As the famous Prussian general once warned, the !rst priority is to ascertain what type of con"ict is to be fought. Carl von Clausewitz’s seminal writings laid the foundation 
of thinking for modern warfare de!ned around the needs of the nascent Westphalian nation-state. His prioritization, his “wonderful trinity,” and his recognition that war is but “politics by other means” have served both strategist and statesman well during the conventional wars of the post-Napoleonic age.

As the new Joint Operating Concept for Irregular Warfare hits combatant commands and doctrine shops across the U.S. military, we find ourselves searching for new intellectual aids and policy tools that can provide certainty in an age that seems increasingly unpredictable and “irregular.”