Agency-based Theory of War for Complex Conflict
The
arrangement of men into societies is a natural social phenomenon. Aristotle,
for instance, argues that the city-state is an arrangement "that exists by
nature."[1]
Whereas atoms seek other atoms for an equal distribution of energy, men seek
other men for a similarly equal distribution of tranquility. Augustine defines
the ordered distribution of man's tranquility (human society) as four circles.
The first is man's house. The second is the city. The third is the world, and
the fourth is heaven.[2]
Something or someone guides each circle which also bears the responsibility, as
Aristotle contends, to maintain order within the scope of their circle.[3]
The ordering of society from household to the world, establishes an ordering of
rule. These strata form the environment through which man engages with other
men (Figure 1).[4] The rule of man, therefore, seeks to achieve
a kind of harmony with what Augustine deems a, "well-ordered concord of
civic obedience and civic rule."[5]
Agency arises out of man’s ability to rule and express one’s will onto another
and is the foundation of violent tensions.
