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Wars of national liberationor national liberation revolutionsare conflicts fought by nationalities

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 withintervention from other states.

ore specifically, wars of national liberation can refer to those fought during the decoloni!ation

movement, primarily in thethird world against "estern powers and their economic influence, and

was a major aspect of the #old "ar .[$]%ccording to political scientistG&rard #haliand ,

guerrilla wars against 'uropean powers were always a political success, although they may have

been in some cases a military defeat.[(])owever, according to Gwynne *yer , the tactics andstrategies used against colonial powers were almost invariably failures when used against indigenous

regimes.[citation needed]+ome of these wars were either vocally or materially supported by the

+oviet nion , which stated itself to be an anti-imperialist power, supporting the replacement

of western-baced governments with local communist or other non pro-western parties.[1] [/])owever, this did not always guarantee +oviet influence in those countries. %ccording to certain

activists and theorists,[0]the +oviet nion and the eople2s 3epublic of #hina presented themselvesas models of independent nationalist development outside of "estern influence. %s such they were

regarded as a threat to "estern power as they could politically, economically and militarily assist other

movements such as in 4ietnam . 5n 6anuary 1781 +oviet premier9iita :hrushchev pledged

support for ;wars of national liberation; throughout the world.[8]

This concept of ;imperialism ; and its relations to colonies had been theori!ed in 4ladimir #F? in 17$1.

Legal issues5nternational law generally holds that apeople with a legal right to self-determination are

entitled to wage wars of national liberation.[@] [A]"hile"estern states tend to view these wars as

civil wars ,Third "orld andcommunist states tend to view them as international wars.[@]This difference in classification leads to varying perceptions of which laws of war apply in such

situations.[@])owever, there is general agreement among all states today in principle that the use of

force to frustrate a people2s legal right to self-determination is unlawful.[@]

Strategies and tactics

"ars of national liberation are usually fought using guerrilla warfare. The main purpose of these

tactics is to increase the cost of the anti-guerrilla forces past the point where such forces are willing tobear. "ars of national liberation generally depend a large amounts of public support, with ordinary

civilians providing crucial support. Finally, wars of national liberation are often embedded in a larger

conteBt of great power politics and are oftenproBy wars .These strategies eBplain why they are Cuite successful against foreign regimes and Cuite unsuccessful

against indigenous regimes. Foreign regimes usually have a threshold beyond which they would prefer

to go home rather than to fight the war. Dy contrast an indigenous regime has no place to go to, and

will fight much harder because of the lac of alternatives. oreover, foreign regimes usually have

relatively few active supporters, who can often be easily identified, maing it possible for guerrilla

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurgencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebellionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebellionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-mtw-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-mtw-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-mtw-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetric_warfarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-McNamara-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rard_Chaliandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rard_Chaliandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynne_Dyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-imperialisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-mtw-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchevhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Little-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Leninhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism,_the_Highest_Stage_of_Capitalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism,_the_Highest_Stage_of_Capitalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viet-Minhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viet-Minhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_Vietnamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Communist_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Communist_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurgencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebellionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-mtw-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetric_warfarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-McNamara-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rard_Chaliandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynne_Dyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-imperialisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-mtw-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchevhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Little-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Leninhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism,_the_Highest_Stage_of_Capitalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viet-Minhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_Vietnamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Communist_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Communist_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Malanczukp336-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_state

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armies to operate. Dy contrast, indigenous regimes often have much more popular support, and their

supporters are not as easily recogni!ed, maing it much harder to conduct guerrilla operations.

Decolonization period

The firstseparatist rebellion within the former Dritish 'mpire not to end in defeat since the%merican 3evolutionary "ar was the 5rish "ar of 5ndependence of 1717-17$$ which led

in 17$$ to the renewed independence of most of 5reland >$8 counties out of ($?. )owever the

rebellion also led to the 5rish #ivil "ar >17$$-17$(?.

