning Objectives
1. Explain why war is best understood as a social phenomenon and why nations go to war.
2. Outline both sides to the debate over the size of the US military budget.
3. List the types of problems that military veterans often face.

### Key Takeaways
- War is a social phenomenon in which a mixture of motives underlies decisions to go to war.
- War has significant impacts, but perhaps most of all on civilians and veterans.
- US military spending amounts to more than $1 trillion annually.
- Critics of the military budget say that the billions of dollars spent on weapons and other military needs would be better spent on domestic needs such as schools and day care.

### Review Questions
1. Do you think the US military budget should be increased, be reduced, or stay about the same? Explain your answer.
2. What do you think is the worst problem that veterans have faced in returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Why?

## 16.3: Terrorism

### Study Topics
- Defining Terrorism
- Types of Terrorism
- Table 16.3 Types of Terrorism
- Explaining Terrorism
- The Impact of Terrorism

### Key Terms
- **civil war** — War within nations.
- **crime** — Behavior considered so harmful or offensive that it is banned by the criminal law.
- **Insurgent terrorism** — Terrorism committed by private citizens against their own government or against businesses and institutions seen as representing the “establishment.”
- **State terrorism** — Violence by a government that is meant to frighten its own citizens and thereby stifle their dissent.
- **terrorism** — The use of unexpected violence to intimidate or coerce people in the pursuit of political or social objectives.
- **Transnational terrorism** — Terrorism committed by the citizens of one nation against targets in another nation.
- **Vigilante terrorism** — Terrorism committed by private citizens against other private citizens.

### Learning Objectives
1. Explain why terrorism is difficult to define.
2. List the major types of terrorism.
3. Evaluate the law enforcement and structural-reform approaches for dealing with terrorism.

### Key Takeaways
- Terrorism involves the use of intimidating violence to achieve political ends. Whether a given act of violence is perceived as terrorism or as freedom fighting often depends on whether someone approves of the goal of the violence.
- Several types of terrorism exist. The 9/11 attacks fall into the transnational terrorism category.

### Review Questions
1. Do you think the US response to the 9/11 attacks has been appropriate, or do you think it has been too overdone? Explain your answer.
2. Do you agree with the view that structural problems help explain Middle Eastern terrorism? Why or why not?

## 16.4: Preventing War and Stopping Terrorism

### Study Topics
- Preventing War
- People Making a Difference - Speaking Truth to Power
- Stopping Terrorism

### Key Terms
- **educational attainment** — How far one gets in school, which has been shown to depend heavily on family income and race/ethnicity.
- **militarism** — An overemphasis on military policy and spending.
- **race** — A category of people who share certain inherited physical characteristics, such as skin color, facial features, and stature.
- **terrorism** — The use of unexpected violence to intimidate or coerce people in the pursuit of political or social objectives.
- **Transnational terrorism** — Terrorism committed by the citizens of one nation against targets in another nation.

### Learning Objectives
1. Outline approaches that show promise for preventing war.
2. Understand the differences between the law enforcement and structural-reform approaches to preventing terrorism.

### Key Takeaways
- Arms control and diplomacy remain essential strategies for stopping war, but the roots of war must also be addressed.
- The law enforcement/military approach to countering terrorism may weaken terrorist groups, but it also may increase their will to fight and popular support for their cause and endanger civil liberties.

### Review Questions
1. Do you think deceit was involved in the decision of the United States to go to war against Iraq in 2003? Why or why not?
2. Which means of countering terrorism do you prefer more, the law enforcement/military approach or the structural-reform approach? Explain your answer.

## 16.5: End-of-Chapter Material

### Key Terms
- **conflict theory** — The view that society is composed of groups with different interests arising from their placement in the social structure.
- **militarism** — An overemphasis on military policy and spending.
- **military-industrial complex** — The close relationships among military leaders, government officials, and defense contractors.
- **Symbolic interactionism** — A perspective in sociology that focuses on the meanings people gain from social interaction.
- **terrorism** — The use of unexpected violence to intimidate or coerce people in the pursuit of political or social objectives.

### Chapter Summary
1. President Eisenhower warned of the dangers of a high military budget and the militarism of the United States.
2. War actually serves several functions according to functional theory, but conflict theory emphasizes the many problems war causes and the role played in militarism by the military-industrial complex. Symbolic interactionism focuses on the experiences of soldiers and civilians in the military and in wartime and on their perceptions of war and the military.
3. War is best regarded as a social phenomenon rather than a biological phenomenon. Decisions to go to war are sometimes based on noble reasons, but they also involve deceit and prejudice.
4. Civilians and veterans are both victims of war. Civilian deaths in war are almost inevitable, and atrocities are far from rare. American veterans are at greater risk for PTSD, unemployment, and several other problems that also affect their families.
5. The United States has the highest military budget by far in the world. Debate continues over the size of this budget; critics say that the United States would have a higher quality of life if the military budget were reduced and the saved dollars spent on unmet social needs.
6. Terrorism is best regarded as rational behavior committed for political reasons rather than as psychologically abnormal behavior. The US response to the 9/11 attacks has cost hundreds of billions of dollars, and critics say that the war on terrorism has both exaggerated the threat of terrorism and diverted attention and funds from unmet social needs.

### Application
You are a key aide to a US senator who has been asked to participate in a university forum on the size of the US military budget. The senator asks you to write a memo for her that summarizes the arguments on both sides of debate on the military budget and that also indicates your own view of what position the senator should take on this debate. What position will you recommend to the senator? Explain your answer in detail.

### Action Ideas
To help deal with the problems of war and terrorism discussed in this chapter, you may wish to do any of the following:

1. Educate yourself about the military budget and publish a pamphlet on the web and/or in print that critically examines the size of this budget.
2. Form or join a peace group on your campus or in the surrounding community that calls attention to the various problems related to the military that were discussed in this chapter.
3. Because prejudice against Muslims increased after 9/11, form or join a group in your campus or surrounding community that seeks to improve relations between Muslims and non-Muslims.