"Social Disorganization" Term & Political Science Examples
Essay 1
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term ‘social disorganization’ is used to describe a state of people when social control turns out to be ineffective leading to functional disintegration among social groups, rise of various conflicts, and individual alienation. Thus, many if not all people have the tendency to be influenced by their surroundings, in particular other people who are their neighbors, family members, or community representatives. Furthermore, social disorganization is marked by social and economic problems of people as well as high mobility of community members. Instability and socioeconomic difficulties have an adverse impact on people especially the youth. Members of such community feel uncomfortable and often try to move to another safer community. At the same time, newcomers need time to adjust to new environment and socio-cultural traditions of the community. Constant changes and mobility of people create a vicious circle of instability, lack of safety and deprivation. Finally, lack of conventional institutions also misguides the young people because they do not have stable moral landmarks and good examples to follow.
Example 1
Let us imagine a family who moved to the USA from North Korea because of the latest political issues. The family rets an apartment in the outskirts of Los Angeles because it turned out to be much cheaper than other parts of the city. However, the area they live in is quite different to the Korean town they came from. They barely speak English. The local traditions and customs are unfamiliar to them. Besides, the children of this family are of school age. Moving to another area and changing school has become a big challenge to them resulting in psychological trauma. The new school welcomed them with unfamiliar norms of behavior, bullying, and overall hostile environment. Even though the children used to hear only positive comments about moving to the USA, about better and easier life, the reality turned out to be very different to what they had expected. Besides, the major part of the neighbors in their community consists of various ethnic groups who speak different languages and worship different gods. The Korean boy from this family quickly learns that to steal and deceive parents is what the most of boys of his age do. Hence, the result of social disorganization in this case is Asian children growing violent and, consequently, becoming delinquents.
Example 2
The most vivid example of hot spot today is Ukraine and especially the eastern part of the country. Crimean Peninsula used to be a part of Ukraine. However, after the war actions of Russian soldiers, Crimea has become again a part of Russian Federation. The population in this part of the world has divided views because some of them consider themselves to be still Ukrainians while others insist they are Russians. The ethnic conflict in Crimea is also exacerbated by political pressure, socio-economic instability, and military activity. Many young people feel they have to take active part in political life of their country. Some young people feel …
