## I. INTRODUCTION
Today, more than ever, the study of military issues is relevant not only among the military, but also among civilian researchers (scientists). Despite the fact that war as a social phenomenon is as old as human society itself, the need for a thorough understanding of it has only recently become relevant for Ukrainian society.
The role and importance of military force in world politics, the political activity of many states and a certain part of non-state actors is not only not decreasing, but has a tendency to increase. At the same time, the nature of wars and armed conflicts undergoes significant changes - both in terms of their social and political circumstances, and in terms of the forms and methods of conducting armed struggle. For some time, after the end of the Second World War, most of the scientific research that dealt with this issue focused on the maintenance of peace, the humanization of the world community, the elimination and deterrence of war as a way of solving armed conflicts. The world's political, intellectual, social and religious leaders have directed their long-term efforts to prevent the recurrence of war on a global scale (in Europe in particular, which became the main theater of two world wars). Despite these efforts, the war on the European continent started again. Thus, wars not only do not lose their relevance, but also acquire new forms of "human" cruelty, evil, violence and aggression. And you should not indulge yourself with illusions that as society develops, its cultural and educational level increases, and people's well-being increases, relations between them will become more harmonious. This means that the sources of militarism are hidden not only in external threats to national security, but also exist in the social institutions themselves. The well-known saying of the ancient Roman historian Cornelius Nepotus is appropriate in this context: "If you want peace, prepare for war."
Throughout the independence of Ukraine, the sociological discourse of military issues was characterized by a certain marginality, due to various reasons[^1]. We will mention only a few of them: low social demand for the study of military issues (before the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Russia); the prevalence of social technologies regarding the manipulation of public opinion that "it is possible to overcome any social problems, so long as there is no war in independent Ukraine"; lack of internal consolidation of sociologists regarding research vectors (sociology of war and sociology of the army) (Yakovenko, Grynchuk, 2015; Khobta, 2016; Kalagin, 2012). For the most part, sociological studies of military issues were conducted in Ukraine unsystematically (selectively, ad hoc, often situational and fragmented) and, unfortunately, insufficient. Separate aspects of the mentioned problems can be found in the scientific works of E. Afonin (formation of the army as a social institution; peculiarities of the social behavior of military personnel, etc.) (1994), O. Mazurika (modern trends in the reproduction of the army as a social institution) (2001), Yu. Kalagina (prerequisites and peculiarities of the institutionalization of the military contract service in Ukraine) (2008), Solnyshkina A. (peculiarities of the functioning of the military organization) (2009) and others.
The scientific tradition of sociological analysis of war and its consequences, as S. Khobta (2016, p. 126)[^6] rightly notes, is just beginning to take shape in domestic sociology. In particular, the understanding of the multivariability of war, its essence and characteristics, socio-political content, etc. are reflected in the works of such domestic scientists as I. Rushchenko (features of the Russian-Ukrainian hybrid war) (2015), A. Yakovenko (social consequences of the military conflict) (2014), S. Khobta (history of war research, war as an object of sociology) (2016), M. Trebin (theoretical and methodological aspects of war research; armed struggle in Ukraine in the context of modern trends in military affairs) (2014, 2015) and others.
Therefore, the lack of an established research tradition in the direction of the outlined problems is clearly visible already at the beginning of the large-scale intrusion.
The war that is being waged in Ukraine today, to some extent, expands the subject field for professional analysis in modern sociology. So, the question arises as to what research vector is relevant for a sociologist in the context of war, what exactly serves as the subject of sociology's analysis.
The scientific interest of domestic scientists in military issues is conditioned by the events unfolding in Ukraine since 2014 (first the military conflict in Donbas, the annexation of Crimea, and now the full-scale invasion of russia). Thus, the social reality forms an urgent task - to intensify the research of the specified problem from the perspective of sociology, which significantly enables a more thorough understanding of the essence and features of the modern Russian-Ukrainian war and forecasting its impact.
