War
The deployment of polity capabilities with the aim of rendering harmless the forces with which it is engaged.
Clausewitz famously defined war as the continuation of politics by other means. Engaging in war is costly hence a clear political objective is often visible for the observer, when it comes to outright war, for instance the goal of polity survival by eliminating the threat that it is perceived to be under. The number and quality of capabilities deployed can vary; armed forces may not all be deployable since they are perceived to be better deployed elsewhere. Also, the use of weapons of mass destruction may be limited by one’s goal: If the goal is polity survival, then deployment of for instance nuclear weapons may be counterproductive to that goal, especially in cases where such use could be retaliated in kind. Due to the nature of power projection and the security dilemma it entails, who is the aggressor in a war is often contended, not least due to the advantages of being perceived as the attacked. When conflict escalates into war the number of casualties often rises tenfold stemming from increased an indiscriminate deployment of armed personnel and weaponry. War ends in peace either by exhaustion of one power or negotiated settlement through diplomacy.