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to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers to establish
separate sovereign states for 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 liberation movements , often with
intervention from other states.
More specifically, wars of national liberation can refer to those fought during the decolonization
movement, primarily in the third world against Western powers and their economic influence, and
was a major aspect of the Cold War .[2] According to political scientist Grard Chaliand ,
guerrilla wars against European powers were always a political success, although they may have
been in some cases a military defeat.[3] However, according to Gwynne Dyer , the tactics and
strategies used against colonial powers were almost invariably failures when used against indigenous
regimes.[citation needed] Some of these wars were either vocally or materially supported by the
Soviet Union , which stated itself to be an anti-imperialist power, supporting the replacement
of western-backed governments with local communist or other non pro-western parties.[1][4]
However, this did not always guarantee Soviet influence in those countries. According to certain
activists and theorists,[5] the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China presented themselves
as models of independent nationalist development outside of Western influence. As such they were
regarded as a threat to Western power as they could politically, economically and militarily assist other
movements such as in Vietnam . In January 1961 Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev pledged
support for "wars of national liberation" throughout the world.[6]
This concept of "imperialism " and its relations to colonies had been theorized in Vladimir Lenin
's 1916 book, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism while Ho Chi Minh , who
founded the Viet-Minh in 1930 and declared the independence of Vietnam on September 2,
1945, following the 1945 August Revolution , was a founding member of the French
Communist Party (PCF) in 1921.
Legal issues
International law generally holds that a people with a legal right to self-determination are
entitled to wage wars of national liberation.[7][8] While Western states tend to view these wars as
civil wars , Third World and communist states tend to view them as international wars.[7]
This difference in classification leads to varying perceptions of which laws of war apply in such
situations.[7] 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. [7]
armies to operate. By contrast, indigenous regimes often have much more popular support, and their
supporters are not as easily recognized, making it much harder to conduct guerrilla operations.
Decolonization period
The first separatist rebellion within the former British Empire not to end in defeat since the
American Revolutionary War was the Irish War of Independence of 1919-1922 which led
in 1922 to the renewed independence of most of Ireland (26 counties out of 32). However the
rebellion also led to the Irish Civil War (1922-1923).
The Indonesian War of Independence (1945-1949) followed with the Liberation of Irian Jaya
(1960-1962) and the liberation of East Timor (1975), The First Indochina War (194654),
Vietnam War (195975), and the Algerian War of Independence (195462) were all
considered national liberation wars by the rebelling sides of the conflicts. The African National
Congress (ANC)'s struggle against the apartheid regime is also another example. These wars
were in part supported by the Soviet Union , which claimed to be an anti-imperialist power,
although it has been argued that the Soviet Union practised colonialism also.[9][10] Since the
1917 October Revolution and the subsequent Russian Civil War , the revolutionary
objectives of communism were shared by many anticolonialist leaders, thus explaining the
objective alliance between anticolonialist forces and Marxism . The concept of "imperialism "
itself had been which had theorized in Lenin's 1916 book, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of
Capitalism. For example, Ho Chi Minh who founded the Viet-Minh in 1941 and declared
the independence of Vietnam on September 2, 1945, following the 1945 August Revolution
was a founding member of the French Communist Party (PCF) in 1921. In January 1961, over
three years before the Gulf of Tonkin incident which would mark the United States ' increased
involvement in the Vietnam War , Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev would pledge support for
"wars of national liberation" throughout the world.[11] In the same decade, Cuba , led by Fidel
Castro , would support national liberation movements in Angola and Mozambique . The
Portuguese colonial wars finally led to the recognition of Angola, Mozambique and GuineaBissau as independent states in 1975, following the April Carnation Revolution .
[15]
The following current conflicts have sometimes also been characterized as wars or struggles of
national liberation (such a designation is often subject to controversy):
Many Chechens and foreign observers consider the First and Second Chechen Wars
to be wars of national liberation against Russia .[16][17][18]
Some Iraqi insurgent groups, and certain political groups believe that the Iraq War is a war
of national liberation against the US-led coalition .
Conflicts
Conflicts which have been described as national liberation struggles:
The Eighty Years' War
The American Revolution
The Haitian Revolution
The Spanish American wars of independence
The American Civil War
The Peninsular War against Napoleon's occupation of Spain during the Napoleonic
Wars
Guinea
In Canada during 1837 and in subsequent years English Canadian and French
Canadian reformers of William Lyon Mackenzie and the patriotes of Louis Joseph
Papineau fought the British Empire for the independence of Canada. See Rebellions of 1837