## II. RESEARCH RESULTS
Sociology as a science involves the understanding and analysis of social factors in various aspects of human activity. War is also the result of human activity, and therefore needs the attention of sociologists. The subject field of the sociology of war focuses on the causes of war, its nature (limited or total), the conditions for its deployment and support, the achievement of peace, consequences (immediate and distant), etc. It should be noted that the consequences of the war are not limited to the chronological framework of its conduct or the immediate results. Its consequences "mean the character of changes in the arrangement of socio-economic, political and spiritual forces between states and within them, resulting from military actions, losses incurred and the degree of realization of the goals of the warring parties. The historical role of this or that war must be evaluated by its consequences only within the framework of one era, since a new era also needs a new solution to the problem of war and peace" (Trebin, 2015, p. 33).
One of the features of sociology as a science is its research strategy: systematicity and complexity. For the purpose of a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the Russian-Ukrainian war, we propose to consider the military issues through the prism of micro-, meso-, macro- and mega-level approaches and to trace the research vector proposed by us in those empirical studies that are currently, since the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Russia, implemented in Ukraine.
As you know, the mega-level refers to the analysis of world society as a single global mega-system, its diversity, in particular, the peculiarities of the formation of international relations and the existence of supranational phenomena. In this "key", the sociology of war could analyze the following military issues: types of wars (hybrid, informational); phases of wars, their scale (short-term (blitzkrieg)/long-term); geopolitical attitudes regarding the issue of peace and war on the world stage; military violence; rules of warfare; the role of international institutions (including NATO and the EU) in deterring and preventing military threats; military and political challenges; issues of risks and international security under conditions of nuclear war; the issue of militarization/demilitarization of the world community; arms trade; international terrorism; aggression etc.
The problems of issues that have been actualized since the beginning of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, and which illuminate the main aspects of the mega-level of sociological analysis, are chronologically presented in Table $1^{2}$.
Table 1: The main aspects of the research issues from the beginning of the large-scale invasion of russia into Ukraine through the prism of the mega-level of sociological analysis
<table><tr><td>No</td><td>Research time frame</td><td>The main issues of the research and the companies that implemented it</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>1.03.2022</td><td>Assessment of the guilt of the peoples of Russia and Belarus (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>3-4.03.2022; 14-15.03.2022; 28-29.03.2022</td><td>Three waves of public opinion research during the war (attitudes towards the Russians, guilt of the Russians, maintaining contacts with the Russians, support for Putin's actions, evaluation of the government's actions, scenarios for the development of events) (Info Sapiens)</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>8-9.03.2022</td><td>Assessment of international support to Ukraine (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>12-13.03.2022</td><td>The fourth national survey of Ukrainians in war conditions (assessment of the situation, russia's intentions and reaction of Ukrainians, support for joining NATO) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>18.03.2022</td><td>The fifth national survey: Ukraine in war conditions (assessment of confidence in victory, threats of crisis situations, attitude towards European countries, feasibility of negotiations with russia, creation of military alliances) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>30-31.03.2022</td><td>Seventh nationwide survey: Ukraine in war conditions (assessment of the situation, confidence in victory, foreign policy sympathies) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>10-18.04.2022</td><td>Omnibus (study of the attitude of Ukrainians and Russians to each other: the opportunity to write to ordinary russians/Ukrainians, whatever they write, the guilt of the Russians in the invasion of Ukraine, sympathy for the citizens, support/non-support of the invasion of the territory of Ukraine, are ordinary citizens responsible for military operation in Ukraine) (Info Sapiens)</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>18-19.06.2022</td><td>Thirteenth national survey: foreign policy orientations (situation assessment, confidence in victory, attitude towards international leaders, foreign policy sympathies) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>27-28.06.2022</td><td>IRI survey: socio-political views (citizen attitudes (views of the future), international relations, geopolitical directions, assessment of power, negotiations, sources of information, economic issues, internal migration, personal influence (language issue)) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>8-9.10.2022</td><td>Eighteenth nationwide survey: attitude of Ukrainians to foreign countries (assessment of the situation in the country, assessment of the nuclear threat, attitude to the countries of the EU, the USA and the East) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>20-21.11.2022</td><td>Reconstruction of Ukraine and international aid (international aid in reconstruction, prevention of Russian aggression, attitude towards Germany) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr></table>
On the other hand, as we can see, there is a lack of research that would relate to such aspects as we have defined, such as the types and phases of wars, their scale, military-political challenges, risks and international security under conditions of nuclear war, arms trade, international terrorism.
