Small Wars and Sports

[TheCurmudgeon]

Here is one article related to the question you are asking.

Ganulv,

Thanks, this is right on target but dated. It came out in 1973 before the advent of evolutionary psychology (or at least before it became widely accepted). It is basically a comparison of the old idea of instincts versus the "blank slate" hypothesis that was gaining popularity at the time. I tried looking at works that cited this article but it does not seem to be used much after the 70's. Also not sure of his coding methods as he did not consider wrestling or bow and arrow compititions as being "combative" sports when conducted by simple socieites.

While the Drive Discharge model would be close to what I am thinking it really is not. It is not that there is an innate drive by all young males to go to war, but that war provides an outlet for an innate drive for aggressive competition. Providing an alternative would be my aim, much as Van states. The risk is that you create an organized group of the right age and mindset for recruitment to other more combat oriented activities.

Similar to the idea of providing work for young men (and thereby providing an alternative to joining an insurgent group for pay and excitement) but aimed at a slightly younger crowd. Not sure that this is a solution to anything. Just would like to see if anyone ever tried this on a small scale, like in a particular village or province.



I will keep looking for more up to date material.