This book is not a nostalgic tribute to militants of a distant past, but a source of inspiration for revolutionary politics in a time that needs them as much as ever. In the early 1970s, across the Americas and Western Europe, armed groups emerged out of the social movements of the late 1960s. In Germany, the Red Army Faction received most attention, but a less well-known, antiauthoritarian counterpart operated in its shadows: the 2nd of June Movement, named after the date when, in 1967, a Berlin cop killed the unarmed student Benno Ohnesorg during a demonstration. The group was composed of working-class youth who got politicized in Berlin’s underground culture. They first emerged as a political collective under the name “Hash Rebels” before forming the 2nd of June Movement as a revolutionary organization. After the group’s dissolution in 1980, its principles lived on in the militant network of the Revolutionary Cells and the German autonomist movement. From Hash Rebels to Urban Guerrillas, the first book to present the 2nd of June Movement in English, documents the group’s history and politics through translations of original documents and reflections by former members. This is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the politics of the era and the ongoing quest to challenge the rule of the state and capital.

Indhold: Partisan Warfare: N. Lenin; A Viet Cong Directive on "Repression"; The Palestinian Terrorists: Statements by Yasser Arafat and William Khoury; Terror in the United States:"An Introduction to Elementary Tactics" and "Some Questions on Tactics": George Prosser; Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla: Carlos Marighella; One Hundred Fifty Questions to a Guerrilla: Alberto Bayo Giroud

Three parallel wars were fought in the latter half of the twentieth century in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. These wars were long and brutal, dividing international opinion sharply between US support for dictatorial regimes and the USSR’s sponsorship of guerrilla fighters. This fascinating study of the ‘guerrilla generation’ is based on in-depth interviews with both guerrilla comandantes and political and military leaders of the time. Dirk Kruijt analyses the dreams and achievements, the successes and failures, the utopias and dystopias of an entire Central American generation and its leaders. Guerrillas ranges widely, from the guerrilla movement’s origins in poverty, oppression and exclusion; its tactics in warfare; the ill-fated experiment with Sandinista government in Nicaragua; to the subsequent ‘normalization’ of guerrilla movements within democratic societies. The story told here is vital for understanding contemporary social movements in Latin America.

In this comparative survey of guerrilla movements in Latin America, Timothy Wickham-Crowley explores the origins and outcomes of rural insurgencies in nearly a dozen cases since 1956. Focusing on the personal backgrounds of the guerrillas themselves and on national social conditions, the author explains why guerrillas emerged strongly in certain countries but not others. He considers, for example, under what circumstances guerrillas acquire military strength and why they do--or do not--secure substantial support from the peasantry in rural areas.

This book examines the military organization, strategy, and tactics of the Salvadoran FMLN guerrillas during their efforts to overthrow the government. It is largely based on the authors' personal collections of guerrilla documents captured in the war, interviews with former and captured guerrillas, and personal combat experience during one of the fiercest wars fought in the Western hemisphere in the 20th century. The book describes the guerrilla tactics from a technical point of view, and their evolution during the war in El Salvador. It includes discussions of such tactical concepts as concentration and deconcentration, urban combat, anti-air defense, the use of mines, and homemade weapons. It contains a chapter on the FMLN special forces—they were responsible for most of the spectacular attacks of the war—and it examines the sophisticated logistical system of the FMLN that made the prolonged war possible. Wherever possible, these concepts are illustrated by actual combat experiences from sources on both sides of the conflict. An important text for all concerned with guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency. Latin Americanists and students of the developing world will also find much of interest.

Terrorism and guerrilla warfare, whether justified as resistance to oppression or condemned as disrupting the rule of law, are as old as civilization itself. The power of the terrorist, however, has been magnified by modern weapons, including television, which he has learned to exploit. To protect itself, society must understand the terrorist and what he is trying to do; thus Dr. Clutterbuck’s purpose in writing this book: “to contribute to the understanding and cooperation between the police, the public and the media.”

Examines the metaphors of the “primitive” and the “industrial” in the rhetoric and imagery of anticapitalist American radical and revolutionary movements.