Richard Stahler-Sholk, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), 2015. Guerilla Warfare is a strategy that is bound to states with clear borders which are occupied by a foreign force with the own organized Forces defeated or surrendered.That was simply not a medieval use-case where battles were fought for prey and after the battle fighting ended. On the contrary, many factors make guerrilla warfare more rather than less likely in the twenty-first century. Both conflict events data collection efforts suffer from problems associated with human processing of large volumes of information on daily occurrences. This unprecedented level of urbanization, along with the increasing ungovernability of many sprawling agglomerations, has led some analysts to predict that in the twenty-first century the locus of guerrilla war will be the city. We wear gorilla masks in public and use facts, humor and outrageous visuals to expose gender and ethnic bias as well as corruption in politics, art, film, and pop culture. One of insurgency's defining characteristics is the insurgent's unwillingness to engage in a direct military conflict with his opponent. This framework never accurately captured the complex and varied reality of the two-thirds of the world's countries that were put into this box, but it did focus attention on the potential for radical change on the periphery of the global system. Insurgency has been distinguished in various ways from the more general civil conflict categories of rebellion (or revolution), guerilla warfare, and civil war. Another successful use of guerrilla warfare was the guerrilla warfare waged by the Spaniards in 1808 after Napoleon’s French army invaded the Spanish peninsula. The guerrilla force is largely or entirely organized in small units that are dependent on the support of the local population. Insurgencies engage in a longer, protracted struggle in order to reach the ultimate goal of controlling the people. Fought largely by independent, irregular bands, sometimes linked to regular forces, it is a warfare of harassment through surprise. As soon as the Civil War broke out in April 1861, guerrilla warfare emerged as a popular alternative to enlistment in the Confederate army. A discussion of guerrilla warfare can be found in Moa Tse-Tung’s book On Guerrilla Warfare. Largely due to the inefficiency of the Cuban military Fidel Castro came to power in 1958. In another variant usage, ‘revolution’ is contrasted with reformism (see Reform: Political) to connote a radical political program, short time horizon, and willingness to use extreme (violent) means; as in Malcolm X's call for African-American liberation ‘by any means necessary,’ or J F Kennedy's warning that ‘those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable’ in Latin America. Guerrilla warfare, being located in between, involves combat which is mostly quick skirmishes, but may include extended battles, and is still limited to military targets. Sverker Finnström, Carolyn Nordstrom, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), 2015. And this is because in many respects terrorism is used interchangeably with other popular terms, such as guerrilla warfare or insurgency. As Galula says: “[Civil War] soon resembles an ordinary international war except that the opponents are fellow citizens” (Galula, 1964: p. 3). By continuing you agree to the use of cookies. The eclectic ‘socialism’ of many Third World revolts and nationalist movements, and their use of unorthodox tactics of guerrilla warfare—analyzed by practitioners such as Mao Zedong, Che Guevara, and Vo Nguyen Giap—led those characteristics to be generically associated with ‘revolution,’ as in Régis Debray's (1967) Revolution in the Revolution?. Although originally used to combat foreign invaders, guerrilla warfare has developed into a formidable tool against domestic dictators. In contexts where the opposition to the dictator is powerful enough and where weapons are readily available, guerrillas may emerge as defenders of the people. In defining war, this article explores the origin and historical development of armed aggression from the earliest human societies to the present. As guerrillas depend on the general population for support in their battle against the state, the state necessarily needs to be perceived as dictatorial in nature. In concluding, the future of war, and the new directions theory might take in best understanding war in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks, are considered. Guerrilla warfare (the word guerrilla comes from the Spanish meaning “little war”) is often the means used by weaker nations or military organizations against a larger, stronger foe. The broad strategy underlying successful guerrilla warfare is that of protracted harassment accomplished by extremely subtle, flexible tactics designed to wear down the enemy. Civil war, however, is characterized by two subnational parties, each in control of a specific portion of territory, engaging in conventional conflict. Initially, guerrilla marketing was a way for smaller companies to compensate for a lack of big budget by developing innovative ideas. It is irregular warfare that seeks to defeat an enemy and attract the support of local and international attention at the expense of the enemy. Current plans call for updating the World Handbook using machine-coding techniques which, if proven effective, will greatly reduce the time and cost of recording events data. And the contemporary, largely urban insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan often rely on a set of battlefield tactics foreign to traditional guerrilla warfare (Kilcullen, 2006). Weak or disintegrating states provide openings for criminal associations seeking to take possession of a vulnerable country to advance their financial ends, while disguising their intentions under a veil