ABSTRACT
Georg Simmel was a German sociologist whose contributions to sociological thinking were no less influential than these provided by the famous founding fathers. Simmel's theorizing on the position of individuals in larger entities (groups, networks) has invaluable significance for military organizations and their performance. Simmel's work on number distributions, network dynamics, conflicts and group affiliations have laid the foundation for mathematical and experimental research in the social and political sciences. Unlike many other sociologists since, Simmel, like Marx, always stressed the importance of studying competition and conflict. Simmel first published a long and rich expose on the sociology of secrecy and secret societies in the American Journal of Sociology. Finally, Simmel's writing about the role of the 'stranger' is relevant to the military. The social type of the 'stranger' is relevant to the military in many ways. Simmel's view of the stranger stresses the positive side.
