Introduction: Social theorists and the First World War

Area of Science:

• Sociology and Social Theory
• History of Science
• Political Science

Background:

• The First World War (WWI) represented a significant rupture, challenging established social scientific paradigms.
• Intellectuals and social theorists, even those not directly involved, were deeply affected by the war's scale and intensity.
• Conventional scholarship has often marginalized the 1914-1918 period, viewing it as an interruption rather than a formative era.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the personal, political, and theoretical impacts of WWI on social theorists in Europe and the US.
• To assess how the war reshaped sociological theories and the discipline as a whole.
• To highlight the relevance of the WWI period in understanding the development of modern social science and the modern world.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of individual social theorists and their networks.
• Examination of the transformation of sociology as a discipline during the WWI era.
• Review of scholarly contributions assessing the impact of WWI on social thought.

Main Results:

• WWI compelled social scientists to reconsider the impact of industrialization and military affairs on daily life.
• The war forced intellectuals to engage politically, with many gaining unprecedented public visibility and influence.
• The conflict exposed complex issues within the nation-state system, redirecting scholarly focus to geopolitics, state institutions, civil society, political economy, and imperialism.

Conclusions:

• The First World War was a pivotal, transformative event for sociological theory and the social sciences.
• Understanding this period is essential for comprehending the development of the modern world and the role of social science within it.
• The war's impact extended beyond individual theorists to fundamentally alter the discipline's trajectory and concerns.