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Polemology and irenology - In the last years much attention has been given to a form of new scientific research which is concentrated on the phenomenon of war. This new research is called polemology or irenology. Q. Wright, J. Starke, R. Aron, B. Röling are to be mentioned for their very important contributions to scientific knowledge in this field. It is however interesting to note that this new science can be considered as the result of an evolution in scientific thinking on this problem. Specially the work of Gumplowicz was important. After the First World War the scientific study of international relations made progress. Lundstedt and Olivecrona held the opinion that international facts were sometimes more important than legal theory. Huber and Schindler tried to establish the first principles of the sociology of international relations. They described the tensions between law and fact and how an international rule of law was determined by the evolution of political facts. After the Second World War more attention was given to international politics and the classical study of international law was in some occasions replaced by the study of international relations. Political scientific research started on an important scale. Kennan, Morgenthau, Kaplan, Friedmann and many others concentrated their research for a great deal on sociological factors which influenced international policy. Haesaert and Schwarzenberger described the main forces of international politics. For Haesaert it were the factors which bring states to synergies. Schwarzenberger described the relations of power. Another object of study in the field of political science are the changes occuring in international relations. The growing importance of international organisations, the more important role of the individual in the international law community, the fact that sovereignty becomes a rather relative principle and that especially in the European Communities a new kind of law has been created, implying the submission of the member-states, are illustrating the changings of the international society. In our opinion, polemology or irenology can not ignore the results of research which are made also in the other branches of law or political science that we just mentioned. Polemology is part of political science and must count with every aspect of international relations, although its research is concentrated on one phenomenon. As a part of the political science it is also the result of the sociological approach to the study of international intercourse which started already before the First World War but which attracted an important group of scientists only after the Second World War.
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How to Cite: Van Bogaert, E. (1968) “Polemologie en irenologie”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen. 13(3). doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.95805