Guerrilla War Research Articles

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Poetry and the Camp: Epiphanic Witness and Ecstatic Cry in the Spanish-Cuban-American War of 1895–98

Poetry and the Camp: Epiphanic Witness and Ecstatic Cry in the Spanish-Cuban-American War of 1895–98

Irregular War in Favelas of Rio de Janeiro: A Macro-Micro Approach

This paper is about the irregular war in Rio de Janeiro regarding its rules and dynamics, its links with local politics and transnational business, as well as the actors’ subjective meanings, part of the ethnographic data gathered over years. My approach has been to interact with many actors during long periods of time using multiple sources of data to adjoin clues and contradictions provided by the various agents interviewed. I followed the precepts developed by Gluckman and Buroway on the extended case method, adapting it to the violent social contexts in the favelas of Rio emphasizing conflicts and diversity within them. The analysis bears also statistical and historical material. In 1980, I found a new neighborhood organization: drug-dealing gangs engaged in turf wars. In them, a kind of male identity was the crux of the matter to understand the subjective meanings and the ethos not revealed on the surface of everyday experience. Some youngsters, who plunged in violence and crime, interiorized the warrior ethos or violent practices, becoming their own executioners by killing each other with increasing cruelty justified by the warfare. This altered completely not only the local balance of power but the sociability between neighbors in such areas.

Competition Integration Strategies and Irregular Wars to Support National Security

The development of irregular warfare and various phenomena of post-modern warfare increasingly make war strategies develop dynamically and adaptively. Strategy is no longer used as a tool to win wars like in the traditional era but is more directed towards how to maintain space security or security. In addition, threats are also growing rapidly and extraordinary in line with the rapid development of science and technology so that the study of strategy itself must also be adaptive and dynamic. This study uses a qualitative approach by using a literature study. The results of the study prove that to deal with this, the government needs to integrate between actors competing in irregular wars to support national security. The government must also take firm and bold steps to make 'peace' with non-state actors.

Bangladesh: A Half Century into Freedom

The paper is an observation of the fifty years that have gone by since the liberation of Bangladesh through a guerrilla war against Pakistan in 1971. It spells out the causes behind the military and political collapse of the Pakistan state in Bangladesh, formerly the eastern province of Pakistan. Furthermore, the article is a brief study of the conditions confronting Bangladesh at birth, which at a certain point pushed the country into reverse gear through the rise of illegitimate regimes in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Finally, the paper provides an overview of the current state of politics in the country.

Growing Together, Remaining Apart: The Role of Digital Technology in Former Guerrilla Fighters' Social Capital

In this paper, we present an account of how FARC-EP ex-combatants are using digital technology in the process of reincorporating into Colombian society. We report findings showing how this technology mediates the difficult task of transitioning from a culture of opposition to civilian members and active political actors. Using the concept of social capital as a framework, we investigate the intersection between the use of digital tools and developing cultural and economic practices among these groups during this transitional period. Reflecting on the bonding and bridging aspects of social capital, we describe how ex-combatants draw on substantial social capital from their former lives as a guerrilla army in order to strengthen their position in these new circumstances, and their cautious and difficult creation of new social ties with wider Colombian society. We contribute to the CSCW discourse by discussing the crucial role digital tools, previously not available to these groups, play in sustaining, re-growing and building social capital of communities in post-conflict periods.

The PLO and Communist Albania: Cold War Relations

This article examines Communist Albania’s support for the Palestinian cause and the relationships Tirana cultivated with the various groups comprising the Palestinian national movement. It explores the latter’s motivation for cultivating relations with Albania, a tiny Communist country that refused the logic of the bipolar world, both in its alliance with China and, later, through its disengagement from the East-West conflict and retreat into self-imposed isolationism. The article shows that, following Albania’s break with the Soviet bloc in the 1970s, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and specifically Fatah, was a more natural and logical choice for Tirana’s support than other, more self-avowedly left-wing Palestinian organizations. This study is based on primary sources from the archives of the Albanian foreign affairs ministry and the Party of Labour of Albania, as well as secondary sources such as accounts by members of the Albanian military who trained Fatah guerrilla fighters.