The macro-level of sociological analysis is a broad context of social analysis, represented in the format of the entire society, its culture, and mentality. The subject of research here is general laws of social changes in society, processes of social transformation, social conflict and social mobility of people (for example, migration). Therefore, at the macro-level, it is appropriate to investigate the readiness/unreadiness of society for effective functioning in war conditions, the level of trust in state institutions, the military organization of society, public opinion regarding military campaigns, the military doctrine of the state, forced migration of the population during the war, the issue of refugees, internally displaced persons, filtration camps for the civilian population, etc. Most aspects of the macro level of sociological analysis are reflected in a number of studies (see Table 2).
Table 2: The main aspects of research issues from the beginning of the large-scale invasion of russia into Ukraine through the prism of macro-level sociological analysis
<table><tr><td>No</td><td>Research time frame</td><td>The main issues of the research and the companies that implemented it</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>26-27.02.2022</td><td>Nationwide survey: Ukraine at war (assessment of the level of trust in the armed forces, the actions of the President) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>26.04.2022</td><td>Ninth nationwide survey: socio-economic problems during the war (change of residence, return home, availability/absence of work, evaluation of the "Victory Gardens" initiative, questions regarding the availability of a plot of land and the "garden" planting initiative, Easter celebration, international aid, attitude towards international leaders) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>27.04.2022</td><td>Tenth nationwide survey: Ideological markers of war (perception of the May 9 holiday, historical memory of the Second World War, attitude towards defenders of Ukraine, attitude towards historical figures, dismantling of symbols of totalitarianism, attitude towards nationalities, language issue). (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>18-19.05.2022</td><td>The twelfth national survey: the dynamics of the assessment of the image of the state (the development vector of Ukraine, its assessment, hopes for the future, the generalized image of the Ukrainian state in the minds of the population) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>19-24.05.2022</td><td>Omnibus (perception of the russian-Ukrainian war) (KIIS)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>September 2022</td><td>Small and medium-sized businesses during the war: research for CIPE (assessment of business development and war losses, needs and obstacles to business development due to war, overcoming corruption, effectiveness of institutions) (Info Sapiens)</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>17-18.08.2022</td><td>Seventeenth National Survey: Identity. Patriotism. Values (assessment of the situation (in which direction Ukraine is moving), confidence in victory, general mood, assessment of the country, image of the future, national identity, language issue, rejection of the russian issue, attitude towards nationalities, value orientations) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr></table>
In view of the information presented in Table 2, it is appropriate to note that such macro-level aspects of sociological analysis as the military organization of society, public opinion regarding the military doctrine of the state, the issue of filtration camps for the civilian population, certain aspects of the functioning of society in conditions of war, are currently left out research attention of sociologists.
The meso-level of sociological analysis is based on the study of social organizations and social institutions, that is, associations of people that have their own established structure of relations, history of formation and distribution of functional duties within a single social association. Here, relations acquire the character of impersonal, which is determined by the fulfillment of job instructions, social roles of managerial direction, that is, those that involve influence on other people - members of a social organization or institution. This level involves the study of social communities, as well as associations of people, for example, public ones, which go beyond small groups in terms of their quantitative composition, as well as classes, social strata, large collectives. So, at the meso level, the subject of analysis of the sociology of war, in our opinion, is military-civilian relations in the development of civil society, linguistic aspects, features of the provision of humanitarian aid, volunteering, the provision of medical aid, etc., which are reflected in the following studies (see Table 3).