The 5ndonesian "ar of 5ndependence >17/0-17/7? followed with the 178=-178$? and the liberation of 'ast Timor >17@0?, The First 5ndochina "ar >17/8E0/?,

4ietnam "ar >1707E@0?, and the %lgerian "ar of 5ndependence >170/E8$? were all

considered national liberation wars by the rebelling sides of the conflicts. The %frican 9ational#ongress >%9#?2s struggle against theapartheid regime is also another eBample. These wars

were in part supported by the +oviet nion , which claimed to be ananti-imperialist power,

although it has been argued that the+oviet nion practised colonialism also.[7] [1=]+ince the

171@ctober 3evolution and the subseCuent 3ussian #ivil "ar , therevolutionary objectives ofcommunism were shared by many anticolonialist leaders, thus eBplaining the

objective alliance between anticolonialist forces and arBism . The concept of ;imperialism ;itself had been which had theori!ed in #F? in 17$1. 5n 6anuary 1781, over

three years before the Gulf of Tonin incident which would mar thenited +tates 2 increased

involvement in the 4ietnam "ar , +oviet premier9iita :hrushchev would pledge support for

;wars of national liberation; throughout the world.[11]5n the same decade,#uba , led by Fidel

#astro , would support national liberation movements in %ngola and o!ambiCue . The

ortuguese colonial wars finally led to the recognition of %ngola, o!ambiCue andGuinea-Dissau as independent states in 17@0, following the %pril #arnation 3evolution .

On-going national liberation conflicts

The alestine %? and thenited 9ations >9?.[1$]5t is the only non-%frican nationalliberation movement to hold observer status in the %, and was one of the first national liberation

movements granted permanent observer status by the nited 9ations General %ssembly

pursuant to a 17@/ resolution.[1(][1/]The such a designation is often subject to controversy?I

any #hechens and foreign observers consider the First and +econd #hechen "ars

to be wars of national liberation against 3ussia .[18][1@][1A]

+ome 5raCi insurgent groups, and certain political groups believe that the 5raC "ar is a war

of national liberation against the +-led coalition .

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ehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-ReferenceA-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Civil_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viet-Minhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_Vietnamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Communist_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin_incidenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchevhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-WGOW432-433-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Cubahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angolan_Civil_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozambican_War_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_colonial_warshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea-Bissauhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea-Bissauhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnation_Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_Liberation_Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_African_Unityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_African_Unityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Mitchelp40-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Shultzp100-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Wilsonp119-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Palestinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-Boczekp86-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chechenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Chechen_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Chechen_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_national_liberation#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multinational_force_in_Iraq

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ost :urds believe the :urdishETurish conflict to be a war of national liberation of

:urdish people inTurey .

The olisario Front has sought the independence of "estern +ahara since 17@0 andconsidered its guerilla war against orocco as national liberation war >lie many foreign

observers, countries and the %frican nion ?, while orocco considered it a secessionist

movement. olisario had been recogni!ed by many countries, the %frican nion and the nited9ations as the legitimate representative of the +ahrawi people . The hostilities are fro!ensince the 1771 cease-fire following the settlement plan agreement.

%s a result of thepolitics of the former Jugoslavia, a group of ethnic-%lbanian

politicians in :osovo declared >on $ 6uly 177=? an independent ;3epublic of :osovo; from the

3epublic of +erbia 2s %utonomous rovince of :osovo and etohija . %fter thedissolution of +F3J, an unofficial referendum was held for independence in 177$ that passed and

began a conflict between the %lbanian separatists led by the:osovo 170/E178$?.

5n%ngola >eople2s ovement for the F3'%5G# , F

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#ape 4erde >%5G#? against ortugal

5n#ameroon , by the# againstFrance

5n+outh Jemen by various nationalist organi!ations against Dritain

The au au revolt in Dritish-ruled :enya

The +econd #himurenga >aLLa 3hodesian Dush "ar ? in3hodesia >later

Kimbabwe

?, led by K%9

and K%

5n"estern +ahara , by the +aharan