Oh, I understand what you're talking about, and what you describe is PvP IMO. So is player-killing/ganking, for that matter, but I would never call a player-killer/ganker a PvPer.
In my experience, though, what you're describing simply doesn't work. Like many other aspects of PvP, the "cunning" doesn't actually happen in the game, but in the meta-game. The use of alts to scout potential targets before a raid, for example, infiltrating the opposing sides forums or chat, and so on. After a while, the whole thing devolves into a game of blind-man's bluff, where the only PvP that happens is when both sides accidentally show up at the same time and place.
When you combine that with the tendency of PvPers to seek out PvP, rather than sitting around doing nothing on guard duty, and you get a situation where non-PvPers really can't rely on anyone but themselves for their own protection. And that was in games that used a client/server architecture, as opposed to what we have in this game.
What would most likely happen (P2P issues aside)
Forting:
Ships would get smaller and faster. Haulers would haul less per trip, with players funneled into the capital with waiting interception. Opposition would use ships like the Courier to intercept these intruders as cargo comes into the system.
Expansion:
You would see merit grinders but also more swing role ships fending off opposition in CZs. AFK would become a gamble. Since its a fixed place (i.e. its rare currently for more than one expansion) you are condensing players leading to more ferocious fights.
Preparation:
Preparation destinations are similarly small in number, so it acts like fortification but in reverse. So if you want to stop a rival prepping you have the option of either outpacing them or killing these shipments.
show up at the same time and place
But that will happen. If a ball of players pops up in a system the opposition have to respond, especially as time goes on in a cycle. You then have a DIY CZ, especially with combat expansions or prep targets.
In any case, a switched on enemy will record a rivals forting patterns and plan accordingly. Scouting will be important both spatially and temporally. The former already happens now.
'can' be?
However should it be that? would that really make it better for everyone? as stated in last post, what about those people that aren't active on forum but simply playing and enjoy the game as it is currently, what about them? if they quit because the game changes to something they do not enjoy? That is simply too bad? remember, as frontier has previously stated, the group of people wanting PvP is a minority.
Powerplay is a dying husk of a feature. FD won't give it a lot of love, and what they do has to punch above its weight.
What you describe could equally be applied to the exploration scanner changes which are not universally popular, or any big change. In the end its FDs call.