Quote Originally Posted by wm View Post
If we choose to define politics (as found in Clausewitz) as the process of conducting inter-state relations, then insurgency may well fall outside the pale of politics so defined. I say this because an insurgency usually is a matter of intra-state relations (returning to my point that an insurgency is really a struggle between two different parties for control of at least one of the three parts of Clausewitz' trinity). But at some point, an insurgent party may garner enough support that it may have its own trinity within the geographical boundaries by which we normal refer to nations as political entities. At that point, we might consider the struggle to be inter-state with the application of CvC now appropriate.
For emphasis.
CvC does not differentiate between Politics, religion or even "power". His analysis even stays good for the Mafia or any criminal gang that seeks to compete as a political, religious or any other form of entity that influences the conduct of a society. He talks about war between societies/political groups, not just nations. He was very aware of all the types of actors we see today.