Abstract
The history of the ideas on peace and war in Western thought and in sociological theory is summarized in the first part of this paper, along with notes on the “peace research” school since the Sixties and its dawning in Italy, e.g. in the Institute of International Sociology of Gorizia (Isig). In the second section, some Simmel’s contributions are presented: the influence of his essay of 1904 on later sociological American work on “conflict resolution” and other sociological theories; his work on the spatial dimension of society; and a commentary on peculiar qualities of his mind. A critical note is inserted, on Simmel’s papers in support of the German stance in the Great War. In the third part, Simmel’s work on “spatial principles and configurations” are applied on the analysis of some theories on “one-world society”, on globalization, and its backlashes, like the no-global movement and the recent revival of nationalism in Europe and in the United States. A note on the moral dilemmas in a globalized society conclude the paper.