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Abstract
For a long time, insurgency was a rural affair. The growing modernization of the modern world, however, shifts conflicts to the cities and requires us to explore the logics of armed struggle in urban environments. This article explores how the urban environment shapes armed conflicts, and argues that insurgents face severe practical constraints when acting in the cities. The urban environment offers the insurgents alternative ways of financing and of operating while close state control impedes them in pursuing a classic strategy of insurgency. Although state control cannot prevent attacks as such, it particularly hampers insurgents in relating to the population and organizing opposition. However, without massive and active support, armed struggle will remain sectarian and, thus, fail to achieve major political changes. This article argues that urban insurgents face a paradoxical relationship with society. While urban insurgents become independent of social support on an operational level, they depend more than ever on spontaneous massive and active social support on a strategic level.
Notes
United Nations Population Fund State of World Population, Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth (New York: Author, 2007).
Ibid.
Rüdiger Korff, “Einführung: Wie Urban ist die Welt? Megastädte und die Zunehmende Urbanisierung,” in Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung, ed., Dossier Megastädte, http://www.bpb.de/themen/3XWP6D,1,0,Einf%FChrung%3A_Wie_urban_ist_die_Welt.html.
Farouk Tebbal, “Inhuman Settlements: The Plight of the Urban Poor 30 Years After the 1976 Vancouver Conference,” UN-Habitat 12, no. 2 (2006): 8.
United Nations Human Settlement Program, “Habitat Debate: 30+Dreams and Reality,” UN-Habitat 12, no. 2 (2006): 8.
Mike Davis, “Planet der Slums. Urbanisierung ohne Urbanität,” in Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung, ed., Dossier Megastädte, http://www.bpb.de/themen/SB18M2,0,0,Planet_der_Slums.html.
Ibid.
Alan B. Krueger and Jitka Maleckova, Education, Poverty and Terrorism: Is There a Causal Connection?, 2003, http://econ.tau.ac.il/articles/faculty/jep.pdf; Patricia Justino, On the Links between Violent Conflict and Household Poverty: How Much Do We Really Know? (Brighton: University of Sussex, MICROCON Research Working Article 1, 2007); Michael Mousseau, “Market Civilization and Its Clash with Terror,” International Security 27, no. 3 (2003): 5–29; Amartya Sen, “Violence, Identity and Poverty,” Journal of Peace Research 45, no. 1 (2008): 5–15; and Tamotsu Fukuda, Regional Cooperation against Terrorism in East Asia (Canberra: Strategic and Defense Studies Centre, Australian National University, 2004).
Charles A. Russel and Robert E. Hildner, “Urban Insurgency in Latin America: Its Implications for the Future,” Air University Review XXII, no. 6 (1971): 55–64.
Michael Evans, “Lethal Genes: The Urban Military Imperative and the Western Strategy in the Early Twenty-First Century,” The Journal of Strategic Studies 32, no. 4 (2009): 515–552; Alice Hills, Future War in Cities: Rethinking the Liberal Dilemma (London: Frank Cass Publishers, 2004); and Jennifer M. Taw and Bruce Hoffman, The Urbanization of Insurgency: The Potential Challenge to U.S. Army Operations (Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation, 1994).
Isabelle Duyvesteyn and Mario A. Fumerton, “Insurgency and Terrorism: What's the Difference?,” in C. Holmqvist-Jonsater and C. Coker, eds., The Character of War in the Early 21st Century (London: Routledge, 2009).
According to Robert J. Art and Louise Richardson, we can differentiate between social revolutionary, ethno-separatist, and religious motivations of insurgent groups. Robert J. Art and Louise Richardson, “Introduction,” in Robert J. Art and Louise Richardson, eds., Democracy and Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Past (Washington DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), 11–24.
Nehemia Friedland, “Political Terrorism: A Social Psychological Perspective,” in Wolfgang Stroebe, Arie W. Kruglanski, Daniel Bar-Tal, and Miles Hewstone, eds., The Social Psychology of Intergroup Conflict: Theory, Research and Applications (Springer Verlag, 1988), 103–114; Rudolf Walther, “Terror und Terrorismus. Eine begriffs- und Sozialgeschichtliche Skizze,” in Wolfgang Kraushaar, ed., Die RAF Entmythologisierung einer Terroristischen Organization (Bonn: Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung, 2008).
Friedland (see note 13 above); and María José Moyano, Argentina's Lost Patrol: Armed Struggle, 1969–1979 (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1995).
George A. López, “A Scheme for the Analysis of Government as Terrorist,” in Michael Stohl and George A. López, eds., The State as Terrorist: The Dynamics of Governmental Violence and Repression (London: Aldwych Press, 1984), 59–82.
