Clausewitz’s Small War in the 21st Century

Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz is recognized as one of the most influential military theorists of all time. His ideas and theories represented in “On War” and their relevance in the 21^st century are recurring debates as irregular warfare and asymmetric warfare is on the rise since World War II. While Clausewitz did not write extensively about irregular or asymmetric warfare in “On War”, he did hold lectures on as at the time was called “small war”, where he shared his views about the war on the Spanish guerilla war against Napoleon. In this study, we will examine the nature and tactics described by Clausewitz and draw a comparison regarding modern tactics.