Through the framework of Anthony James Joes’ “Elements of a Counterinsurgency Strategy,” this paper will analyze how the Peruvian government effectively decapitated the Shining Path, but failed to address the root causes of the insurgency. Furthermore, the inability of the government to tackle the grievances of the rural and urban poor populations has allowed the group to remain active, though much weaker. Finally, the paper delves into the government’s counterinsurgency campaigns in an attempt to offer insight into the duration, effectiveness, and brutality of the insurgency. Next, the strengths and weaknesses of the Shining Path is analyzed.
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First, the origins of the insurgency, to include the socio-economic climate of the 1970s and 1980s, is discussed as a means of contextualizing the root causes. This paper discusses the tactics the Shining Path employed to spread their influence from the southern Andean highlands throughout the majority of Peru. Under the guise of a pro-Indian movement, the Shining Path initially appealed to the most isolated sectors of Peruvian society. These groups felt neglected, both socially and economically, by the government. It largely drew its support from university students and professors, as well as highland farmers and the urban poor of Lima. The Shining Path, led by Abimael Guzmán, first gained prominence in the Ayacucho region of south-central Peruvian highlands (see Map 1). Therefore, this has been one the country’s bloodiest conflicts in recent history. According to the Peruvian sponsored Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as many as 70,000 Peruvians were killed throughout the insurgency. Although the Shining Path has carried out attacks in recent years, it has been on a much smaller scale. The most active and violent period of the insurgency lasted from 1980-1995. Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) is a Maoist faction of the Peruvian Communist Party that began its armed struggle against the Peruvian government in 1980.
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The Shining Path of Peru: An Analysis of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Tactics