Duyvesteyn and Fumerton (see note 11 above).
Stathis N. Kalyvas, The Logic of Violence in Civil War (New York: New York University Press, 2000), 5.
Duyvesteyn and Fumerton (see note 11 above).
Isabelle Duyvesteyn, “Paradoxes of the Strategy of Terrorism,” in J. Angstrom and I. Duyvesteyn, eds., Understanding Victory and Defeat in Contemporary War (Abingdon: Routledge, 2006), 117–141.
Jeffrey A. Sluka, “Introduction: State-Terror and Anthropology,” in Jeffrey A. Sluka, ed., Death Squad: The Anthropology of State-Terror (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000), 1–45.
Michael Stohl and George A. López, “Introduction,” in Michael Stohl and George A. López, eds., The State as Terrorist: The Dynamics of Governmental Violence and Repression (London: Aldwych Press, 1984), 7.
Duyvesteyn and Fumerton (see note 11 above).
G. Teitler, “The Urban Guerrilla, as a Revolutionary Phenomenon and as a Recruiting Problem,” in Johan Niezing, ed., Urban Guerrilla: Studies on the Theory, Strategy and Practice of Political Violence in Modern Societies (Rotterdam University Press, 1974), 111.
Urbano, Fighting in the Streets: A Manual of Urban Guerrilla Warfare (Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books Inc., 1991), 9.
Luis Mercier Vega, Guerrillas in Latin America: The Technique of Counter-State (London: Pall Mall Press, 1969), 82.
Andrew Mack, “The Non-Strategy of Urban Guerrilla Warfare,” in Johan Niezing, ed., Urban Guerrilla: Studies on the Theory, Strategy and Practice of Political Violence in Modern Societies (Rotterdam: University Press, 2004), 22.
Peter Waldmann, Strategien Politischer Gewalt (Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer, 1977).
Robert F. Lamberg, Die Guerrilla in Lateinamerika. Theorie und Praxis eines Revolutionären Modells (München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1972).
J. Bowyer Bell, “Trends on Terror: The Analysis of Political Violence,” World Politics 29, no. 3 (1977): 476–488, 478.
Regis Debray, Revolution in the Revolution? Armed Struggle and Political Struggle in Latin America (New York: Grove Press, 1967), 75.
Robert Moss, Urban Guerrilla Warfare (New York: The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1971).
Christopher Clapham, “Terrorism in Africa: Problems of Definition, History and Development,” South African Journal of International Affairs 10, no. 2 (2003): 14–28.
Moss (see note 31 above), 1.
Clapham (see note 32 above), 20.
Carlos Marighella, “Problems and Principles of Strategy,” in James Kohl and John Litt, eds., Urban Guerrilla Warfare in Latin America (London, MIT Press, 1974), 89.
Carlos Marighella, “Mini-manual of the Urban Guerrilla,” in James Kohl and John Litt, eds., Urban Guerrilla Warfare in Latin America (London, MIT Press, 1974), 87–135.
Patrick D. Marqués, Guerrilla Warfare Tactics in Urban Environments (Master Thesis Military Art and Science, Indiana University, 2003), 4.
Ibid.
Richard Gillespie, “A Critique of the Urban Guerrilla: Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil,” Conflict Quarterly 1, no. 2 (1980): 39–53, 39.
Ibid., 39.
Richard Gillespie, “Political Violence in Argentina: Guerrillas, Terrorists, and Carapintadas,” in Martha Crenshaw, ed., Terrorism in Context (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995), 211–248.
William Donohue and Paul Taylor, “Testing the Role Effect in Terrorist Negotiations,” International Negotiation 8 (2003): 527–547.
As mentioned above, social support is also of great importance within a strategy of terrorism. This article will focus on insurgent groups, however.
Kalyvas (see note 17 above).
Mao Tse-Tung, “On Protracted Warfare,” in Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung (Beijing: Foreign Language Press, 1967), 143.
Anthony Oberschall, “Explaining Terrorism: The Contribution of Collective Action Theory,” Sociological Theory 22, no. 1 (2004): 26–37, 29.
Mack (see note 26 above); Jeffrey Ian Ross and Ted Robert Gurr, “Why Terrorism Subsides: A Comparative Study of Canada and the United States,” Comparative Politics 21, no. 4 (1989): 405–426; Jeff Goodwin, “Review: Toward a New Sociology of Revolutions,” Theory and Society 23, no. 6 (1994): 731–766; and Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, “The Quality of Terror,” American Journal of Political Science 49, no. 3 (2005): 515–530.
Abraham Guillén, Desafío al Pentágono. La Guerrilla Latinoamericana (Editoriales Andes, 1969).