Peran Masyarakat Dusun Batantangan Pada Masa Revolusi Fisik di Kalimantan Selatan

One of the battle headquarters for the struggle at the end of the physical revolution in South Kalimantan that takes place was in Batantangan Hamlet, Batu Bini Village, Padang Batung District. The headquarters, located in Batantangan Hamlet, is a strategic place, also it is in the middle of the dense forest of the Meratus Mountains. This headquarters is also located among other areas of battle so that this place became the gate or entrance to other areas during the physical revolution battle in South Kalimantan. This study aims to find out more about the Batantangan Hamlet as the headquarters of the guerrilla battle at the end of the physical revolution in South Kalimantan and the role of the society in the activities of the guerrilla battle. The method used in this research is the historical method which consists of Heuristics, Criticism, Interpretation and Historiography. The first step is heuristics or collecting data. The data were obtained through three things, first oral sources obtained from the results of interviews done by the researchers with community leaders who experienced the period of physical revolution in Batantangan Hamlet. Second, written sources such as thesis, dissertations, journals, books and the last source is some of objects obtained by researchers during field observations. After the data was collected, the next step is criticism, both internal and external criticism. The next is interpretation and the last stage is historiography or writing of research results. The results showed that the position of Dusun Batantangan as a headquarters for guerilla fighters during the physical revolution was so important and the emotional proximity of the Dusun Batantangan society with fighters that made the society help the fighters in guerella battle

Problems of organization and activities of guerrillas of Ukraine during the summer of 1941-1942 from the point of view of the modern western historiography

The article analyzes the peculiarities of western scientists’ coverage of the problems of organization and effectiveness of the guerrilla movement in Ukraine, which, in their opinion, had a rather complex and ambiguous phenomenon. The role of various factors that took place in the creation and leadership of the detachments, including both the factor of upper leadership of the movement, and the factor of spontaneity, has been examined. The circumstances that served as an accelerator for its expansion in 1943 have been clarified; the thesis of the "nationwide struggle against the Nazi invaders", to which western scientists have always been skeptical, has been considered from a critical point of view. There are some contradictions in the works of historians of Western Europe, the United States, Canada and other countries to the estimation of the effectiveness of guerrilla action. The authors did not ignore the typical problems associated with the attitude of Soviet leaders to the seemingly excessive independence of the guerrillas. Western historians also clarify the relationship between the guerrillas and the local community, which has not always been cloudless. In addition, they constantly emphasize the indifference of guerrilla leaders to the events of Holocaust. Moreover, as a rule, partisans of Jewish origin often felt protected from anti-Semitic manifestations only in mono-ethnic Jewish detachments. The situation of girls and women guerrillas was rather difficult; many of them were forced to become mistresses of certain captains due to the aggressive behavior of male guerrillas. It should be highlighted that the classic work of D.A. Armstrong (1922-2010), Professor of the University of Wisconsin, "Soviet guerrillas. Legend and Reality, 1941-1944” stated that by the autumn of 1942 there were almost no guerrillas in Ukraine. The exceptions were the regions of Sumy and Chernihiv; according to his estimates, even at the beginning of 1943 there were no more than 20,000 guerrillas in Ukraine. It is noteworthy that the historical department of the US Army during the Cold War was monitoring closely the Soviet publications on the activities of Soviet guerrillas. In 1965 the bibliography of books, essays, memoirs, and collections of documents on the guerrillas group in the occupied territory of the USSR, which was collected there, figured up to 227 titles. Western scientists supported the formula of the "involuntary Resistance Movement" that existed in the occupied lands not only in Ukraine. According to them, the activities of the guerrillas had more psychological and political significance than purely military one - that is, the population should have felt that they were the representatives of the Soviet government.

On lives, politics and history. A conversation with Allen F. Isaacman and Barbara S. Isaacman about activism, Mozambique and other African histories

In late 2019, Allen and Barbara Isaacman were in Portugal to conduct research on Samora Machel – guerrilla fighter and first president of the People’s Republic of Mozambique – which led to the book Samora Machel. A life cut short. Since the late 1960s, Allen and Barbara Isaacman have been working on what is now the territory of Mozambique, developing one of the most extensive and solid researches on the history of Africa. Their analyses focus on African political and social structures, the process of Portuguese colonial occupation, and how it affected the lives of African populations. In their books, archival knowledge and oral sources support a historiography concerned with the analysis of field processes, namely with the intention of bringing to the forefront the practices, expectations, and worldviews of the local populations. The conversation took place on October 15-17, 2019. Over several hours of recording, we talked about their personal, academic and political path. The lessons we took away from this conversation are varied and bear upon Barbara and Allen Isaacman’s generosity, ethical elevation, analytical rigor, and sense of solidarity with the Mozambican people.

