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Wars of national liberation

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"National liberation", "Liberation struggle", "War of independence", and "War of Liberation" redirect here. For the concept in Marxist thought, seeNational liberation (Marxism).For the anticommunist campaign in Kerala, seeLiberation Struggle (Kerala).For other uses, seeList of wars of independence.
Allied naval intervention at theBattle of NavarinobyAmbroise Louis Garneray,part of theGreek War of Independenceagainst theOttoman Empire

Wars of national liberation,also calledwars of independenceorwars of liberation,are conflicts fought bynationsto gainindependence.The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) to establish separatesovereign statesfor the rebelling nationality. From a different point of view, such wars are calledinsurgenciesorrebellions.[1]Guerrilla warfareorasymmetric warfareis often utilized by groups labeled as nationalliberation movements,often with support from other states.

The term "wars of national liberation" is most commonly used for those fought during thedecolonizationmovement. Since these were primarily in thethird world,against Western powers and their economic influence, and a major aspect of theCold War,the phrase has often been applied selectively to criticize the foreign power involved.[2]Some of these wars were either vocally or materially supported by theSoviet Union,which claimed to be ananti-imperialistpower, supporting the replacement of western-backed governments with localcommunistor other non pro-western parties.[1][3]In January 1961 Soviet premierNikita Khrushchevpledged support for "wars of national liberation" throughout the world.[4]On the other hand, the Soviet involvement was often viewed as a way to increase the size and influence of theSoviet Bloc,and thus a form of imperialism itself. ThePeople's Republic of Chinacriticized the Soviet Union as beingsocial imperialist.In turn, China presented themselves as models of independent nationalist development outside of Western influence, particularly as such posturing and other long-term hostility meant they were regarded as a threat to Western power and regarded themselves as such, using their resources to politically, economically and militarily assist movements such as inVietnam.

When the nation is defined in ethnic terms, wars fought to liberate it have often entailedethnic cleansingorgenocidein order to rid the claimed territory of other population groups.[5][6][7]

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International lawgenerally holds that apeoplewith a legal right toself-determinationare entitled to wage wars of national liberation.[8][9]WhileWesternstates tend to view these wars ascivil wars,Third Worldandcommuniststates tend to view them as international wars.[8]This difference in classification leads to varying perceptions of which laws of war apply in such situations.[8]However, there is general agreement among all states today in principle that the use of force to frustrate a people's legal right to self-determination is unlawful.[8]

Strategies and tactics

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Flag ofMozambique;independent fromPortugalsince 1975, after theCarnation RevolutioninLisbon,with theKalashnikovas symbol of thearmed struggleagainst thePortuguese empire,the book as symbol of instruction and a farming implement as symbol ofeconomic growth.

Warsof national liberation are usually fought using guerrilla warfare. The main purpose of these tactics is to increase the cost of the anti-guerrilla forces past the point where such forces are willing to bear. Wars of national liberation generally depend on widespread public support, with ordinary civilians providing crucial support. Finally, wars of national liberation are often embedded in a larger context of great power politics and are oftenproxy wars.

These strategies explain why they are quite successful against foreign regimes and quite unsuccessful against indigenous regimes. Foreign regimes usually have a threshold beyond which they would prefer to go home rather than to fight the war. By contrast, an indigenous regime has no place to which they can retreat, and will fight much harder because of the lack of alternatives. Moreover, foreign regimes usually have fewer active supporters in the theater, and those that exist can often be easily identified, making it possible for guerrilla armies to identify their targets. By contrast, indigenous regimes often have much more popular support, and their supporters are often not easily recognized as such, making it much harder to conduct operations against them without also causing harm to neutral parties.

History

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Decolonization period

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Further information:DecolonizationandColonialism

TheHaitian Revolution(1791-1804) can be considered to be one of the first wars of national liberation. It pitted self-liberatedslavesagainstImperial France,coming about during a period in history where interconnected movements such as theAmericanandFrench Revolutionshad caused a rise of national consciousness in the Atlantic world. At the same time during theSpanish American wars of independence(1808-1833), thepatriotslaunched a series of complex wars of independence against theroyalists,which resulted in the formation of newLatin Americanstates. TheSiege of Patras(1821) led to theGreek War of Independence,endingOttoman dominationin the establishment of theKingdom of Greece.TheEaster Rising(1916) inDublineventually led to theIrish War of Independence(1919-1921), ending in the establishment of theIrish Free State.In theaftermath of World War Iand the 1917Russian RevolutiontheBolsheviksunsuccessfully fought a number ofindependence movementsuntilFinland,Estonia,Latvia,Lithuania,andPolandgained independence. TheUkrainian People's Republicfought itswar of independence(1917-1921), which resulted in being absorbed into aSoviet republic.Following the defeat of theOttoman Empire,theTurkish National Movementfought a series of campaigns in thewar of independence(1919-1922), which resulted in the subsequent withdrawal ofAllied forcesand establishment of theRepublic of Turkey.TheIndonesian War of Independence(1945-1949) followed with the Liberation ofIrian Jaya(1960-1962), theFirst Indochina War(1946–54),Vietnam War(1959–75),Bangladesh Liberation War(1971) and theAlgerian War(1954–62) were all considered national liberation wars by the rebelling sides of the conflicts. TheAfrican National Congress(ANC)'s struggle against theapartheidregime is also another example. Most of these rebellions were in part supported by theSoviet Union.Since theRussian Revolutiontherevolutionaryobjectives ofcommunismandsocialismwere shared by many anticolonialist leaders, thus explaining the objective alliance between anticolonialist forces andMarxism.The concept of "imperialism"itself had been theorized in Lenin's 1916 book,Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism.For example,Ho Chi Minh— who founded theViet-Minhin 1941 and declared the independence ofVietnamon September 2, 1945, following the 1945August Revolution— was a founding member of theFrench Communist Party(PCF) in 1921. In January 1961, over three years before theGulf of Tonkin incidentwhich would mark theUnited States government's increased involvement in theVietnam War,Soviet premierNikita Khrushchevwould pledge support for "wars of national liberation" throughout the world.[10]In the same decade,Cuba,led byFidel Castro,would support national liberation movements inAngolaandMozambique.ThePortuguese colonial warsfinally led to the recognition of Angola, Mozambique andGuinea-Bissauas independent states in 1975, following the AprilCarnation Revolution.The 1991breakup of Yugoslavialed to fewer wars of independence in part of theYugoslav Wars,including theTen-Day Warand theCroatian War of Independence.

