<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Napoleon harnessed unlimited enmity to transform wars from limited ones to unlimited ones. Accordingly, Clausewitz developed the Trinity to describe this source of power. However, the increasing destruction due to interstate wars has led to a decrease in this type of conflict. At the same time, there has been an increase in partisan wars. The Trinity cannot explain partisan victories or state defeats. Using social psychology to explain the relationship of the partisan to the group, this research shows how partisans harness unlimited enmity to engage in existential wars. Furthering Clausewitzian philosophy, a new analogy, the singularity, is created to describe this power. Implications and conclusions drawn are at the end of the paper.</p>
</abstract>

Napoleon harnessed unlimited enmity to transform wars from limited ones to unlimited ones. Accordingly, Clausewitz developed the Trinity to describe this source of power. However, the increasing destruction due to interstate wars has led to a decrease in this type of conflict. At the same time, there has been an increase in partisan wars. The Trinity cannot explain partisan victories or state defeats. Using social psychology to explain the relationship of the partisan to the group, this research shows how partisans harness unlimited enmity to engage in existential wars. Furthering Clausewitzian philosophy, a new analogy, the singularity, is created to describe this power. Implications and conclusions drawn are at the end of the paper.

Clausewitz and the partisan: Accounting for unlimited enmity in the twenty-first century

Defense analyst with the U.S. Department of Defense

Journal of Military Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Napoleon harnessed unlimited enmity to transform wars from limited ones to unlimited ones. Accordingly, Clausewitz developed the Trinity to describe this...

Clausewitz and the partisan: Accounting for unlimited enmity in the twenty-first century

Article Category: Original Study

Published Online: Sep 24, 2021

Page range: 130 - 138

Received: Aug 03, 2019

Accepted: Apr 12, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jms-2021-0008

Keywords
Clausewitz, regular war, partisan, Trinity, singularity, irregular war

© 2021 Philip Reynolds, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Clausewitz and the partisan: Accounting for unlimited enmity in the twenty-first century

Article Category: Original Study

Published Online: Sep 24, 2021

Page range: 130 - 138

Received: Aug 03, 2019

Accepted: Apr 12, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jms-2021-0008

KeywordsClausewitz, regular war, partisan, Trinity, singularity, irregular war

© 2021 Philip Reynolds, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Clausewitz, regular war, partisan, Trinity, singularity, irregular war