War in Iraq

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer concentrates research efforts on whether there are specific theorists and theories that could be applied to the current Iraq war and perhaps help others to understand it better. The writer first looks at the issue from the point of view that there are theorists, both classical and modern, who have strong views on war. The writer explains that this is largely due to conflict theory, which is that life is largely characterized more by conflict than it is by consensus. Those who uphold this theory have different ways of looking at it and the purpose of this paper is to look at classical theorists such as Karl Marx and Max Weber, as well as modern theorists such as Ralph Dahrendorf and Lewis Coser. The different views they have of conflict theory is then applied to the war in Iraq.

From the Paper:

"The United States went to work in Iraq to try to remove Hussein from power, but also to help the Iraqi people understand that this type of treatment is not necessary. There may be people in the United States that are treated this way, but in general the government does not treat the United States citizens in anything like the way Hussein treated his people. Most of the people in Iraq were too afraid to rise up against Hussein, for fear of terrible punishment. Because of this, the United States troops could not get a great deal of help at first, but as the war went on and it began to look as though the United States would win, the Iraqi citizens begin to offer a helping hand. They were beginning to realize that they were finally actually going to be free."
"Another conflict theorist, Max Weber, did not go along with the theories of Karl Marx. He believed that there was more than just a ruling class and a normal class of people. Instead of two classes, he believed that there were four, and that they were determined by power, social status, and class."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Adelman, Irma & Morris, Cynthia Taft. 1973. Economic growth and social equity in developing countries. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
• Arat, Zehra F. 1991. Democracy and human rights in developing countries. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
• Barry, Brian M. 1989. Democracy, power, and justice: essays in political theory. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Bebler, Anton, & Seroka, Jim (Eds.) 1990. Contemporary political systems: Classifications and typologies. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
• Bernard, Thomas J. 1983. The consensus-conflict debate: Form and content in social theories. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

More papers on War in Iraq:

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• Analytical Essay # 90223 : "The War in Iraq"
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• Analytical Essay # 139215 : "The War in Iraq: Costs and Consequences"

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