Blog 8

Kaelen Penrod

                ‘Civil war’ is defined as “armed combat within the boundaries of a sovereign state between groups that are subject to a common authority at the start of hostilities (Samuels 259).” The Population Association of America, a development of Princeton University, also defines the war that began in Peru in 1980 as a civil war (PPA 1). However, the various aspects of this internal conflict, the consequences of which Peruvians continue to suffer today, cannot be corralled within a single definition. OR However, people seem to have a difficult time characterizing the bloody conflict

The war is mainly between the Peruvian government and a Maoist guerilla group that called themselves Sendero Luminoso, or Shining Path. Sendero Luminoso sought to establish a communist government through a revolution of the peasantry, doing away with the contemporary bureaucracy in the process. They decided to forego entering the political race, and instead, began a campaign of guerrilla warfare, attacking and establishing control over outlying rural areas, which they used as bases for further expansion (Internal Conflict).

The conflict in Peru meets several points of what defines a civil war, according to Samuels: it lasted for almost 20 years, the most recent casualty report puts the total sum of deaths and disappearances at almost 70,000, and the Peru’s mountainous, forested geography just begs to be used as a harbor for murderous insurgent groups (Samuels 259) (PPA). Also, through Peru has experienced a good deal of economic growth in its urban areas, such as Lima, the government has lacked influence and guardianship over the many rural areas (Internal Conflict). 

There is a temptation to start defining the conflict in terms of terrorism. The Peruvian government has already officially labeled the Senderismo Luminoso  a terrorist group, and many of the group’s actions connote terrorism – brutality against innocent civilians and indigenous peasants, arson, and since its leader was captured and sentenced, activity has declined significantly (Shining Path). However, the fact remains that both sides of the conflict - the senderistas and the Peruvian government - were responsible for horrible abuses. The government legalized the rondas, or unofficial peasant militias that hunted specifically for SL members, constitutional rights were suspended in SL-occupied zones in order to give Peruvian government soldiers the freedom in their efforts, and government forces were involved in several bloody massacres that, in the eyes of some, made the work of the senderistas look “like the lesser of two evils” (Shining Path).

Although the conflict in Peru tastes a bit like terrorism in some aspects, I believe it can be categorized fairly neatly under ‘civil war’. Two groups within a single country, one being the incumbent government and the other, an insurgency, fought for control of the state and to turn the hearts of the populace to their respective ideals. I think it is better than we stretch the labels to fit the events that occurred, rather than try to stretch and mold the events into rigidly linear definitions.

Internal Conflicts in Peru. In Wikipedia.Last updated  3 Nov. 2012. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_conflict_in_Peru

How the political violence period of 1980-2000 has changed Peru? PPA: Population Association of America. Princeton University. 2005. Web. http://paa2005.princeton.edu/papers/51624

Samuels, David J. Comparative Politics. Pearson. 2013.

Shining Path. In Wikipedia. Last updated 5 Nov. 2012. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shining_Path