Wars of national liberation or national liberation revolutions are 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 with intervention from other states.
ore specifically, wars of national liberation can refer to those fought during the decoloni!ation movement,
primarily in the third world against "estern powers and their economic influence, and was a major aspect of the
#old "ar.
[$]
%ccording to political scientist G&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 and strategies 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-bac.ed 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 1eople2s 3epublic of #hina
presented themselves as 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 premier 9i.ita :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 <enin2s 1718 boo.,
Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism while )o #hi inh, who founded the 4iet-inh in 17(= and declared
the independence of 4ietnam on +eptember $, 17/0, following the 17/0 %ugust 3evolution, was a founding member
of the French #ommunist 1arty >1#F? in 17$1.
Legal issues
5nternational law generally holds that a people with a legal right to self-determination are entitled to wage wars of
national liberation.
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"hile "estern states tend to view these wars as civil wars, Third "orld and communist states
tend to view them as international wars.
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This difference in classification leads to varying perceptions of which laws
of war apply in such situations.
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)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.
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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 to bear. "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 often proBy 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, ma.ing it possible for guerrilla armies to operate. Dy contrast, indigenous regimes often have much
more popular support, and their supporters are not as easily recogni!ed, ma.ing it much harder to conduct guerrilla
operations.
Decolonization period
The first separatist 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$(?.
The 5ndonesian "ar of 5ndependence >17/0-17/7? followed with the <iberation of 5rian 6aya >178=-178$? 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 the apartheid regime is also another eBample. These wars were
in part supported by the +oviet ,nion, which claimed to be an anti-imperialist power, although it has been argued
that the +oviet ,nion practised colonialism also.
[7][1=]
+ince the 171@ Fctober 3evolution and the subseCuent 3ussian
#ivil "ar, the revolutionary objectives of communism 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 <enin2s 1718 boo., 5mperialism, the )ighest +tage of #apitalism. For eBample, )o #hi inh
G who founded the 4iet-inh in 17/1 and declared the independence of 4ietnam on +eptember $, 17/0, following
the 17/0 %ugust 3evolution G was a founding member of the French #ommunist 1arty >1#F? in 17$1. 5n 6anuary
1781, over three years before the Gulf of Ton.in incident which would mar. the ,nited +tates2 increased
involvement in the 4ietnam "ar, +oviet premier 9i.ita :hrushchev would pledge support for ;wars of national
liberation; throughout the world.
[11]
5n the same decade, #uba, led by Fidel #astro, would support national liberation
movements in %ngola and o!ambiCue. The 1ortuguese colonial wars finally led to the recognition of %ngola,
o!ambiCue and Guinea-Dissau as independent states in 17@0, following the %pril #arnation 3evolution.
On-going national liberation conflicts
The 1alestine <iberation Frgani!ation >1<F? is an ;official; national liberation movement, meaning that it holds
official recognition of its legal status as such from the Frgani!ation of %frican ,nity >F%,? and the ,nited 9ations
>,9?.
[1$]
5t is the only non-%frican national liberation movement to hold observer status in the F%,, 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 1<F also participates in ,9 +ecurity #ouncil debatesH since 17AA, it has
represented the 1alestinian people at the ,9 under the name ;1alestine;.
[10]
The following current conflicts have sometimes also been characteri!ed as wars or struggles of national liberation
>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.
ost :urds believe the :urdishETur.ish conflict to be a war of national liberation of :urdish people in
Tur.ey.
The 1olisario Front has sought the independence of "estern +ahara since 17@0 and considered its guerilla
war against orocco as national liberation war >li.e many foreign observers, countries and the %frican ,nion?,
while orocco considered it a secessionist movement. 1olisario had been recogni!ed by many countries, the
%frican ,nion and the ,nited 9ations as the legitimate representative of the +ahrawi people. The hostilities are
fro!en since the 1771 cease-fire following the settlement plan agreement.
