Guerrilla Warfare by Walter Laqueur

Guerrilla Warfare by Walter Laqueur

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.

About the Author:
Walter Laqueur as been hailed as one of our most distinguished scholars of modern European history (New York Times Book Review), and one of the most remarkable men in the Western world working in the field, (Journal of Modern History). His most recent study of the Russian extreme right was
described as a model to study Russia (American Historical Review). Walter Laqueur was for twenty-five years the director of the Institute of Contemporary History and the Wiener Library in London. He is editor of the Journal of Contemporary History and serves as chairman of the International
Research Council at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. His books, which have been translated into many languagues, include Black Hundred, Russia and Germany, The Long Road to Freedom, The Fate of the Revolution, Terrorism, and most recently an autobiography, Thursday's
Child has Far to Go.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780765804068
ISBN 10	0765804069
Title	Guerrilla Warfare
Author	Walter Laqueur
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Taylor & Francis Inc
Year published	1997-10-30
Number of pages	488
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable