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В продолжение предыдущего. Вот рассуждение о разнице между politics и policy из устава морской пехоты США (MCDP 1-1. Strategy)
The two different terms we have used, policy and politics, both concern power. While every specific war has its unique causes, war as a phenomenon is fundamentally concerned with the distribution and redistribution of power.
Politics is the process by which power is distributed in any society: a family, an office, a religious order, a tribe, a state, a region, the international community. The process of distributing power may be fairly orderly — through consensus, inheritance, election, or some time-honored tradition — or chaotic — through assassination, revolution, or warfare. Whatever process may be in place at any given time, politics is inherently dynamic, and not only the distribution of power but the process by which it is distributed is under constant pressure for change.[...]
Policy, on the other hand, can be characterized as a rational process. The making of policy is a conscious effort by a distinct political body to use whatever power it possesses to accomplish some purpose — if only the mere continuation or increase of its own power. Policy is a rational subcomponent of politics, the reasoned purposes and actions of individuals in the political struggle. War can be a practical means, sometimes the only means available, for the achievement of rational policy aims — that is, the aims of one party in the political dispute. Hence, to describe war as an “instrument of policy” is entirely correct. It is an act of force to compel our opponent to do our will.
Do not, however, confuse rationality with intelligence, reasonableness, or understanding. Policies can be wise or foolish: they can advance their creators’ goals or unwittingly contradict them.
Politics is the process by which power is distributed in any society: a family, an office, a religious order, a tribe, a state, a region, the international community. The process of distributing power may be fairly orderly — through consensus, inheritance, election, or some time-honored tradition — or chaotic — through assassination, revolution, or warfare. Whatever process may be in place at any given time, politics is inherently dynamic, and not only the distribution of power but the process by which it is distributed is under constant pressure for change.[...]
Policy, on the other hand, can be characterized as a rational process. The making of policy is a conscious effort by a distinct political body to use whatever power it possesses to accomplish some purpose — if only the mere continuation or increase of its own power. Policy is a rational subcomponent of politics, the reasoned purposes and actions of individuals in the political struggle. War can be a practical means, sometimes the only means available, for the achievement of rational policy aims — that is, the aims of one party in the political dispute. Hence, to describe war as an “instrument of policy” is entirely correct. It is an act of force to compel our opponent to do our will.
Do not, however, confuse rationality with intelligence, reasonableness, or understanding. Policies can be wise or foolish: they can advance their creators’ goals or unwittingly contradict them.