Revolutionary and Counter Revolutionary Terrorism
Brian H. Doyle
Saint Leo University Abstract
This paper will analyze revolutionary and counter revolutionary terrorism to include: the rise of revolutionary terrorism, the different groups associated with revolutionary terrorism, how modern day terrorist groups are influenced by revolutionaries, and the emergence of counter revolutionary terrorism in response to these groups. Revolutionary terrorism began with the Tupamaros in Uruguay in the 1960s, which in turn influenced revolutionary groups around the globe. Counter revolutionary terrorism consists of unlawful tactics often carried out by law enforcement officials in order to halt, interrogate, and deter revolutionary terrorists
…show more content…
According to White (2014), “unlike their predecessors in the Cuban Revolution, the Tupamaros spurned the countryside, favoring an urban environment. City sidewalks and asphalt became their battleground” (p. 247). The Tupamaros developed tactics in urban terrorism which would prove it to be a popular form of terrorism that many other groups would emulate. Uruguay’s slow economic decline in a post World War II era is what gave way to revolutionaries such as the Tupamaros. The decreased prices in export goods caused great strain on the Uruguayan economy, especially middle class sugar workers. These workers formed a national union but were overrun with radicals whose aim was government confrontation. When the union workers had a conflict with the police many of them were arrested, including a man by the name of Raúl Sendic. Upon his release from prison Sendic, along with several radical followers, formed the violent terrorist group known as the National Liberation Movement or Tupamaros. As the Tupamaros grew in power and influence they became a massive threat to the government and its authority amongst the people. Many of their tactics include “assassination, bank robbery, kidnapping, propaganda, bombing, internal discipline, infiltration of security forces, temporary control of urban areas, and redistribution of expropriated goods to the poor” (White, 2014, p. …show more content…
There are three major differences between Maoist groups and other revolutionary terrorists. First, they dominate their areas of control via terrorism. Second, Maoists discipline and maintain their own members. Lastly, Maoist groups are based on rural peasant movements following the philosophy of communist Chinese leader Mao Zedong (White, 2014, p. 257). One example of a Maoist group is the Shining Path in Peru. Led by Abimael Guzmán, the Shining Path’s goal was to force all people into an egalitarian society through the use of violent guerrilla tactics in an effort to develop regional military forces (White, 2014, p.
In 1910, Francisco Madero, a son of wealthy plantation owners, instigated a revolution against the government of president Díaz. Even though most of his motives were political (institute effective suffrage and disallow reelections of presidents), Madero's revolutionary plan included provisions for returning seized lands to peasant farmers. The latter became a rallying cry for the peasantry and Zapata began organizing locals into revolutionary bands, riding from village to village, tearing down hacienda fences and opposing the landed elite's encroachment into their villages. On November 18, the federal government began rounding up Maderistas (the followers of Francisco Madero), and only forty-eight hours later, the first shots of the Mexican Revolution were fired. While the government was confide...
They believed that their approaches to making changes for the workers would work if they continued practicing the same method. Oftentimes their very own methods worked, and would result in the desired way. Sometimes however these methods would lead to quite a bit of anger from those that they opposed. The opposition would call on the courts to attempt to get the union leaders to stop whatever their union was doing. When the leaders did not do this, they were imprisoned. This was the main reason for Chavez's imprisonment. While this possibly partially led to Hoffa's imprisonment, his involvement with the mafia was most likely the main reason for his arrest.
Due to the nature of military dictatorship, in 1960, social discontent began to give way to left wing militants made up of the Mayan indigenous people and rural peasantry. This is the match that lit Guatemala’s Civil War, street battles between the two groups tore the country and pressured the autocratic ruler General Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes to fight harder against the civilian insurrection. Similar to the government abductions that took place in Argentina, the military regime began to do the same.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, otherwise referred to as the “Dirty War” in Argentina, was instructed from 1976 to 1983, the military government to kidnapped, tortured, and murdered progressive militants, and any person who claimed were “collaborators,” including all political adversaries of the regime. Many of the rebels were young people, pupils and other adolescence struggling to convey their discontents with the regime. The abducted people became described as the “disappeared.” The government destroyed any documentations that would aid the families to discovery the bodies or regain their grandchildren. The regime similarly stole babies born to incarcerated pregnant prisoners.
Clearly, the UN definition being more general as any act of terror, it is found that revolutionary groups adopt the use of categorical terrorism because it is commonly cheaper than selective terrorism. Further, Goodwin argues that categorical terrorism is employed for the purpose of attacking and threatening what he calls “complicitous civilians.” Complicitous civilians are defined as (1) civilians who often benefit from state actions that the revolutionaries oppose, (2) those that support the state, (3) or civilians who have the ability to influence the state. The primary directive of categorical terrorism is to provoke complicitous civilians from further supporting the state. By applying intense...
