wars of national liberation or national liberation

8/11/2019 Wars of National Liberation or National Liberation

1/3

Wars of national liberationor national liberation revolutionsare conflicts fought by nationalities to gain

independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers to establish separate sovereignstatesfor the rebelling nationality. From a different point of view, these wars are called insurgencies,rebellions, or

wars of independence.[1]Guerrilla warfare or asymmetric warfare is sometimes used by national liberationmovements, often with intervention from other states.

ore specifically, wars of national liberation can refer to those fought during the decoloni!ationmovement,

primarily in the third worldagainst "estern powers and their economic influence, and was a major aspect of the

#old "ar.[$]

%ccording to political scientist G&rard #haliand, guerrilla wars against 'uropean powers were always apolitical success, although they may have been in some cases a militarydefeat.[(])owever, according to Gwynne

*yer, the tactics and strategies used against colonial powers were almost invariably failures when used againstindigenous regimes.[citation needed]+ome of these wars were either vocally or materially supported by the +oviet nion,

which stated itself to be an anti-imperialistpower, supporting the replacement of western-baced governments withlocal communist or other non pro-western parties.[1][/])owever, this did not always guarantee +oviet influence in

those countries. %ccording to certain activists and theorists, [0]the +oviet nion and the eople2s 3epublic of #hina

presented themselves as models of independent nationalist development outside of "estern influence. %s such they

were regarded as a threat to "estern power as they could politically, economically and militarily assist othermovements such as in 4ietnam. 5n 6anuary 1781 +oviet premier9iita :hrushchevpledged support for ;wars of

national liberation; throughout the world.[8]

This concept of ;imperialism; and its relations to colonies had been theori!ed in 4ladimir #F? in 17$1.

Legal issues

5nternational law generally holds that apeople with a legal right to self-determination are entitled to wage wars of

national liberation.[@][A]"hile "estern states tend to view these wars as civil wars, Third "orldand communiststatestend to view them as international wars. [@]This difference in classification leads to varying perceptions of which laws

of war apply in such situations.[@])owever, there is general agreement among all states today in principle that the use

of force to frustrate a people2s legal right to self-determination is unlawful.[@]

Strategies and tactics

"ars of national liberation are usually fought using guerrilla warfare. The main purpose of these tactics is to increasethe cost of the anti-guerrilla forces past the point where such forces are willing to bear. "ars of national liberation

generally depend a large amounts of public support, with ordinary civilians providing crucial support. Finally, wars

of national liberation are often embedded in a larger conteBt of great power politics and are often proBy wars.

These strategies eBplain why they are Cuite successful against foreign regimes and Cuite unsuccessful againstindigenous regimes. Foreign regimes usually have a threshold beyond which they would prefer to go home rather

than to fight the war. Dy contrast an indigenous regime has no place to go to, and will fight much harder because ofthe lac of alternatives. oreover, foreign regimes usually have relatively few active supporters, who can often be

easily identified, maing it possible for guerrilla armies to operate. Dy contrast, indigenous regimes often have much

more popular support, and their supporters are not as easily recogni!ed, maing it much harder to conduct guerrillaoperations.

Decolonization period

The first separatistrebellion within the former Dritish 'mpirenot to end in defeat since the%merican 3evolutionary

"arwas the5rish "ar of 5ndependence of 1717-17$$ which led in 17$$ to the renewed independence of most of

5reland>$8 counties out of ($?. )owever the rebellion also led to the 5rish #ivil "ar >17$$-17$(?.The 5ndonesian "ar of 5ndependence>17/0-17/7? followed with the 178=-178$? and the

liberation of 'ast Timor >17@0?, The First 5ndochina "ar>17/8E0/?, 4ietnam "ar>1707E@0?, and the%lgerian "ar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurgencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebellionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-mtw-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetric_warfarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-McNamara-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rard_Chaliandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynne_Dyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynne_Dyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-imperialisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-mtw-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchevhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Little-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Leninhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism,_the_Highest_Stage_of_Capitalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viet-Minhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_Vietnamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Communist_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separatisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_War_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Civil_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_War_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irian_Jayahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Indochina_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algerian_War_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurgencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebellionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-mtw-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetric_warfarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-McNamara-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rard_Chaliandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynne_Dyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynne_Dyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-imperialisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-mtw-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchevhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Little-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Leninhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism,_the_Highest_Stage_of_Capitalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viet-Minhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_Vietnamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Communist_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separatisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_War_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Civil_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_War_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irian_Jayahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Indochina_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algerian_War_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_state