Mayer N. Zald and Roberta Ash, “Social Movement Organizations: Growth, Decay and Change,” Social Forces 44, no. 3 (1966): 327–341, 330.
Herfried Münkler, “Guerrillakrieg und Terrorrismus. Begriffliche Unklarheiten mit Politischen Folgen,” in Wolfgang Kraushaar, ed., Die RAF. Entmythologisierung einer Terroristischen Organization (Montevideo: Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung, 2008), 91.
Sydney Tarrow, Power in Movement: Social Movements, Collective Action and Politics, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 3–4.
Münkler (see note 50 above).
Donatella della Porta, Social Movements and the State: Thoughts on the Policing of Protest (Florence: European University Institute Florence, 1995).
Timothy P. Wickham-Crowley, Exploring Revolution: Essays on Latin American Insurgency and Revolutionary Theory (New York: M.E. Sharp, 1991).
UN-Habitat-United Nations Human Settlement Program, “Urban Indicators Guidelines. Monitoring the Habitat Agenda and Millennium Development Goals,” in author, ed., United Nations Settlement Programme (Nairobi: Author, 2004), 5.
Ronald Clarke and Graeme Newman, Outsmarting the Terrorists (London: Praeger, 2006), 7.
Hills (see note 10 above).
Evans (see note 10 above); Hills (see note 10 above); and Marqués (see note 37 above).
Timothy P. Wickham-Crowley, Guerrillas and Revolution in Latin America: A Comparative Study of Insurgents and Regimes since 1956 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992).
Clarke and Newman (see note 56 above).
Ronald Clarke and Graeme Newman, “Police and the Prevention of Terrorism,” Policing 1, no. 1 (2007): 9–20, 17.
Moss (see note 31 above), 11.
Evans (see note 10 above).
Mack (see note 26 above).
Urbano (see note 24 above).
Clarke and Newman (see note 61 above).
Moss (see note 31 above), 3.
Teitler (see note 23 above).
Gillespie (see note 39 above).
Jeffrey Ian Ross, “Structural Causes of Oppositional Political Terrorism: Towards a Causal Model,” Journal of Peace Research 30, no. 3 (1993): 317–329, 320.
Russel and Hildner (see note 9 above).
Abraham Guillén, “Lecciones de la Guerrilla latinoamericana,” Lucha Armada en la Argentina 1, no. 4 (2005): 121–144; Richard Gillespie, Soldiers of Peron: Argentina's Montoneros (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982).
Ernest Halperin, Terrorism in Latin America (Washington, DC: Georgetown University, The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1976).
Russel and Hildner (see note 9 above).
Moyano (see note 14 above).
Marighella (see note 36 above).
The phenomenon of weekend insurgents is not limited to the urban centers. As Peter Calvert demonstrates, the same phenomenon appeared in Venezuela where students joined the insurgent groups in the hills on the weekends. Peter Calvert, “Venezuela: The FALN-FLN,” in Robert J. Art and Louise Richardson, eds., Democracy and Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Past (Washington DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007), 167–194.
Marighella (see note 36 above), 92.
Waldmann (see note 27 above); and Richard Weitz, “Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Latin America, 1960–1980,” Political Science Quarterly 101, no. 3 (1986): 397–413.
Clarke and Newman (see note 61 above), 16.
Clapham (see note 32 above).
Guillén (see note 72 above); and James Kohl and John Litt, Urban Guerrilla Warfare in Latin America (London: MIT Press, 1974).
Evans (see note 10 above).
Russel and Hildner (see note 9 above), 2.
Clarke and Newman (see note 56 above). The authors describe the attractiveness of targets in the acronym EVILDONE: Exposed, Vital, Iconic, Legitimate, Destructible, Occupied, Near, Easy.
Mack (see note 26 above).
Teitler (see note 23 above).
Rob Kroes, “Violence in America: Spontaneity and Strategy,” in Johan Niezing, ed., Urban Guerrilla: Studies on the Theory, Strategy and Practice of Political Violence in Modern Societies (Rotterdam: Rotterdam University Press, 1974), 91.
Urbano, “Tupamaros: Reportaje a Urbano,” Cristianismo y Revolución, no. 27, January–February (1971): 28–37, 36.
Teitler (see note 23 above).
Ibid.
Taw and Hoffman (see note 10 above).
Wickham-Crowley (see note 54 above).
Gillespie (see note 39 above), 49.
RAF, “Das Konzept Stadtguerrilla,” in Martin Hoffmann, ed., Rote Armee Fraktion. Texte und Materialien zur Geschichte der RAF (Berlin: ID-Verlag, 1997), 27–48.