Reflexivity in research teams through narrative practice and textile-making

This article discusses narrative practice and textile-making as two techniques of researcher reflexivity in diverse teams conducting qualitative-interpretive research. Specifically, it suggests definitional ceremonies—a collective structured method of storytelling and group resonances—as a useful tool to interweave diverse researchers as a team, while maintaining the plurivocity that enables deeper reflexivity. Additionally, textile-making is introduced as a material and embodied way of expression, which complements narrative practice where words fail or need a non-linguistic form of elicitation. We illustrate the two techniques with examples from our international, collaborative qualitative-interpretive research project with demobilized guerrilla fighters in Colombia.

Note from the Editors

Note from the Editors

Radical virtues: practices of the body among Iranian revolutionaries of the 1960s and 1970s

ABSTRACT Disillusioned by possibilities of political reform in an economically developing country, the Irani-an radicals of the 1960s and 70s adopted certain practices. These bodily techniques served both practical concerns and radical self-fashionings. That is, the guerrilla fighters had to familiarize themselves with mountains and forests, recruit members from the working class, and subsist on minimal means in communal houses. But they also would not succumb to the newly-emerging comprador bourgeois values that was, in their opinion, feeding imperialism. In this article I study those bodily practices in their global context, by reference to the practical and theoretical back-ground. It is interesting that while the paramilitary or theoretical aspects of these movements were not always appealing to the larger society, the bodily ethics could intrigue people from across the political or religious spectrum. The particular virtues of self-sacrifice, resilience, self-reliance, seriousness, among other things were cultivated by means of bodily practices. By these kinds of bodily resistance, Iranian radicals formed a subjectivity outside the dominant/dominated binary, where increasing political consciousness involved lifestyle changes on the most private surface.

Beyond the “Epopee of Ben Guerdane”: Exploring the Plurality of Resistance at the South-Eastern Tunisian Border

Abstract This article aims to shed light on the plural form of resistance performed around the South-Eastern Tunisian border area through the case study of the ordinary people of Ben Guerdane’s resistance to the jihadi attack of 7th March 2016. Placing the so-called “epopee of Ben Guerdane” in a broader historical context, it seeks to explore the fluctuations between resistance and repression along the border area both in the past and in the present, showing how multifaceted the repertoire of resistance – which includes anti-colonial struggle, guerrilla action, regime opposition, subversions, forms of everyday resistance and jihadi insurrection – has been. Following the insight of Critical Border Studies, the border will be considered as an epistemological viewpoint rather than simply a geopolitical device, considering the central role of material and symbolic borders and boundaries that shape the living experiences of Ben Guerdane’s inhabitants. The article relies on qualitative data collected during long-term fieldwork in addition to shifting the focus of the study of the Tunisian-Libyan border from national security to an approach that prioritizes the experiences of ordinary people.

THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMYʼS «GREEN BOOK»: POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION

THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMYʼS «GREEN BOOK»: POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION

Organised Violence In The South Asian Region

Organised violence can be of multiple forms and purposes, so common that it has become a part of modern life. Such type of violence are political in nature and may be sponsored by internal as well as external sponsors and includes both state and non-state actors. Terrorism, guerrilla wars, political assassinations, communal violence, police actions come under the sources of organised crime. I am going to discuss the various cases of organised crime in South Asia.

Meilleures Pratiques Internationales De Lutte Contre Le Terrorisme Et La Criminalite Organisee Par Des Unites Speciales Et Des Services De Detection Et De Repression

