We never have found that one good label as all fall short of being a description that suggests a solution.
A "small war" can be very conventional and between nuclear states; or it can be little more than Mr. Shay's rebellion.
Similarly "intensity" has little to do with the nature of the conflict either. (Though I would offer to President Duarte, that while his government may be playing for all the marbles, the nation of El Salvador I am sure would endure the change in stride.)
Certainly considering all to be "insurgencies" to apply COIN upon is equally flawed.
Even if one goes with "inter-state" vs "intra-state" conflicts it still leaves a wide range of options, and more often or not will include elements of both.
I suspect that a pretty good decision-tree could be crafted, that allows one to key their way down to one or two of a dozen different options by focusing on the presence of absence of key indicators, and then assessing ones own role as to how they fit into the mix. I haven't seen anything along those lines, but if anyone out there has, I would love to see it.
Bob
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