Concepts on a continuum require defining both poles plus the space between them.

Evidence

At the basic level there are three important separate, but related, issues: (1) the negative pole, (2) the substantive content of the continuum between the two poles, and (3) the continuity that exists or not (i.e., dichotomous versus continuous) between the poles. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts, 207

Categorization

• DEFINE: Breaks basic-level concept structure into three explicit components: negative pole, mid-continuum substance, and continuity/dichotomy.
• SEED: Angle: most quantitative social science datasets code only the positive pole and implicitly treat everything else as ‘not-democracy/not-war’, hiding a whole class of definitional choices.