of ethnic or religious populism. Guerrilla Warfare led to the Success of the Revolutionary war A sneaky, stealthy war tactic called Guerilla Warfare won the American Revolutionary War for the Patriots. R. Stahler-Sholk, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001. Traditionally, guerrilla leaders have spent as much time on instruction, agitation, and propaganda as they have on fighting, “for their most important job is to win over the people.” While Guerrilla Warfare can be extremely effective against a larger force, you're not going to be able to use it against a tyrannical government in America. Often, guerrilla warriors (often just referred to as guerrillas ) are attempting to overthrow an existing government or are rebelling against a much larger, organized military (although in some cases, guerillas fight against rival insurgent forces). Kennedy's warning that “those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable” in Latin America. Thus while revolutions may involve long periods of planning, the event itself is characterized by sudden, unexpected social upheaval with widespread popular support. Perhaps most significantly, during the last quarter of the twentieth century, vast numbers of persons all across the Third World moved from rural to urban areas, so that today the majority of Latin Americans, for example, live in cities and towns. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. or its licensors or contributors. The logic being that there was no way to compete with bigger brands simply by copying their approach on a shoestring budget. Guerrilla warfare definition, the use of hit-and-run tactics by small, mobile groups of irregular forces operating in territory controlled by a hostile, regular force. The twentieth century has been the bloodiest in history, and this piece examines the relationships between violence, society, and the exercise of power that help explain this. Sometimes the term ‘revolution’ is used loosely to refer to any kind of paradigmatic shift, as in ‘the Industrial Revolution,’ ‘the Reagan revolution,’ ‘the behaviorist revolution’ in social sciences, or Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1997). From the people upset at the law or an occupation. But guerrilla warfare refers to a specific type of fighting that is not always a feature of civil wars. Paradoxically, the asymmetry of the armed conflict structure can be an advantage for the irregulars, since the organizational structure of standing armies is rather inflexible. Organizationally and logistically superior armed forces are frequently unable to win the Small War against irregular forces. Guerrilla warfare is fought between rivals of unequal strength. Key Takeaways: Guerrilla Warfare Guerrilla warfare was first described by Sun Tzu in The Art of War. The main strategy and tactics of guerrilla warfare tend to involve the use of a small attacking, mobile force against a large, unwieldy force. Effective civil-military counterinsurgency-doctrines tend to invest four parts in economic development and one part in military concerns. Your email address will not be published. As long as the dictator can contain the insurrection against him or her to the level of guerrilla warfare, the dictator is fairly safe. The United States was forced to utilize guerrilla warfare. The United States' overthrow of a left-leaning government in Guatemala in 1954 is an example. The collapse of most colonialism after World War II (see Colonization and Colonialism, History of) was sometimes a revolutionary moment, in those cases where it entailed not only reformulating the state to throw off external rule but also fundamentally reordering internal social relations. A successful counterinsurgency doctrine has to be based on political–psychological components and must – according to Sir Robert Thompson – win the hearts and minds of the enemy’s population. An additional – and ominous – element in the guerrilla picture is the international drug trade. Because the popular image of guerrillas (homegrown freedom fighters, wily insurgents, etc.) In fatal contrast, the constricted extent of even the largest city makes it possible for energetic counterinsurgents to surround and isolate, and then defeat, urban guerrillas. The strategy magnifies the impact of a mobile, small force on a bigger, cumbersome one. Nevertheless, for more than six decades the record of urban guerrilla warfare has been one of complete defeat. Why Should All Citizens Have a Basic Understanding of Guerrilla Warfare? Guerrilla warfare is typically an integral part of that longer, protracted struggle. The Guerrilla Girls are feminist activist artists. What are Guerrilla Tactics? And even during the height of the Cold War, at least one major guerrilla struggle (in Algeria) raged totally outside the schemata of that global ideological contest. John Spicer Nichols, in Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications, 2003. The concept of guerrilla warfare is not decades, but many centuries old, with earliest writing on the subject by Sun Tzu dating back to the 6th Century BC. The various theoretical approaches to war, from those characterizing premodern societies and the rise of the modern state to the present are discussed. The guerrilla war, as waged by both Confederate guerrillas and Unionists in the South, gathered in intensity between 1861 and 1865 and had a profound impact on the outcome of the war. Guerrilla warfare has been ubiquitous and important throughout history. In 1984, the term guerrilla marketing was introduced by Leo Burnett’s creative director Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing. Why was guerrilla warfare effective against the British? The World Handbook also uses the New York Times as its primary source but supplements that general news coverage with six regional news sources; it has compiled event