Clausewitz’s War Triad: An Evolving Model for Conflict Analysis

Abstract

In his book On War, Clausewitz reflects on what has been called the triad, trilogy or trinity of war. The Prussian presents a broader dimension of confrontation than the specifically military and links three elements: reason, will and passion, materialized in politics, the armed forces (the army) and the citizenry. Thus, it establishes a model, a sort of methodology (which is what we intend to rescue) to analyze conflicts. In this sense, to the extent that there is a convergence between the elements (factors) mentioned, it is easier to achieve success, since the absence of fissures or porosity between them reduces risks and vulnerabilities. On the other hand, by placing each of these three elements at one of the vertices of a triangle, they can be related to each other, which makes it possible to analyze the degree of cohesion and its possible reflection in subsequent political-military action, or even in the national deterrence capacity. Finally, from the second half of the 20th century, the emergence first of the United Nations (UN) and later of other international organizations, some dedicated to security and defense, generated a new space in which it was necessary to encompass the “war triad” (of a state nature) in the new international concert. This brought about a change in the methodology of conflict analysis that is still as valuable today as it was when it was first presented, but in a broader, supra-state and globalized context.