Therefore, this unit as a component of the gendarmerie is built on the principle of a military unit. The gendarmerie, one of the few state institutions in France, has been in existence for over 200 years and has a status as DOI: 10.32370/IA_2021_03_07 a significant component of the country's armed forces and is an extremely important part of the police system. The gendarmerie is subordinated to the Ministry of Defense (on the authority of the Main Directorate), and on the ground - to the command of military districts. At the same time, the gendarmerie is at the operational disposal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice. Significant autonomy within the Armed Forces allows the gendarmerie to combine military functions with purely police and administrative ones. The difference between police and gendarmerie is that the police are civilian civil servants. They can wear civilian clothes and trade union and political freedoms. Gendarmes also have the status of servicemen and military ranks, always in uniform, not entitled to strike and are responsible for violations in accordance with military charters - from guardians to dismissal from service (for example, for the use of alcohol "in the performance of official duties" the gendarme is threatened arrest for up to 30 days). The need for the creation of the Austrian Special Forces was conditioned by the urgency of taking measures to ensure the safety of the flow of emigrants of Jewish nationality from the former USSR since in autumn 1973 against them was committed serious terrorist act. Special unit "Cobra" enters the warehouse of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and has got a double subordination: through direct combat engagement to the head of public safety, and in relation to personnel issues and logistics - the central command of the gendarmerie of the Austrian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Among the well-known British Special Political Service (Special Air Service, or SAS) is probably the best counterterrorism unit. Its component - Special Projects (SP) team - the main anti-terrorist squad. The Special Air Service and its Counter Revolutionary Warfare Squadron (CRW) unit, the Antirevolutionary Military Squadron, were founded in 1942. The feature of training SAS servicemen is to teach each soldier to possess all methods and means of combating terrorism. To achieve this, SAS trains all of its squadron through training cycles. Acquired skills are improved later in the SP-team's combat duties. The main thing in the work is the maximum approximation of training sessions to a real combat situation in the conduct of operations on the release of hostages, in the role of which are civilians. Anti-terrorist training of SAS and the development of practical measures for the release of hostages is facilitated by the fact that high-ranking members of the British Government, including the Prime Minister, are personally involved in it.

Drama Creativity and Solution to Human Problems: Niger Delta Crisis Resolution

No invention or creativity is absolute or done in a vacuum. Every single creative invention except God‟s, is built on previous existence. Every scientific or literary creator builds on already existing foundation and has a target human problem he desires to solve. Liberation struggles all over the world have proved to be rich source material for creative writers. Maji Maji uprising which gave birth to kinjeketile by Ebrahim Hussein, Mau Mau anti- colonial guerilla movement which gave life to Trials of Dedan Kemathi by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o and Micere Mugo are uncontroversial paradigms. Here in Nigeria the Niger Delta oil crisis, a historical antecedent rooted in the colonial experience was one of such struggle and is still ongoing. The urgency and the general impetus provoked by the situation are as a result of this fact that Niger Delta is the mainstay of Nigeria‟s major foreign exchange earnings. The struggle for economic and political emancipation has thus not only attracted the world's media but has become the main subject matter of novelists, poets and playwrights. The main thrust of this paper is to prove that dramaturgy in its immediacy is an indispensable tool for crisis resolution from the literary window provided by JP Clark‟s Wives Revolt and Ahmed Yerima's Hard Ground. From the plays, it is glaring that economic dependence, gender equality struggle, deprivation, unemployment, oppression, and marginalization, land, water and air pollution are the main problems that need urgent solution in the area. The paper unveils the playwrights‟ solution as protest, dialogue, economic empowerment of the youth, poverty alleviation as imperatives to conflict resolution but more sternly is Yerima's warning that the world does not listen to young men in head bands with AK47 guns in swamp who are more of guerilla fighters. Yerima rather suggests that the citizens should acquire education to make a meaningful protest. The paper submits that drama is a virile medium through which society can conscientize themselves during struggles by providing attitudes and values which lead to solving human problems.

Death in the Archives: Witnessing War in Ireland, 1919–1921

Abstract In a relatively brief, not very lethal, but meticulously documented guerrilla war in Ireland there is an opportunity to reflect on who historians choose to listen to when writing about violence. Across 1920–21 thousands of inquests captured the voices of the men, women and sometimes children who were the first to describe and define the act of killing in this conflict, but who very quickly fell out of the historical record after that point. This article considers the contribution these bystanders can make to a history of violence, and some of the challenges their evidence presents. By witnessing death were they an integral part of how killing was meant to be understood? Are they fundamental to an understanding of how terror worked, and did they, by their presence, by the way they spoke of what they saw, contribute to why so few deaths were needed for the message to be understood in the Irish context? Ultimately, these witnesses also raise questions about the reactions they prompted then as well as now. Is it easier to hear of killing from a combatant than from a child, and are there consequences for the history of violence in the making of that choice?

The United States' Attitude on the guerrilla war in Guatemala, 1963-1966

The United States' Attitude on the guerrilla war in Guatemala, 1963-1966