ABSTRACT
Concern for command and control should not blind us to other causes and manifestations of loss of control that could prove just as destabilizing in crisis. This chapter explores three of these: civilian-military conflict, emotions, and political sabotage. It analyzes their mediating conditions, their implications for crisis management and what could be done to minimize their disruptive effects. A useful starting point for this analysis is the classic study of war by Carl von Clausewitz. Clausewitz's argument seems to stand in direct opposition to his frequently quoted assertion that "war is a continuation of political activity by other means". The seeming contradiction between Clausewitz's political message and his famous aphorism can be reconciled when we realize that Clausewitz couched his narrative in terms of the dialectic, a philosophical construct very much in vogue in Germany at the time. Clausewitz was well aware of the problem posed by the ignorance of civilian and political leaders of each other's perspectives and operating environments.