%s a result of the politics 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 +erbia2s %utonomous
1rovince of :osovo and etohija. %fter the dissolution 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
<iberation %rmy and the Jugoslav military and paramilitary armed forces. This lasted until 1777 when a peace
was bro.ered and the province came under ,9 administration under the terms of ,9+#3 1$//. 5nternational
negotiations between 1ristina and Delgrade are in progress on the future status of :osovo. The conflict would
only count as a war of national liberation if the fact that an %lbanian state already eBists is eBcluded and that
ethnic-%lbanians in :osovo see. their own separate nationhood.
Conflicts
#onflicts which have been described as national liberation strugglesI
The 'ighty Jears2 "ar
The %merican 3evolution
The )aitian 3evolution
The +panish %merican wars of independence
The %merican #ivil "ar
The 1eninsular "ar against 9apoleon2s occupation of +pain during the 9apoleonic "ars
'Bplicit wars of decoloni!ationI
o The 1hilippine 3evolution
o The %ugust 3evolution, against 6apanese invasion of 4ietnam
o The First 5ndochina "ar, against French occupation of 4ietnam
o The 5ndonesian 9ational 3evolution
o The 1alestinian resistance to 5sraeli control of the occupied 1alestinian territories.
o The Tamil resistance to +ri <an.an coloni!ation in Tamil-spea.ing territories and discrimination
against the Tamil people.
o The Kionist armed insurrection in Dritish-ruled andate 1alestine, involving the <ehi and 5rgun, and
later the )aganah. %lso the 5sraeli 5ndependence "ar against %rab states.
o The adagascar revolt against the French in 17/@
The %lgerian war of independence against France >170/E178$?.
5n %ngola >1eople2s ovement for the <iberation of %ngola >1<%?, 9ational <iberation Front of %ngola
>F9<%?, 9ational ,nion for the Total 5ndependence of %ngola >,95T%??, o!ambiCue >F3'<5F?, Guinea-
Dissau >1%5G#, F<59G?, and #ape 4erde >1%5G#? against 1ortugal
5n #ameroon, by the ,1# against France
5n +outh Jemen by various nationalist organi!ations against Dritain
The au au revolt in Dritish-ruled :enya
The +econd #himurenga >aL.La 3hodesian Dush "ar? in 3hodesia >later Kimbabwe?, led by K%9, and
K%1,
5n "estern +ahara, by the +aharan <iberation %rmy against +pain M France, and by the 1olisario Front
against orocco M auritania occupation.
5n 9amibia, by the +outh "est %frica 1eople2s Frgani!ation >+"%1F? and +"%9, against apartheid +outh
%frica
The *hofar 3ebellion in uscat and Fman
The Drunei 3evolt
The 17/A %rabE5sraeli "ar, fought by the newly created +tate of 5srael on one side, and 1alestinians and
supportive %rab states on the other.
The Dangladesh <iberation "ar against "est 1a.istan
4ietnam "ar, against +outh 4ietnam with %merican assistance against the 9<FL94%.
5n %fghanistan, against the occupying +oviet %rmy.
5n 5reland, the 5rish "ar of 5ndependence and The Troubles in 9orthern 5relandH also, the 1rovisional 53%
insurgency against the ,nited :ingdom, aimed at creating a socialist republic within a united 5reland, from 1787
until 177A.
5n #ambodia, against the occupying 4ietnamese %rmy and 1eople2s 3epublic of :ampuchea.
5n 9icaragua, by %ugusto +andino2s forces against the occupying ,.+. arines.
5n #had, by F3F<59%T against the Tombalbaye dictatorship
5n +outh %frica, against apartheid by ,m.honto we +i!we and 1oCo.
5n #hina, the +econd +ino-6apanese "ar against 5mperial 6apanese subjugation of #hina.
the 'ritrean "ar of 5ndependence against 'thiopia
5n "est 1apua, by the Frganisasi 1apua erde.a against 5ndonesia
5n Dougainville, by the Dougainville 3evolutionary %rmy against 1apua 9ew Guinea
5n #anada during 1A(@ and in subseCuent years 'nglish #anadian and French #anadian reformers of "illiam
<yon ac.en!ie and the patriotes of <ouis 6oseph 1apineau fought the Dritish 'mpire for the independence of
#anada. +ee 3ebellions of 1A(@
The Dasmachi movement
The Tur.ish "ar of 5ndependence
The Fgaden "ar of 17@@ against 'thiopia