View source for Wars of national liberation

{{pp|small=yes}}
{{short description|Conflict fought for independence}}
{{redirect-multi|4|National liberation|Liberation struggle|War of independence|War of Liberation|the concept in Marxist thought|National liberation (Marxism)|the anticommunist campaign in Kerala|Liberation Struggle (Kerala)|the 1997 space combat game|I-War (1997 video game)||List of wars of independence}}
[[File:Navarino.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Allied naval intervention at the [[Battle of Navarino]] by [[Ambroise Louis Garneray]], part of the [[Greek War of Independence]] against the [[Ottoman Empire]]]]
{{Anti-imperialism|Themes}}
'''Wars of national liberation''', also called '''wars of independence''' or '''wars of liberation''', are conflicts fought by [[nations]] to gain [[independence]]. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) to establish separate [[sovereign state]]s for the rebelling nationality. From a different point of view, such wars are called [[insurgencies]] or [[rebellions]].<ref name="mtw">{{cite book |title=Moscow's Third World Strategy |last=Rubinstein |first=Alvin Z. |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=1990 |page=[https://archive.org/details/moscowsthirdworl00rubi/page/80 80] |isbn=0-691-07790-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/moscowsthirdworl00rubi/page/80}}</ref> [[Guerrilla warfare]] or [[asymmetric warfare]] is often utilized by groups labeled as national [[liberation movement]]s, often with support from other states. The term "wars of national liberation" is most commonly used for those fought during the [[decolonization]] movement. Since these were primarily in the [[third world]], against Western powers and their economic influence, and a major aspect of the [[Cold War]], the phrase has often been applied selectively to criticize the foreign power involved.<ref name="McNamara">{{Cite journal |first=Robert S. |last=McNamara |author-link=Robert S. McNamara |title=Buildup of U.S. Forces in VietNam, Statement by Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara, Before the Subcommittee on Department of Defense Appropriations of the Senate Committee on Appropriations on August 4, 1965 |journal=Department of State Bulletin |date=1965-08-30 |page=369 |url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon4/ps3.htm |access-date=2010-07-16 |archive-date=2021-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127081754/https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon4/ps3.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Some of these wars were either vocally or materially supported by the [[Soviet Union]], which claimed to be an [[anti-imperialist]] power, supporting the replacement of Western-backed governments with local [[Communist party|Communist]] or other non pro-Western parties.<ref name="mtw"/><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Student's Companion to Sociology |first1=Chet |last1=Ballard |first2=Jon |last2=Gubbay |first3=Chris |last3=Middleton |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |year=1997 |page=36 |isbn=0-7567-7867-0}}</ref> In January 1961 Soviet premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]] pledged support for "wars of national liberation" throughout the world.<ref name="Little">{{Cite journal |last=Little |first=Wendell E. |year=1980 |title=Wars of National Liberation—Insurgency |url=http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1980/sep-oct/little.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121212015733/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1980/sep-oct/little.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 12, 2012 |journal=Air University Review |issue=September–October |access-date=2010-07-16}}</ref> On the other hand, the Soviet involvement was often viewed as a way to increase the size and influence of the [[Soviet Bloc]], and thus a form of imperialism itself. The [[People's Republic of China]] criticized the Soviet Union as being [[social imperialist]]. In turn, China presented themselves as models of independent nationalist development outside of Western influence, particularly as such posturing and other long-term hostility meant they were regarded as a threat to Western power and regarded themselves as such, using their resources to politically, economically and militarily assist movements such as in [[Vietnam]]. When the nation is defined in ethnic terms, wars fought to liberate it have often entailed [[ethnic cleansing]] or [[genocide]] in order to rid the claimed territory of other population groups.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lieberman |first1=Benjamin |title=Terrible Fate: Ethnic Cleansing in the Making of Modern Europe |date=2013 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-3038-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hayden |first1=Robert M. |title=Schindler's Fate: Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Population Transfers |journal=Slavic Review |date=1996 |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=727–748 |doi=10.2307/2501233 |jstor=2501233 |s2cid=232725375 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2501233 |issn=0037-6779 |quote='Rendering an area ethnically homogenous by using force or in-  timidation to remove from a given area persons of another ethnic or  religious group' seems, in fact, an essential element in the program  of many state builders and national liberation movements. |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kelman |first1=Herbert C. |title=Negotiating National Identity and Self-Determination in Ethnic Conflicts: The Choice Between Pluralism and Ethnic Cleansing |journal=Negotiation Journal |date=1997 |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=327–340 |doi=10.1023/A:1024840110195 |s2cid=189900927}}</ref>