Ongoing wars defined as national liberation conflicts

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ThePalestine Liberation Organization(PLO) is a national liberation movement, meaning that it holds official recognition of its legal status as such.[11]Other national liberation movements in theOAUat that time included theAfrican National Congress(ANC) andPan Africanist Congress of Azania(PAC). It is the only non-African national liberation movement to hold observer status in the OAU, and was one of the first national liberation movements granted permanent observer status by theUnited Nations General Assemblypursuant to a 1974 resolution.[12][13]The PLO also participates in UN Security Council debates; since 1988, it has represented thePalestinian peopleat the UN under the name "Palestine".[14]

The following current conflicts have sometimes also been characterized as wars or struggles of national liberation (such a designation is often subject to controversy):

Conflicts

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Estonian artillery preparing for a battle during the 1918–1920Estonian War of Independence

Conflicts which have been described as national liberation struggles:

See also

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References

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  1. ^abRubinstein, Alvin Z. (1990).Moscow's Third World Strategy.Princeton University Press.p.80.ISBN0-691-07790-8.
  2. ^McNamara, Robert S.(1965-08-30)."Buildup of U.S. Forces in VietNam, Statement by Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara, Before the Subcommittee on Department of Defense Appropriations of the Senate Committee on Appropriations on August 4, 1965".Department of State Bulletin:369.Retrieved2010-07-16.
  3. ^Ballard, Chet; Gubbay, Jon; Middleton, Chris (1997).The Student's Companion to Sociology.Wiley-Blackwell.p. 36.ISBN0-7567-7867-0.
  4. ^Little, Wendell E. (1980)."Wars of National Liberation—Insurgency".Air University Review(September–October).Retrieved2010-07-16.
  5. ^Lieberman, Benjamin (2013).Terrible Fate: Ethnic Cleansing in the Making of Modern Europe.Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN978-1-4422-3038-5.
  6. ^Hayden, Robert M. (1996)."Schindler's Fate: Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Population Transfers".Slavic Review.55(4): 727–748.doi:10.2307/2501233.ISSN0037-6779.JSTOR2501233.S2CID232725375."Rendering an area ethnically homogenous by using force or in- timidation to remove from a given area persons of another ethnic or religious group" seems, in fact, an essential element in the program of many state builders and national liberation movements.
  7. ^Kelman, Herbert C. (1997). "Negotiating National Identity and Self-Determination in Ethnic Conflicts: The Choice Between Pluralism and Ethnic Cleansing".Negotiation Journal.13(4): 327–340.doi:10.1023/A:1024840110195.S2CID189900927.
  8. ^abcdMalanczuk, 1997, p. 336.
  9. ^Higgins, Noelle (April 2004)."The Application of International Humanitarian Law to Wars of National Liberation"(PDF).Journal of Humanitarian Assistance.Retrieved2010-07-15.
  10. ^Christopher AndrewandVasili Mitrokhin(2005). "24" The Cold War Comes to Africa ".The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World(hardcover). Basic Books. pp. 432–433.ISBN9780465003112.
  11. ^Sess.: 1988-1989), UN General Assembly (43rd (1989)."Observer status of national liberation movements recognized by the Organization of African Unity and/or the League of Arab States:: resolutions /: adopted by the General Assembly".United Nations Digital Library.{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^Shultz, 1988, p. 100.
  13. ^Wilson, 1990, p. 119.
  14. ^Boczek, 2005, p86.
  15. ^Sakwa, Richard(2005),Chechnya: From Past to Future,p. 208. Anthem Press,ISBN1-84331-164-X,9781843311645
  16. ^Evangelista, Matthew (2002), The Chechen wars: will Russia go the way of the Soviet Union?, p. 142. Brookings Institution Press,ISBN0-8157-2498-5,ISBN978-0-8157-2498-8
  17. ^Dunlop, John B. (1998),Russia Confronts Chechnya,p. 93.Cambridge University Press,ISBN0-521-63619-1,ISBN978-0-521-63619-3

Bibliography

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