Strategy in national revolutions: some aspects of frelimo's revolutionary strategy

Abstract

There are profound differences between various revolutionary strategies, especially when they employ guerrilla warfare. These differences have however been obscured by a somewhat mechanical approach in studying the end to be served. Such differences result from the influence of factors in the strategic context of the particular revolution, for example whether the target of revolutionary activity is an internal or external regime. Should guerrilla warfare be employed, it would primarily be as a means of military attrition in the former (civil revolutions) and political attrition in the latter case (national revolutions). The influence of factors in the particular strategic context does not exclude the influence of external factors. On the contrary, increased attention has recently been given to the extent of external factors’ involvement in revolutionary strategies and it has been emphasized that no organised guerrilla warfare can exist without adequate external support.

In this article we examine frelimo's revolutionary strategy regarding the priority of political attrition and the extent to which external factors were involved.