2/3

of 5ndependence >170/E8$? were all considered national liberation wars by the rebelling sides of the conflicts. The

%frican 9ational #ongress >%9#?2s struggle against the apartheidregime is also another eBample. These wars were

in part supported by the +oviet nion, which claimed to be an anti-imperialistpower, although it has been arguedthat the +oviet nionpractised colonialism also.[7][1=]+ince the 171@ ctober 3evolution and the subseCuent3ussian

#ivil "ar, the revolutionary objectives of communismwere shared by many anticolonialist leaders, thus eBplainingthe objective alliance between anticolonialist forces and arBism. The concept of ;imperialism; itself had been

which had theori!ed in #F? in 17$1. 5n 6anuary1781, over three years before the Gulf of Tonin incidentwhich would mar the nited +tates2increased

involvement in the 4ietnam "ar, +oviet premier9iita :hrushchev would pledge support for ;wars of nationalliberation; throughout the world.[11]5n the same decade, #uba,led by Fidel #astro, would support national liberation

movements in %ngolaand o!ambiCue. The ortuguese colonial warsfinally led to the recognition of %ngola,o!ambiCue and Guinea-Dissauas independent states in 17@0, following the %pril #arnation 3evolution.

On-going national liberation conflicts

The alestine %? and the nited 9ations

>9?.[1$]5t is the only non-%frican national liberation movement to hold observer status in the %, and was one of

the first national liberation movements granted permanent observer status by the nited 9ations General %ssemblypursuant to a 17@/ resolution.[1(][1/]The such a designation is often subject to controversy?I

any #hechens and foreign observers consider the Firstand +econd #hechen "arsto be wars of national

liberation against 3ussia.[18][1@][1A]

+ome 5raCi insurgent groups, and certain political groups believe that the 5raC "aris a war of national

liberation against the +-led coalition.

ost :urds believe the :urdishETurish conflictto be a war of national liberation of :urdish peoplein

Turey.

The olisario Fronthas sought the independence of "estern +aharasince 17@0 and considered its guerillawar against orocco as national liberation war >lie many foreign observers, countries and the %frican nion?,

while orocco considered it a secessionistmovement. olisario had been recogni!ed by many countries, the%frican nion and the nited 9ationsas the legitimate representative of the +ahrawi people. The hostilities are

fro!en since the 1771 cease-fire following the settlement plan agreement.

%s a result of thepolitics of the former Jugoslavia,a group of ethnic-%lbanian politicians in :osovo

declared >on $ 6uly 177=? an independent ;3epublic of :osovo; from the 3epublic of +erbia2s %utonomousrovince of :osovo and etohija. %fter the dissolution of +F3J, an unofficial referendum was held for

independence in 177$ that passed and began a conflict between the %lbanian separatists led by the :osovo


3/3

The eninsular "aragainst 9apoleon2s occupation of +pain during the9apoleonic "ars

'Bplicit wars of decoloni!ationI

o The hilippine 3evolution

o The %ugust 3evolution, against 6apanese invasion of 4ietnam

o The First 5ndochina "ar,against French occupation of 4ietnam

o The 5ndonesian 9ational 3evolution

o The alestinian resistanceto 5sraelicontrol of the occupied alestinian territories.

o The Tamil resistanceto +ri later Kimbabwe?, led by K%9 andK%

5n"estern +ahara, by the +aharan

wars of national liberation or national liberation

Documents