However, despite their differences, these two leaders were similar, too. They were both very charismatic leaders who successfully made it through their revolutions. Mao’s revolution led to change in class structure while Gandhi’s revolution involved India as a country, and he wanted people to realize that working together is a great way to gain independence. While Mao and Gandhi both believed that each of their countries have the need of independence, their views differed when it came to the use of violence, development towards the revolution, and their thoughts on a caste system. Gandhi and Mao Zedong had different ideas when it came to the use of violence.
In the 1630’s Mayans living in the northern part of Guatemala organized in a secretive village-by-village basis and mounted an attack against the Spanish colonial rule. They drove the Colonizers out of the area and it took almost fifty years for the Spanish to reclaim it [i] . Over 350 years later the Mexican government woke up on January 1st 1994 to news of an indigenous guerilla uprising in the southern part of Mexico. Mayans had been secretly organizing, much in the same way as the 1630 revolt, and had formed the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). This new Zapatista movement took its name from Emilio Zapata, a famous champion of indigenous rights. On January first, the day of NAFTA’s implementation, the EZLN rose up and captured the city of San Cristbal de las Casas and several villages in the surrounding area. In the span of eleven days they were able to take hold of more land than many other guerrilla movements, such as the FMLN in El Salvador, had done in years.
Ross, John. ?The Zapatistas at Ten.? NACLA, Vol. xxxvii, No. 3, November/December, 2003: pp. 11-16.
The Peruvian Communist Party (PCP-SL), better known as Sendero Luminoso (‘Shining Path’) was a maoist guerrilla organization in Peru. The parties roots can be drawn to the Andean department of Ayacucho, one of Peru’s pooerest and uneducated areas, where ill even the 1950s landowners continued their serflike manner of treatment toward the natives existence. The escape their dismal lives, Ayacuchans turned toward education, migrating by the thousands in their attempt to escape that existed for them back home.
The Mexican Revolution began November 20th, 1910. It is disputable that it extended up to two decades and seized more than 900,000 lives. This revolution, however, also ended dictatorship in Mexico and restored the rights of farm workers, or peons, and its citizens. Revolutions are often started because a large group of individuals want to see a change. These beings decided to be the change that they wanted to see and risked many things, including their lives. Francisco “Pancho” Villa and Emiliano Zapata are the main revolutionaries remembered. These figures of the revolution took on the responsibility that came with the title. Their main goal was to regain the rights the people deserved. The peons believed that they deserved the land that they labored on. These workers rose up in a vehement conflict against those opposing and oppressing them. The United States was also significantly affected by this war because anybody who did not want to fight left the country and migrated north. While the end of the revolution may be considered to be in the year of 1917 with the draft of a new constitution, the fighting did not culminate until the 1930’s.
“Analyze the reasons for and effectiveness of guerrilla tactics in the Cuban Revolution” By Elika Somani Malcolm X, an African-American voice for change, one said that “It takes heart to be a guerrilla warrior because you’re on your own. In conventional warfare you have tanks and a whole lot of other people with you to back you up—planes over your head and all that kind of stuff. But a guerrilla is on his own. All you have is a rifle, some sneakers and a bowl of rice, and that’s all you need — and a lot of heart” (Malcolm X). Heart is exactly what the Cuban revolutionists of the 26th July Movement, including prominent Cuban historical figures such as Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, had.
Throughout its history Mexico has had many revolutions. The most famous perhaps is the Mexican Revolution from 1910-1920. The people of Mexico were getting tired of the dictator rule of President Porfino Diaz. People of all classes were fighting in the revolution. The middle and upper classes were dissatisfied with the President’s ways. The lower and working class people had many factors such as poor working conditions, inflation, inferior housing, low wages, and deficient social services. Within the classes everyone was fighting; men, women, and children all contributed to the fight for freedom from Diaz (Baxman 2). This revolution proved to be the rise and fall of many leaders.
The word terror dates back to the French Revolution. “A terrorist was, in its original meaning, a Jacobin who ruled France during la Terruer” (Moeller 20). Terrorism has clearly become much broader in the years since its origination. Since the concept was first birthed in France it has been used for separatist, nationalistic, political and religious ends, etc. In the book “Packaging Terrorism”, author Susan Moeller states that, “the goal of terrorism is to send a message, not to defeat the enemy”.
Terrorism is one of the most extensively discussed issues of our time and at the same time it is also one of the least understood. The term itself “terrorism” means many different things to different people, cultures, and races. As a result, trying to define or classify terrorism with one universal definition is nearly impossible. The definition of terrorism used in this research is a reflection of much of the Western and American way of defining it. The definition of terrorism is,
In this world there are many different topics of controversy. With every controversial topic comes different views and arguments explaining why people believe what they do. There are problems that can be just within one country or throughout the entire world. Terrorism affects everyone in the world, specifically us as Americans, which is why it is one of the biggest controversial topics. Of course with a topic as big as terrorism, there are emic and etic perspectives involved. With past history, there are specific countries and religions that we think of when we hear the word terrorism, specifically Afghanistan, located in the Middle East and the Muslim religion in that general area. Being part of the American