counts on the same general types of domestic political conflict events as the Banks' data but with finer distinctions such that information on up to 38 separate event types are recorded. There are two broad data collection and archiving research enterprises that have been engaged in compiling information regarding daily domestic political conflict events. Although originally used to combat foreign invaders, guerrilla warfare has developed into a formidable tool against domestic dictators. Guerrilla warfare has a very long history; one finds instances of it recorded in the Bible. The term ‘revolution’ moved away from this historically specific usage after the conservative religious turn in the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Eastern European uprisings against Communist Party states after 1989, and the end of the Cold War and other global power shifts. The Importance of Guerrilla Warfare John S. Mosby, William C. Quantrill, Champ Ferguson, and John Hunt Morgan are all well known guerrillas or perhaps you choose to label them instead as bushwhackers or raiders or rangers or outlaws. Guerrilla warfare has been both underestimated and overestimated Insurgencies have been getting more successful since 1956, but still lose most of … Standing armies involved in asymmetrical wars with nonstate actors tend to use conventional strategies and the tactics of regular warfare. Peru’s Sendero Luminoso guerrillas supported themselves for years by drug trafficking, and the FARC in Colombia does so today. One of his most famous collaborators, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara attempted to oust the sitting regime in Bolivia with similar tactics shortly after their Cuban success. Anthony James Joes, in Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict (Second Edition), 2008. Aspects of tactics and territory also distinguish insurgency from civil war. Standing armed forces tend not to recognize the specifically political nature of Small Wars while their tactical and strategic approach is predominantly based on Jomini’s theory of the warfare of attrition. An interesting side point here is to note that through the use of guerrilla insurrections, one dictator was replaced by another. The intended effect of this integrated strategy is to undermine one's enemies psychologically and facilitate their defeat, but it also can be directed at one's own people or allies to inoculate them against the enemies' own efforts. While guerrilla wars are partly defined by the immense superiority of power and force possessed by the state, civil wars are fought between more equal parties. The very breakup of the Soviet Empire, for one example, has permitted long-suppressed ethnic and religious tensions to surface in its former satrapies; an unusually large percentage of the population of the Third World is young and poor; certain Islamic groups have completely and angrily rejected the contemporary world; in many societies no peaceful road to change exists; and high-quality weapons are easily obtainable. The many forms war takes, from ethnic conflict through conventional militaries to guerrilla warfare are considered in order to understand the nature and culture of war. The circumstances that lead to guerrilla warfare, an armed sector of the populace against a much larger force, will 99% of the time be a political fight on some level. Guerrilla warfare helped the colonists win the Revolutionary war. Log in. To win the legitimacy of the population within the enemy’s territory is strategically decisive for conventional armed forces. Guerrilla groups also use tactics of propaganda to recruit fighters and win the support of local populations. National liberation movements that posed radical challenges to the domestic social order, often long after decolonization, included notable cases such as Cuba (see Cuban Revolution, The) in 1959, southeast Asia (see Vietnamese Revolution, The) and southern Africa in the 1960s and 1970s, and Central America in the 1970s and 1980s. From Warsaw (1944), Budapest (1956), and Algiers (1957) to Montevideo and Sao Paulo (1960s), Saigon (1968), Grozny (1994), Northern Ireland (1970–96), and Fallujah (2004), even the most heroic and popular urban guerrilla campaigns have failed (though some of them inflicted severe costs on the counterinsurgent forces, and the one in Northern Ireland was unusually protracted). Our anonymity keeps the focus on the issues, and away from who we might be: we could be anyone and we are everywhere. Guerrilla Warfare Let's turn to the last reason why it's so difficult to define terrorism. In defining war, this article explores the origin and historical development of armed aggression from the earliest human societies to the present. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012373985800074X, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080430767012328, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080970868960343, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0123876702002405, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080970868960471, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123739858000490, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123739858001963, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080430767009761, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080970868122354, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0123693985004412, Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict (Second Edition), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), ), and their use of unorthodox tactics of, Revolutions of 1989–90 in Eastern Central Europe, Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications, Dictatorships and Authoritarian Regimes, Insurrections against, War: Anthropological Aspects, Historical Development of, daily news files, begins coverage in 1815, and records annual numbers of events in nine categories of domestic conflict, including. Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics, and mobility, to fight a larger and less-mobile traditional military. The term ‘revolution’ moved away from this historically specific usage after the conservative religious turn in the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Eastern-Central European uprisings against Communist Party states after 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989–90 in Eastern Central Europe), and the end of the Cold War and other global power shifts at the dawn of the twenty-first century. The experience of the war laid the foundations of the New People's Republic and the militarization of society that followed throughtout the war The Chinese Civil War occured between 1927 and 1949, and resulted in the victory of the CCP, which then cemented its control over China. This tactic was … Sometimes the term ‘revolution’ is used loosely to refer to any kind of paradigmatic shift, as in ‘the Industrial Revolution,’ ‘the Reagan revolution,’ or ‘the behaviorist revolution’ in social sciences. The fact that war is a relatively recent invention in the span of human existence, arising with complex societies, suggests war is neither a biological imperative nor integral to the human condition. Yet they all have profound similarities, which accounts for this common usage. Tactically, the guerrilla army makes the repetitive attacks far from the opponent's center of gravity with a view to keeping its own casualties to a … Civil wars are fought between the state and opposition forces, much like guerrilla wars, but with a difference of scale. Guerilla wars are characterized by a weak combatant fighting a powerful foe through deception. Guerrilla warfare is a style of battle that allows the soldiers to remain hidden while in battle. Guerrilla warfare, also spelled guerilla warfare, is a type of combat that's fought by a civilian population or other people who aren't part of a typical miltary unit. British troops were taught to fight facing their enemy in an open field lined side by side. One example of guerrilla warfare against a dictator was the Cuban insurrection led by Fidel Castro against President Batista that began in 1956. Regular army soldiers put behind enemy lines for that purpose. A successful guerrilla campaign weakens the enemy through several coordinated attacks, eventually forcing the opponent to withdraw. One example of guerrilla warfare against a dictator was the Cuban insurrection led by Fidel Castro against President Batista that began in 1956. The Banks' data is derived from the New York Times daily news files, begins coverage in 1815, and records annual numbers of events in nine categories of domestic conflict, including guerrilla warfare, government crises, purges, riots, revolutions, antigovernment demonstrations, coups, assassinations, and general strikes. Guerrilla warfare is not an “Eastern Way of War”; it is the universal war of the weak. In another variant usage, ‘revolution’ is contrasted with reformism to connote a radical political program, short time horizon, and willingness to use extreme (violent) means; as in Malcolm X's call for African-American liberation “by any means necessary,” or J.F. A government that does its best to help its people is much less susceptible to challenges from guerrilla forces, which are oftentimes seen as the people’s army. We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content and ads. The eclectic ‘socialism’ of many Third World revolts and nationalist decolonization movements (see National Liberation Movements), and their use of unorthodox tactics of guerrilla warfare – analyzed by practitioners such as Mao Zedong, Che Guevara, and Vo Nguyen Giap – led those characteristics to be generically associated with ‘revolution.’ This usage was reinforced by Cold War counterinsurgency strategies aimed at forestalling radical change in national political systems, which were seen as extensions of the global East–West contest. A discussion of guerrilla warfare can be found in Moa Tse-Tung’s book On Guerrilla Warfare. Many insurgencies rely not only on guerrilla tactics but also on clandestine, small-scale, armed operations, or terrorism, and indeed may be too weak to engage in guerrilla warfare at all until late in their development (Byman, 2008). often isn't a reality of what happened on the ground. Military-tactical domination in combat through the conventional use of overwhelming military superiority is necessary for this purpose but it is not decisive. Drug lords are using their vast funds to support guerrilla movements, and may actually purchase or launch their own. The World Handbook of Political and Social Indicators was begun under the direction of Charles Lewis Taylor in the late 1960s; its data begins coverage in 1948. The changing philosophies and practices of war over time and society show war to be a complex constellation of economic, cultural, and existential, as well as political factors. It is primarily psychological war although it involves real death and destruction; it focuses on the fact that war is politics by other means, and that all war that isn’t terrorism has real political goals. The various theoretical approaches to war, from those characterizing premodern societies and the rise of the modern state to the present are discussed. Standing armies have a structural disadvantage in the theater of the Small War because the tactical, operational, and strategic demand of this kind of asymmetric warfare does not conform to their main organizational structure. Guerrilla tactics are characterized by repeated surprise attacks and efforts to limit movement of enemy troops. The irregulars are often able to compensate for their technological and logistical inferiority by using the tactics and strategy of guerrilla