Abstract
I analyze Carl von Clausewitz’s (1780-1831) thinking on limited warfare with a model that posits three stages in his thinking. These three stages are determined by two system theoretic dimensions. The two dimensions consist of an interactive perspective in the form of causal feedback loops and a holistic perspective in the form of a political system that forms the context of the military subsystem. The three stages are friction as a constraint on the effectiveness of the execution of military plans on paper (interaction and holism both switched off); suspension as a constraint on the intensity of military action (interaction switched on and holism switched off); and political objectives as a constraint on military objectives (interaction and holism both switched on).
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