Political change may differ in the extent to which it affects an existing circle civilisation and the institutions in which elements of that civilisation are embedded. Not every political struggle is therefore a struggle for a new civilisation. Some political processes concern choices among alternatives already regarded as possible and legitimate within the existing circle civilisation and institutional order. Others seek to modify one or more civilisation elements within that order. Still others concern a coherent set of civilisation elements and may therefore also call into question the dominant circle civilisation and the legitimacy or structure of major institutions.
In the first form, the struggle concerns alternative decisions within an already accepted framework. Participants may disagree profoundly about which decision is desirable without calling into question the fundamental conceptions, norms, goals or institutional order within which that decision is taken. Such change may lead to different rules or actual conduct without requiring a change in relevant elements of the dominant circle civilisation.
A second form of political change concerns one or more civilisation elements belonging to the dominant circle civilisation or embedded in institutions. The struggle is then directed not solely towards a choice within existing standards, but also towards the modification of parts of those standards themselves. Conceptions of what is right, normal, credible or desirable may change in a particular area, while other central elements of the existing circle civilisation and the legitimacy of its principal institutions remain largely intact.
A third form arises when the change being pursued concerns several interrelated civilisation elements important to a social circle. The dominant circle civilisation as a whole may then change radically. Existing ideas about legitimacy, social relations, goals and institutions may also be called into question. In such a case, the pursuit is directed not merely towards separate alternative conceptions, but towards a coherent alternative system of ideas and narrative.
These three forms are analytical categories. Actual processes of political change may display characteristics of several categories at once and constitute a continuum rather than sharply separated types. The scope of a political struggle may also change during the process. A conflict that begins with a particular decision may develop into a struggle over civilisation elements or a broader system of ideas and narrative; conversely, an initially comprehensive pursuit of change may be restricted, divided into parts or incorporated into existing institutions.