Table 3: The main aspects of research problems from the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine through the prism of the meso-level of sociological analysis
<table><tr><td>No</td><td>Research time frame</td><td>The main issues of the research and the companies that implemented it</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>19.03.2022</td><td>The sixth national survey: the language issue in Ukraine (linguistic self-identification, use of languages in everyday life, status of Ukrainian and Russian languages) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>15.03–1.04.2022</td><td>Ukrainian refugees: attitudes and evaluations (social portrait of the refugee, language issue, receiving aid, evaluation of the actions of the Ukrainian and Russian authorities, evaluation of foreign political aid, chances of victory) (Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Research named after O. Razumkov)</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>02-05.05.2022</td><td>Research on the perception of charity and volunteering during the war (humanitarian situation in the regions, aid from private companies and athletes during the war, aid from charitable organizations during the war, sources of information) (Info Sapiens)</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>23-24.07.2022</td><td>Fifteenth national survey. Ukraine during the war. Employment and income (assessment of the situation, assessment of economic opportunities, request for entrepreneurship, adaptation strategies, external migration, recovery of the country, post-war reconstruction) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>23-24.07.2022</td><td>Fifteenth national survey. Ukraine during the war. Attitudes about cynicism (dynamics of cynicism indicators, socio-demographic groups) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>6-7.08.2022</td><td>Sixteenth national survey. Ukraine during the war. Portrait of veterans in Ukrainian society (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>October-November 2022</td><td>Local self-government and territorial organization of power (in the context of the large-scale Russian invasion) (support for reforms and faith in the future, the impact of war and migration, the formation of military administrations, the role of the state and local authorities in the reconstruction of the country, gender equality) (KlIS)</td></tr></table>
As we know, the micro-level of sociological analysis involves the analysis of the processes of direct interpersonal interaction in the conditions of people's stay in the social space of their immediate environment - family, circle of friends, group of peers, work team, etc. This level is often associated with the sociology of small groups, or microsociology, which studies group influences, mechanisms of social interaction in direct personal (contact) interactions of individuals. This initial level includes the basic forms of social related to a person's place in the social space of relations: social status, social role, social function, social position, etc. Therefore, at the micro level in the sociology of war, it would be appropriate to analyze such issues as civilian activism, voluntary initiatives and formations, mutual support and interpersonal relations during the daily challenges and threats of war, resources for ensuring the life of the civilian population during war, emotions and fears of civilians population, stress resistance, personal safety, etc. Most of the aspects of the mentioned issues are highlighted in the studies conducted in Ukraine in March-June 2022 (see Table 4).
Table 4: The main aspects of research issues from the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine through the prism of the micro-level of sociological analysis
<table><tr><td>No</td><td>Research time frame</td><td>The main issues of the research and the companies that implemented it</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>8-9.03.2022</td><td>Assessment of the situation in Ukraine (popular opposition, attitude towards the russian Church, relations with Russians) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>19.03.2022</td><td>Sixth national survey: adaptation of Ukrainians to the conditions of the war (reconstruction of Ukraine after the war, economic situation of the population, adaptation to life during the war, crisis situations during the war, plans for "life after the war", communication during the war) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>24-28.03.2022</td><td>All-Ukrainian survey "Omnibus" (do Ukrainians plan to return after the end of the war, religious issues, economic situation, political preferences) (Info Sapiens)</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>March 2022</td><td>The month of indomitability (index of well-being of Ukrainians in the conditions of war, moving and life changes, ways of encouragement and superheroes of war, relatives from russia: their position in the war and limitations in communication, memes for inspiration) (Factum Group Ukraine)</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>6.04.2022</td><td>Eighth nationwide survey: Ukraine in war conditions (general attitudes, national identity, popular resistance, economic situation of the population, functioning of cities, support for initiatives, church issues) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>6.04.2022</td><td>Eighth nationwide survey: psychological markers of war (adaptation to stressful conditions, level of vitality, level of psychological exhaustion) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>9-11.04.2022</td><td>Ukrainians and the war (scales of migration, communication with friends and relatives from the russian federation, sources of motivation of Ukrainians, belief in the victory of Ukraine, Ukrainians turn to Ukrainians) (Institute of Sociology, Ukrainian research panel "Влесна думka" of the company Research.ua)</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>16.05.2022</td><td>The eleventh nationwide survey: personal freedom, security and the issue of weapons (assessment of the situation, rights and freedoms of citizens, assessment of one's own safety, attitude towards the legalization of gun ownership, desire to own a gun, skills in gun ownership) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>18-19.06.2022</td><td>Fourteenth nationwide survey: psychological markers of war (socio-economic situation of citizens, types of psychological adaptation to war, life during war) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>8-9.10.2022</td><td>Eighteenth national survey: psychological markers of war, level of vitality, level of psychological exhaustion, consumer behavior strategies (socio-economic situation) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>20-21.11.2022</td><td>Nineteenth National Survey. Anomie in Ukrainian society (anomie index components and composite index, dynamics of the anomie index, socio-demographic groups) (Sociological Group "Rating")</td></tr></table>
As can be seen from Table 4, the micro-level of sociological analysis of military issues is the most represented in the research vector.
## III. CONCLUSIONS
In view of the above, it is appropriate to note that social reality gives us an invaluable opportunity for a thorough analysis of military issues through the prism of sociology (to record the state of society, its transformation in the conditions of war; to study the consequences of military actions, "cultural trauma" experienced by the citizens of Ukraine, first of all, those regions where active hostilities are taking place); outline the social factors that made it possible to resist aggression and move towards victory, etc.).
Having analyzed the modern sociological empirical base on the specified issues related to the war, we come to the conclusion that military issues are covered only partially, and not systematically and comprehensively. That is, most studies conducted during a large-scale war reveal only certain aspects of the problem (mainly related to the study of public opinion regarding certain processes or structures). The significance and considerable number of these studies cannot be denied. At the same time, it is worth noting that the most in demand is a permanent assessment of the situation in Ukraine. The conducted research is aimed at situational and point-by-point determination of the situation rather than a systematic study of military issues. The results of qualitative sociological studies conducted in Ukraine during the large-scale invasion of Russia are lacking. Qualitative research methods would make it possible to analyze the problems of war at the local level in more detail. However, the security issue of conducting such surveys is much more important today. Most of the studies presented in the above tables were conducted by computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers.
Most of the studies conducted in Ukraine relate to the situation of the civilian/peaceful population during the large-scale war in Ukraine. However, wars are fought primarily to paralyze or destroy an enemy's army, as this is the most effective tool of strategic violence available.
The war that is being waged in Ukraine today is aimed at non-military (civilian) and carries out stealth strikes on the least protected objects or targets that do not take a direct part in the conduct of the war. Therefore, in our opinion, there is a moment of insufficient analysis of war as a social phenomenon and social problem in sociology both at the empirical and at the theoretical and methodological levels.
It is obvious that researchers will return to this question many times, when Ukraine wins the war, in peacetime. Empirical sociological research should be expanded and continued. After all, issues of getting out of the war ("the burden" imposed on society) are being updated on the agenda; "price" of its consequences (immediate and remote). And here sociology is only at the starting positions of the specified problem. The proposed directions can only be a guideline for further research practice and analysis of sociologists. Summarizing the above, it is appropriate to note that, despite the complexity of the phenomenon of war, its rapid fluidity and variability as a phenomenon, a four-level sociological analysis is appropriate for the purpose of its comprehensive and systematic study.
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How to Cite This Article
Lapan Tetiana Dmytrivna. 2026. \u201cSociology of War as a New Task of Ukrainian Sociology\u201d. Global Journal of Human-Social Science - G: Linguistics & Education GJHSS-G Volume 23 (GJHSS Volume 23 Issue G4): .
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