Ramel, Frédéric

Durkheim beyond Circumstances: Revisiting Allemagne au-dessus de tout. German Mentality and the War - 2004.


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L’Allemagne au-dessus de tout is a circumstantial piece of work related to the First World War. However, the scale and the method adopted reveal an eminently sociological reasoning since Durkheim uses the key notions of his sociology such as “normal” and “pathological” or the “middle.” This book also allows the sociologist to take a stand in relation to social Darwinism (a widely used approach in military studies before 1914) while positioning himself with respect to German thought. While it reflects an interest in the issues of war, this writing is marginal in studies of one of the fathers of sociology, particularly in the writings of sociologists who wish to integrate Durkheim in the field of international relations.