{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/36693"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/36693","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Military of Guatemala and Niklas Luhmann's Theory of Autopoietic Social Systems","abstract":"Niklas Luhmann's theory of autopoietic social systems challenges traditional social science by dissolving the individual as an analytical category and replacing it with the functional structures of social systems. The opaque complexity of this model of thought has rendered it extremely difficult to understand and apply, which has obstructed its reception on the part of empirically oriented scholars. This paper investigates the political and military strategy of Guatemala's armed forces during the 1960s-1990s civil war from the perspective of the theory of autopoietic social systems. It thereby illustrates and illuminates Luhmann's highly abstract theoretical framework and demonstrates its scope and limits as an explanatory model guiding empirical research in the social sciences. By the same token, it lends moderate support to the universality claim Luhmann makes for his radical systems perspective and proposes new avenues of thought that could lead to a better understanding of Third World politics.","abstract_html":"Niklas Luhmann's theory of autopoietic social systems challenges traditional social science by dissolving the individual as an analytical category and replacing it with the functional structures of social systems. The opaque complexity of this model of thought has rendered it extremely difficult to understand and apply, which has obstructed its reception on the part of empirically oriented scholars. This paper investigates the political and military strategy of Guatemala's armed forces during the 1960s-1990s civil war from the perspective of the theory of autopoietic social systems. It thereby illustrates and illuminates Luhmann's highly abstract theoretical framework and demonstrates its scope and limits as an explanatory model guiding empirical research in the social sciences. By the same token, it lends moderate support to the universality claim Luhmann makes for his radical systems perspective and proposes new avenues of thought that could lead to a better understanding of Third World politics.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kirsch, Jochen H.Ch."],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":"Political Science","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Luke, Timothy W."],"committee_members":["Luciak, Ilja A.","Fuhrman, Ellsworth R."],"year":1998,"date_issued":"1998-05-08","date_published":"1998-05-08","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:54Z","subjects":["Military","Guatemala","Luhmann"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-42198-18206"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-42198-18206","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36693","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Luke, Timothy W."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Luciak, Ilja A.","Fuhrman, Ellsworth R."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kirsch, Jochen H.Ch."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T20:51:29Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T20:51:29Z","1998-05-28"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1998-05-08"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Military","Guatemala","Luhmann"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-42198-18206"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36693"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Niklas Luhmann's theory of autopoietic social systems challenges traditional social science by dissolving the individual as an analytical category and replacing it with the functional structures of social systems. The opaque complexity of this model of thought has rendered it extremely difficult to understand and apply, which has obstructed its reception on the part of empirically oriented scholars. This paper investigates the political and military strategy of Guatemala's armed forces during the 1960s-1990s civil war from the perspective of the theory of autopoietic social systems. It thereby illustrates and illuminates Luhmann's highly abstract theoretical framework and demonstrates its scope and limits as an explanatory model guiding empirical research in the social sciences. By the same token, it lends moderate support to the universality claim Luhmann makes for his radical systems perspective and proposes new avenues of thought that could lead to a better understanding of Third World politics."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Military of Guatemala and Niklas Luhmann's Theory of Autopoietic Social Systems"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Luke, Timothy W."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Luciak, Ilja A.","Fuhrman, Ellsworth R."],"dc:contributor.department":["Political Science"],"dc:creator":["Kirsch, Jochen H.Ch."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T20:51:29Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T20:51:29Z","1998-05-28"],"dc:date.issued":["1998-05-08"],"dc:description.abstract":["Niklas Luhmann's theory of autopoietic social systems challenges traditional social science by dissolving the individual as an analytical category and replacing it with the functional structures of social systems. 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