As the author makes clear, every book has a history; Guerrilla
Warfare is no exception. Together with its sequel Terrorism (and
two companion readers) it was part of a wider study: to give a
critical interpretation of guerrilla and terrorism theory and
practice throughout history. It did not aim at providing a general
theory of political violence, nor did it give instructions on how
to conduct guerrilla warfare and terrorist operations. Its aim
remains to bring about greater semantic and analytic clarity, and
to do so at psychological as well as political levels.
While the word guerrilla has been very popular, much less
attention has been given to guerrilla warfare than to terrorism -
even though the former has been politically more successful. The
reasons for the lack of detailed attention are obvious: guerrilla
operations take place far from big cities, in the countryside, in
remote regions of a nation. In such areas there are no film cameras
or recorders.
In his probing new introduction, Laqueur points out that a
review of strategies and the fate of guerrilla movements during the
last two decades show certain common features. Both mainly
concerned nationalists fighting for independence either against
foreign occupants or against other ethnic groups within their own
country. But despite the many attempts, only in two
placesAfghanistan and Chechnya were the guerrillas successful.
According to Laqueur historical experience demonstrates that
guerrilla movements have prevailed over incumbents only in specific
conditions. Due to a constellation of factors, ranging from modern
means of observation to increase in firepower. The author suggests
that we may witness a combination of political warfare, propaganda,
guerrilla operations and terrorism. In such cases, this could be a
potent strategy for unsponsored revolutionary change. But either as
social history or military strategy this work remains a crucial
work of our times.
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