== Legal issues ==
[[International law]] generally holds that a [[people]] with a legal right to [[self-determination]] are entitled to wage wars of national liberation.<ref name=Malanczukp336>Malanczuk, 1997, p. 336.</ref><ref name="Higgins">{{cite journal |first=Noelle |last=Higgins |title=The Application of International Humanitarian Law to Wars of National Liberation |journal=Journal of Humanitarian Assistance |date=April 2004 |url=http://www.jha.ac/articles/a132.pdf |access-date=2010-07-15 |archive-date=2010-11-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125080007/http://jha.ac/articles/a132.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> While [[Western world|Western]] states tend to view these wars as [[civil war]]s, [[Third World]] and [[communist]] states tend to view them as international wars.<ref name=Malanczukp336/> This difference in classification leads to varying perceptions of which laws of war apply in such situations.<ref name=Malanczukp336/> However, there is general agreement among all states today in principle that the use of force to frustrate a people's legal right to self-determination is unlawful.<ref name=Malanczukp336/>

== Strategies and tactics ==
{{unreferencedsect|date=February 2025}}
[[Image:Flag of Mozambique.svg|thumb|right|250px|Flag of [[Mozambique]]; independent from [[Portugal]] since 1975, after the [[Carnation Revolution]] in [[Lisbon]], with the [[AK-47|Kalashnikov]] as symbol of the [[armed struggle]] against the [[Portuguese empire]], the book as symbol of instruction and a farming implement as symbol of [[economic growth]].]]
[[Wars]] 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. Wars of national liberation generally depend on widespread public support, with ordinary civilians providing crucial support. Finally, wars of national liberation are often embedded in a larger context of great power politics and are often [[proxy war]]s.

These strategies explain why they are quite successful against foreign regimes and quite unsuccessful against indigenous regimes. Foreign regimes usually have a threshold beyond which they would prefer to go home rather than to fight the war. By contrast, an indigenous regime has no place to which they can retreat, and will fight much harder because of the lack of alternatives. Moreover, foreign regimes usually have fewer active supporters in the theater, and those that exist can often be easily identified, making it possible for guerrilla armies to identify their targets. By contrast, indigenous regimes often have much more popular support, and their supporters are often not easily recognized as such, making it much harder to conduct operations against them without also causing harm to neutral parties.

== History ==

=== Decolonization period ===
{{Further|Decolonization|Colonialism}}
[[File:Surrender of Lord Cornwallis.jpg|thumb|Surrender of [[Lord Cornwallis]] at [[Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]] in 1781]]
[[File:Batalla-Rancagua.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Rancagua]] during the [[Chilean War of Independence]] in 1814]]
[[File: Battle of Zapote Bridge 1897.jpg|thumb|[[Battle of Zapote Bridge (1897)|Battle of Zapote Bridge]] between Filipino revolutionaries and Spanish colonial forces during the [[Philippine Revolution]] in 1897]]

The [[Haitian Revolution]] (1791–1804) can be considered to be one of the first wars of national liberation. It pitted self-liberated [[Slavery|slaves]] against [[First French Empire|Imperial France]], coming about during a period in history where interconnected movements such as the [[American Revolution|American]] and [[French Revolution]]s had caused a rise of national consciousness in the Atlantic world. At the same time during the [[Spanish American wars of independence]] (1808–1833), the [[Patriot Governments (Spanish American independence)|patriots]] launched a series of complex wars of independence against the [[Royalist (Spanish American independence)|royalists]], which resulted in the formation of new [[Latin American]] states. The [[Siege of Patras (1821)|Siege of Patras]] (1821) led to the [[Greek War of Independence]], ending [[Ottoman Greece|Ottoman domination]] in the establishment of the [[Kingdom of Greece]]. Discontent with British [[company rule in India]] led to the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|Sepoy Mutiny]] (1857–1858), which is sometimes described as the First War of Indian Independence.{{efn|"The events of 1857–58 in India (are) known variously as a mutiny, a revolt, a rebellion and the first war of independence (the debates over which only confirm just how contested imperial history can become) ... "<ref name="Williams2006" />}}<ref name="Williams2006">{{Citation |last=Peers |first=Douglas M. |title=A Companion to 19th-Century Britain |page=63 |year=2006 |editor-last=Williams |editor-first=Chris |chapter=Britain and Empire |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7pcMC7ANpmoC&pg=PA63 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-5679-0}}</ref>

The [[Easter Uprising|Easter Rising]] (1916) in [[Dublin]] eventually led to the [[Irish War of Independence]] (1919–1921), ending in the establishment of the [[Irish Free State]]. In the [[aftermath of World War I]] and the 1917 [[Russian Revolution]] the [[Bolshevik]]s unsuccessfully fought a number of [[Pro-independence movements in the Russian Civil War|independence movements]] until [[Finland]], [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], and [[Poland]] gained independence. The [[Ukrainian People's Republic]] fought its [[Ukrainian War of Independence|war of independence]] (1917–1921), which resulted in being absorbed into a [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet republic]]. Following the defeat of the [[Ottoman Empire]], the [[Turkish National Movement]] fought a series of campaigns in the [[Turkish War of Independence|war of independence]] (1919–1922), which resulted in the subsequent withdrawal of [[Allies of World War I|Allied forces]] and establishment of the [[Republic of Turkey]].