Alvaro Camacho, “Public and Private Dimensions of Urban Violence in Cali,” in Charles Bergquist, Ricardo Peñaranda, and Gonzalo Sánchez, eds., Violence in Colombia: The Contemporary Crisis in Historical Perspective (Brighton: Scholarly Resource Books, 1992), 241–260.
Hakon Wiberg, “Are Urban Guerrillas Possible?,” in Johan Niezing, ed., Urban Guerrilla: Studies on the Theory, Strategy and Practice of Political Violence in Modern Societies (Rotterdam: Rotterdam University Press, 1974).
Clarke and Newman (see note 56 above).
Münkler (see note 50 above), 93.
Otthein Rammstedt, “Stadtguerrilla und soziale Bewegung,” in Johan Niezing, ed., Urban Guerrilla: Studies on the Theory, Strategy and Practice of Political Violence in Modern Societies (Rotterdam: Rotterdam University Press, 1974); Lamberg (see note 28 above); Gillespie (see note 39 above); and Teitler (see note 23 above).
Münkler (see note 50 above), 93.
RAF (see note 95 above), 40.
Ibid., 37.
Marighella (see note 35 above), 101.
Ibid., 131.
Ibid., 133.
RAF (see note 95 above); Marighella (see note 36 above); and Rammstedt (see note 100 above).
Guillén (see note 72 above).
Moyano (see note 14 above); Pilar Calveiro, “Antiguos y Nuevos Sentidos de la Política y Violencia,” Lucha Armada en la Argentina 2, no. 4 (2005): 1–19.
Farid Samir Benavides Vanegas, Law as a Peace Treaty: The Case of M-19 and the 1991 Colombian Constitution, http://www.umass.edu/legal/Hilbink/250/Benavides.pdf; Luís Aberto Restrepo,“The Crisis of the Current Political Regime and Its Possible Outcomes,” in Charles Bergquist, Ricardo Peñaranda, and Gonzalo Sánchez, eds., Violence in Colombia: The Contemporary Crisis in Historical Perspective (Scholarly Resource Books, 1992).
Patrica L. Hipsher, “Democratic Transitions as Protest Cycles: Social Movement Dynamics in Democratizing Latin America,” in David S. Meyer and Sidney Tarrow, eds., The Social Movement Society: Contentious Politics for a New Century (Rowman & Littlefield, 1998), 153–172.
Guillén (see note 48 above).
Ibid.; Brian Michael Jenkins, The Five Stages of Urban Guerrilla Warfare: Challenge of the 1970s (Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation, 1972).
Martin Oppenheimer, The Urban Guerrilla (New York: Quadrangle Books, 1970), 79.
Hills (see note 10 above), 4; Wiberg (see note 97 above).
Hills (see note 10 above), 8.
Ross and Gurr (see note 47 above).
Urbano (see note 24 above), 10.
Moss (see note 31 above), 9.
Gillespie (see note 39), 49.
Ibid., 48.
Moss (see note 31 above).
Andrew Silke, “Holy Warriors: Exploring the Psychological Processes of Jihadi Radicalisation,” European Journal of Criminology 5, no. 1 (2008): 99–123, 117.
Urbano (see note 89 above).
Ramón Horacio Torres Molina, “La Etapa Actual de las Guerrillas Argentinas,” Cristianismo y Revolución, no. 29, June (1971): 17–19.
i.e., Guillén (see note 48 above); Jenkins (see note 113 above).
James Dunkerley, Power in the Isthmus: A Political History of Modern Central America (London: Verso, 1988).
Lucas Lanusse, Caer y Volver a Levantarse. La Situación de Montoneros entre Fines de 1970 y Comienzos de 1972 (Buenos Aires: Centro de Estudios Historia Política Universidad Nacional de San Martin, 2007).
Sigmund Freud, “Massenpsychologie und Ich-Analyse,” in Anna Freud and Ilse Grubrich-Simitis, eds., Sigmund Freud. Werkausgabe Band 2. Anwendungen der Psychoanalyse (Berlin: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 2006).
Marighella (see note 36 above).
Waldmann (see note 27 above).
della Porta (see note 53 above).
Ibid.; Martha Crenshaw, “The Psychology of Political Terrorism,” in Margaret Hermann, ed., Political Psychology: Contemporary Problems and Issues (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1986); Silke (see note 123 above).
Jerrold M. Post, “Terrorist Psycho-logic: Terrorist Behavior as a Product of Psychological Forces,” in Walter Reich, ed., Origins of Terrorism: Psychologies, Ideologies, Theologies, States of Mind (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 33.
della Porta (see note 53 above).
Abraham Guillén, Teoría de la Violencia. Guerra y Lucha de Clases (Buenos Aires: Editorial Jamcana, 1965).