The Social Bond

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This authored monograph analyses the determining factors of societal evolution: the interaction between individuals and the resulting relationship, which the author calls the "Social Bond". The book aims at providing a better understanding of social dynamics and social interaction, and the author develops two models which provide interesting new insights. The target audience primarily comprises academics working in the field of social complexity and related fields, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students alike.

Central to discussions of multiculturalism and minority rights in modern liberal societies is the idea that the particular demands of minority groups contradict the requirements of equality, anonymity, and universality for citizenship and belonging. The contributors to this volume question the significance of this dichotomy between the universal and the particular, arguing that it reflects how the modern state has instituted the basic rights and obligations of its members and that these institutions are undergoing fundamental transformations under the pressure of globalization. They show that the social bonds uniting groups constitute the means of our freedom, rather than obstacles to achieving the universal.

Is violent conflict inevitable? What is it in our social nature that makes us conduct wars, genocides and persecutions? The answer lies in how we are programmed to bond and form communities that demand loyalty in order to let us belong. The analysis in this book cuts through the social sciences in order to show the fundamentals of violent conflict. The book investigates conflict at the level of sociality. It reorganises existing theories of conflict under that perspective and brings them to bear upon the link between violence and togetherness. It introduces the key concept of closure to describe the conditions under which human groups start to perceive their position as similar and their reality as polarised. This is how normality starts breaking down and fault lines appear. Violent conflict is then analysed as a reaction that seeks change more rapidly than conditions seem to allow. Global comparative data from numerous studies – including M. Mousseau's works – are used to disentangle the factors that contribute to "democratic peace", that is, the fact that democratic societies do not go to war with each other. This inquiry reveals the new dimension of sociodiversity, which allows societies where individuality is strong to constantly produce alternatives and avoid closure. The book concludes with a coda on peace and sociodiversity which explains how contemporary societies can ensure durable peace and adequate social justice at the same time. Written in a clear and direct style, this volume will appeal to students, researchers and scholars with an interest in political sociology, anthropology, international relations, war studies, as well as conflict and peace studies.

This book, first published in 1997, offers an approach to researching human behavior relating details of interaction to social structure.

Resolving a decades long divide between what are often held to be incommensurate paradigms, Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship unites cultural and biological approaches to social life and kinship. The synthesis is non-reductive, respecting the core tenets of both paradigms, and also incorporates psychological attachment theory into the account. Praised by adherents of both perspectives, the work provides a thorough survey of the theoretical debates and empirical findings across a wide array of disciplines, providing students of social behaviour and kinship with a rich and comprehensive resource. This work is a powerful example of how social and physical sciences can unite on equal terms, without the danger of one being subsumed by the other. Both approaches emerge stronger as a result. Scholarly Reviews * A landmark in the field of evolutionary biology, which places genetic determinism in the correct perspective. - Folia Primatologica Journal * I will be strongly recommending this book to all of my advanced undergraduates, masters and PhD students, as well as to my colleagues. Not only does it help to resolve debates that have run for many years, but it is also an outstanding example of what can be achieved by immersing oneself in literature from different fields, while retaining an intellectual openness and exercising incisive analysis... a shining example of what can be achieved when excellent scholars engage fully across disciplinary boundaries. - Acta Ethologica Journal * Maximilian Holland gets to the heart of the matter... If he had been in the debate in the 1980s then a lot of subsequent confusion could have been avoided. - Robin Fox,‭ ‬Emeritus Professor of Anthropology,‭ ‬Rutgers.‭ ‬NAS Member * Max Holland has demonstrated extraordinarily thorough scholarship in his exhaustive review of the often contentious discussions of kinship. He has produced a balanced synthesis melding the two approaches exemplified in the biological and sociocultural behavioral positions... This should be the definitive word on the subject. - Irwin Bernstein, Distinguished Research Professor of Primatology, Georgia * A brilliant discussion of the relationship between kinship and social bonding as understood in evolutionary biology and in sociocultural anthropology. - Kirk Endicott, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Dartmouth * His synthesis is lucid and effective... Holland has produced a significant work of scholarship that will be of interest to a wide swath of the anthropological community." - Critique of Anthropology Journal * A tremendously useful resource for students of kinship in anthropology, psychology and biology who are interested in looking beyond the confines of their own discipline... highly relevant for anyone interested in this exciting field. - Social Anthropology Journal * Max Holland has provided a wide-ranging and deeply-probing analysis of the influence of genetic relatedness and social context on human kinship. He argues that while genetic relatedness may play a role in the evolution of social behavior, it does not determine the forms of such behavior. His discussion is exemplary for its thoroughness, and should inspire more nuanced ventures in applying Darwinian approaches to sociocultural anthropology. - Philip Kitcher, John Dewey Professor of Philosophy, Colombia. Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences * Unlike many commentators who have tackled kinship in the context of biology, Holland takes culture seriously and deals fairly with Schneider''s arguments... This book helps to untangle a long-standing disciplinary muddle. - Richard Feinberg, Professor of Anthropology, Kent State

This engaging and timely book demonstrates how a deeper understanding of theories about organizations are necessary for the development of a relational sociology and provides an in-depth explanation of globalization and social change. It also examines how social bonds are constructed through combinations of different forms of communication and investigates the bonds of intimate relationships and partially organized relationships such as street gangs, brotherhoods, and social movements.

This volume addresses the long-standing neglect of the category of labour in critical social theory and it presents a powerful case for a new paradigm based on the anthropological significance of work and its role in shaping social bonds.