The [[Indonesian War of Independence]] (1945–1949) followed with the Liberation of [[Irian Jaya]] (1960–1962), the [[First Indochina War]] (1946–1954), [[Vietnam War]] (1959–1975), [[Bangladesh Liberation War]] (1971) and the [[Algerian War]] (1954–1962) were all considered national liberation wars by the rebelling sides of the conflicts. The [[African National Congress]] (ANC)'s struggle against the [[apartheid]] regime is also another example. Most of these rebellions were in part supported by the [[Soviet Union]]. Since the  [[Russian Revolution]] the [[revolution]]ary objectives of [[communism]] and [[socialism]] were shared by many anticolonialist leaders, thus explaining the objective alliance between anticolonialist forces and [[Marxism]]. The concept of "[[imperialism]]" itself had been theorized in Lenin's 1916 book, ''[[Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism]]''. For example, [[Ho Chi Minh]] — who founded the [[Viet-Minh]] in 1941 and declared the independence of [[Democratic Republic of Vietnam|Vietnam]] on September 2, 1945, following the 1945 [[August Revolution]] — was a founding member of the [[French Communist Party]] (PCF) in 1921. In January 1961, over three years before the [[Gulf of Tonkin incident]] which would mark the [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]]'s increased involvement in the [[Vietnam War]], Soviet premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]] would pledge support for "wars of national liberation" throughout the world.<ref name=WGOW432-433>{{cite book |title=The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World |year=2005 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=9780465003112 |pages=432–433 |author=[[Christopher Andrew (historian)|Christopher Andrew]] and [[Vasili Mitrokhin]] |type=hardcover |chapter=24 "The Cold War Comes to Africa}}</ref> In the same decade, [[History of Cuba|Cuba]], led by [[Fidel Castro]], would support national liberation movements in [[Angolan Civil War|Angola]] and [[Mozambican War of Independence|Mozambique]].

The [[Portuguese colonial wars]] finally led to the recognition of Angola, Mozambique and [[Guinea-Bissau]] as independent states in 1975, following the April [[Carnation Revolution]]. The [[Rhodesian Bush War]] became a scene of guerrilla warfare by factors of the [[Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army|ZANLA]] and [[Zimbabwe African People's Union|ZAPU]] against [[Rhodesia]] until white-majority rule came to an end in 1979 and the [[Lancaster House Agreement]] led to the independence of [[Zimbabwe]] in April 1980. In February 1991, six months after the outbreak of the [[Gulf War]], the [[Coalition of the Gulf War|coalition led by the United States]] launched a ground offensive to [[Liberation of Kuwait campaign|liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation]]. The 1991 [[breakup of Yugoslavia]] led to fewer wars of independence in part of the [[Yugoslav Wars]], including the [[Ten-Day War]] and the [[Croatian War of Independence]]. The aftermath of the [[Rwandan genocide]] saw the [[Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire|AFDL]] [[First Congo War|invade Zaire]], overthrowing the regime of [[Mobutu]] and reverting its name to the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. In the [[Libyan Civil War (2011)|first Libyan Civil War]] (2011), an uprising developed into a [[anti-Gaddafi forces|rebellion]], toppling the regime of [[Muammar Gaddafi]] and the [[National Transitional Council]] declared the liberation of Libya from 42 years of his rule.

== Ongoing wars defined as national liberation conflicts ==
The [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) is a national liberation movement, meaning that it holds official recognition of its legal status as such.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sess.: 1988–1989) |first=UN General Assembly (43rd |date=1989 |title=Observer status of national liberation movements recognized by the Organization of African Unity and/or the League of Arab States :: resolutions /: adopted by the General Assembly. |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/192616 |journal=[[United Nations Digital Library]] |language=en}}</ref> Other national liberation movements in the [[OAU]] at that time included the [[African National Congress]] (ANC) and [[Pan Africanist Congress of Azania]] (PAC). It is the only non-African national liberation movement to hold observer status in the OAU, and was one of the first national liberation movements granted permanent observer status by the [[United Nations General Assembly]] pursuant to a 1974 resolution.<ref name=Shultzp100>Shultz, 1988, p. 100.</ref><ref name=Wilsonp119>Wilson, 1990, p. 119.</ref> The PLO also participates in UN Security Council debates; since 1988, it has represented the [[Palestinian people]] at the UN under the name "[[Palestine]]".<ref name=Boczekp86>Boczek, 2005, p. 86.</ref>

The [[Polisario Front]] has sought the independence of [[Western Sahara]] since 1973 and considers its [[Western Sahara conflict|war against Morocco]] as a national liberation war, as do many foreign observers, countries and the [[African Union]]. The Polisario Front has been recognized by the United Nations as the legitimate representative of the [[Sahrawi people]]. The hostilities were frozen after a 1991 cease-fire and [[Settlement Plan|settlement plan agreement]] that called for a [[United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara|referendum on self-determination]]. However, the referendum was never held and [[Western Saharan clashes (2020–present)|hostilities resumed]] in 2020.

