Characteristics of the civil war

In the modern world the problematic of the civil war remains relevant. The transition of the leading countries to post-industrial capitalism does not exclude the threat of wars of this type. The purpose of the article is to identify the conceptual characteristics of civil wars. The methodological basis of the research is based on L. Wittgenstein’s theory of language games. The first theoretical basis of the study is the definition given by Martin van Creveld: “War does not begin when some kill others; it begins when those who kill have risk to be killed.” The second theoretical basis of the study is the position put forward by Karl von Clausewitz: “War is the continuation of politics by other means”. The study revealed that the civil war should be analyzed in two aspects. In the military-strategic aspect the civil war remains a competitive mutual mass physical violence, using both regular and irregular methods of warfare. Whereas in the political aspect, the civil war should be understood as the competitive construction of the state.