warfare. Sabotage and terrorism—including assassination, kidnapping, robbery, and bomb attacks on civilians—have also often been used. This may well turn out to be the case. However, when the conflict reaches the dimensions of a civil war, chances are that powerful opposition elites, and perhaps even international third parties, have engaged themselves in the conflict, making the prospects less favorable for the dictator. The large number of newly independent states with a history of having been colonized and/or lagging in development were collectively labeled the ‘Third World’; and the Cold War imposed a simplistic dichotomy in which they either remained in the Western camp (where the U.S. had replaced the European colonizers as hegemon), or underwent socialist revolutions and aligned with the Soviet Union. C.R. In any event, it seems clear that for many of the oppressed, the marginalized, the frustrated, the ambitious, the vengeful, the hate-filled, and the greedy, the age-old techniques of guerrilla warfare will continue to be available and attractive options. How is guerrilla marketing any different from other strategies? The term “Guerrilla marketing” comes from the term Guerrilla Warfare, which employs atypical or noticeable tactics to achieve the desired goal. Galula contrasts insurgency from rebellion by its protracted nature. Thus while insurgencies seek to control territory, their control remains fluid. Daniel P. Ritter, in Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict (Second Edition), 2008. Deception and ambushes, raids, and other surprise attacks are important elements. While revolution is an ‘explosive upheaval,’ an insurgency is “a protracted struggle conducted methodically, step by step, in order to attain specific intermediate objectives leading finally to the overthrow of the existing order” (Galula, 1964: p. 2). As insurgencies gain strength and firmer control over territory, their conflict may transform into a civil war – but this is by no means necessarily so. In concluding, the future of war, and the new directions theory might take in best understanding war in the upcoming millennium, are considered. Guerrilla (literally ‘little war’) warfare first emerged in Spain in response to Napoleon’s invasion in 1808. And the relationship between insurgents and governments is often quite complicated. Largely due to the inefficiency of the Cuban military Fidel Castro came to power in 1958. The use of guerrilla warfare throughout history has resulted in successes and failures. Ulrich vom Hagen, in Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict (Second Edition), 2008. Sustainable counterinsurgency warfare can gain the loyalty of the enemy’s population, in contrast to conventional military operations which focus on the physical destruction of armed forces. Answer to: Why was guerrilla warfare so successful in Vietnam? In his book, Mao describes guerrilla warfare as one of many methods used by an oppressed people to combat aggression. Nordstrom, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001. When guerrilla wars are fought over an extensive period of time (which is the most common situation for guerrillas as they usually cannot hope to quickly defeat the state forces), they eventually run the risk of turning into a civil war. The Viet Cong, for instance, was supported by North Vietnam which itself was supported by the Soviet Union and China. The Cross-National Time-Series Data Archive (formerly named the Cross-Polity Survey) was established in 1968 by Arthur S. Banks. The twentieth century has been the bloodiest in history, and this piece examines the relationships between violence, society, and the exercise of power that help explain this. The many forms war takes, from tribal conflict through conventional militaries to guerrilla warfare are investigated in order to understand the nature and culture of war. Commando operations are not guerrilla warfare since most soldiers lack deliberate ideological convictions. The Age of Limited Warfare. The CIA used clandestine radio broadcasts and leaflet drops from an airplane to supplement an invasion of the country by a small army (incapable of winning an outright military victory). The fact that war is a relatively recent invention in the span of human existence, arising with complex societies, suggests war as neither a biological imperative nor integral to the human condition. Guerrilla warfare is a tactic that was practiced a lot in the revolutionary war and was without a doubt one of the few reasons the Patriots defeated the British. One approach for anti-insurgent warfare is the deployment of commando troops as branches of the conventional armed forces. Guevara’s movement ultimately failed, but spurred an expansion of guerrilla movements not only in South America but also in Africa, Asia, and even Eastern Europe. There are 2 reasons for this: Old Hat - The military is very familiar with this style of fighting because of Iraq = established counter-insurgent tactics Realities Vary By Conflict, But Similarities Remain, A Guerrilla Warfare Case Study: 1969 Belfast, Marine Corps Manual: The Guerrilla and How to Fight Him, the Taliban was able to occupy U.S. built power plants and other infrastructure, Marine Corps Field Manual: Mao Tse-tung On Guerrilla Warfare, Marine Corps Field Manual: The Guerrilla and How to Fight Him, Militias In Mexican State Keep Up Fight Against Cartel, American Revolution Reinvents Guerrilla Warfare, Odi Report: Life under the Taliban shadow government, Guerrilla Warfare Tactics In Urban Environments by Major Patrick D. Marques, The Five Stages of Urban Guerrilla Warfare: Challenge of the 1970s, Georgetown University Presentation on Guerrilla Warfare. A left-leaning government in Guatemala in 1954 is an example Chenoweth, Jonathan Pinckney, in of... 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