NCJ Number
55453
Date Published
1976
Length
475 pages
Annotation
THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH GUERRILLA MOVEMENTS HAVE APPEARED, CONDITIONS THAT DETERMINE THEIR SUCCESS OR FAILURE, AND THE CHARACTERISTICS, MOTIVES, AND FATES OF THEIR LEADERS ARE EXAMINED.
Abstract
THE ORIGINS OF GUERRILLA WARFARE GO MUCH FURTHER BACK IN HISTORY THAN HAS BEEN ASSUMED. MOST OF THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GUERRILLA WARFARE AND URBAN TERROR WERE KNOWN IN THE 19TH CENTURY OR EARLIER. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN GUERRILLA MOVEMENTS AND REVOLUTION IS TENUOUS. WITH RARE EXCEPTIONS, GUERRILLA MOVEMENTS HAVE SUCCEEDED ONLY AGAINST FOREIGN POWERS OR IN TIMES OF GENERAL WAR. THE FOLLOWING GENERALIZATIONS MAY BE MADE ABOUT GUERRILLA WARFARE: (1) GEOGRAPHIC MILIEU IS OF MAJOR IMPORTANCE; (2) GUERRILLA WARS OFTEN OCCUR IN THE SAME PLACE MORE THAN ONCE; (3) THERE IS A NEGATIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN GUERRILLA WARFARE AND DEGREE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; (4) IN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES THERE HAVE BEEN THREE MAIN TYPES OF GUERRILLA MOVEMENTS--AGAINST FOREIGN OCCUPANTS (IN THE CONTEXT OF A GENERAL WAR, AFTER THE DEFEAT OF THE REGULAR ARMY, OR AGAINST COLONIAL RULE), SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS AGAINST CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS, AND UPRISINGS AGAINST NATIVE INCUMBENTS (PRIMARILY IN LATIN AMERICA); (5) ALTHOUGH THE CHARACTER OF GUERRILLA WARFARE HAS UNDERGONE PROFOUND CHANGES, THE PHENOMENON IS NOT A A NEW ONE; (6) ALTHOUGH MOST GUERRILLA LEADERS HAVE BEEN MEN OF THE PEOPLE, RECENTLY GUERRILLA MOVEMENTS HAVE BECOME THE PRESERVE OF YOUNG INTELLECTUALS OR SEMI-INTELLECTUALS; (7) THE SOCIAL COMPOSITION OF GUERRILLA MOVEMENTS HAS VARIED FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY, AS HAVE TECHNIQUES AND ORGANIZATIONAL FORMS; (8) THE MOTIVES BEHIND GUERRILLA WARFARE ARE MANIFOLD, BUT COMRADESHIP SEEMS MORE IMPORTANT THAN IDEOLOGY IN PERPETUATING MOVEMENTS, AND SUCCESSFUL PRACTITIONERS OF GUERRILLA TACTICS GENERALLY DO NOT TURN TO DEMOCRACY AND HUMANISM UPON VICTORY; (9) ORGANIZATION, PROPAGANDA, AND TERROR, ALWAYS ESSENTIAL TO GUERRILLA WARFARE, HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT IN RECENT YEARS; (10) URBAN TERRORISM HAS EXISTED THROUGHOUT HISTORY BUT HAS ONLY RECENTLY BECOME MORE COMMON THAN RURAL GUERRILLA WARFARE; AND (11) GUERRILLA MOVEMENTS OFTEN HAVE BEEN BESET BY INTERNAL STRIFE. THE AGE OF GUERRILLA WARFARE APPEARS TO BE DRAWING TO A CLOSE, WITH A RETREAT INTO URBAN TERROR THAT IS NOISY BUT POLITICALLY INEFFECTIVE. A CHRONOLOGY OF MAJOR GUERRILLA WARS, A BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND AN INDEX ARE PROVIDED. (LKM)