The following current conflicts have sometimes also been characterized as wars or struggles of national liberation (such a designation is often subject to controversy):
* Many [[Chechens]] and foreign observers consider the [[First Chechen War|First]] and [[Second Chechen War]]s to be wars of national liberation against [[Russia]].<ref>[[Richard Sakwa|Sakwa, Richard]] (2005), ''Chechnya: From Past to Future'', p. 208. Anthem Press, {{ISBN|1-84331-164-X|9781843311645}}</ref><ref>Evangelista, Matthew (2002), The Chechen wars: will Russia go the way of the Soviet Union?, p. 142. Brookings Institution Press, {{ISBN|0-8157-2498-5|978-0-8157-2498-8}}</ref><ref>Dunlop, John B. (1998), ''Russia Confronts Chechnya'', p. 93. [[Cambridge University Press]], {{ISBN|0-521-63619-1||978-0-521-63619-3}}</ref>
* Some Iraqi insurgent groups, and certain political groups believe that the [[Iraq War]] was a war of national liberation against the US-led [[Multinational force in Iraq|coalition]].
* Many Kurds believe the [[Kurdish–Turkish conflict]] to be a war of national liberation of [[Kurdish people]] in [[Turkey]].

== Conflicts ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2011}}
{{See also|List of wars of independence}}
[[File:Battle of Oulart Hill.jpg|thumb|[[Irish Rebellion of 1798]]]]
[[File:Battle of Ostrołęka 1831.PNG|thumb|[[Battle of Ostrołęka (1831)|Battle of Ostrołęka]] during the [[November Uprising]]]]
[[File:The defeat of Shipka Peak, Bulgarian War of Independence.JPG|thumb|[[Battle of Shipka Pass|Defence of Shipka Pass]] against Turkish troops was crucial for the independence of [[Bulgaria]]]]
[[File:Battle at river Skit 1877.jpg|thumb|Clash between Turks and Romanians during the [[Romanian War of Independence]] in 1877]]
[[File:Patarei nr 1 1919.jpg|thumb|right|Estonian artillery preparing for a battle during the 1918–1920 [[Estonian War of Independence]]]]
[[File:Pemuda AA weapon.jpg|thumb|right|Indonesian ''pemuda'' (youth) operating an AA weapon during the [[Indonesian National Revolution]]]]
[[File:Xung phong.jpg|thumb|right|Viet Minh soldiers launching an assault during the [[Battle of Dien Bien Phu]]]]
[[File:Combatentes do PAIGC (FARP) com lança granadas e pistolas-metralhadoras.png|thumb|right|[[African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde|PAIGC]] guerrillas with rocket launchers and submachineguns during the [[Guinea-Bissau War of Independence]], 1970]]
Conflicts which have been described as national liberation struggles:
* The [[Swedish War of Liberation]] (1521–1523).
* The [[Eighty Years' War]].
* The [[Khmelnytsky Uprising]].
* The [[American Revolutionary War]].
* The [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]].
* The [[Irish Rebellion of 1803]].
* The [[Peninsular War]] against Napoleon's occupation of Spain and Portugal during the [[Napoleonic Wars]].
* The [[Haitian Revolution]].
* The [[German Campaign of 1813|German campaign of 1813]] against Napoleon's occupation of German lands during the [[Napoleonic Wars]].
* The [[Spanish American wars of independence]].
* The [[Norwegian War of Independence|Swedish-Norwegian War]].
* The [[Greek War of Independence]] (1821).
* The [[Belgian Revolution]].
* The [[Serbian Revolution]].
* The [[Dominican War of Independence]] (1844–1856).
* The [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] (1848–1849).
* The [[Unification of Italy|Italian Wars of Independence]] (1848–1866)
* The [[Dominican Restoration War]] (1863–1865).
* The [[Serbian–Turkish Wars (1876–1878)]].
* The  [[Portuguese Restoration War]]
* Explicit wars of [[decolonization]]:
** The [[Philippine Revolution]]
** The [[Rif War]] against the [[Spanish protectorate in Morocco]]
** The [[August Revolution]], [[Việt Minh]] against Japanese invasion of Vietnam.
** The [[First Indochina War]], [[Việt Minh|Viet Minh]] against French colonial rule in Indochina
** The [[Indonesian National Revolution]]
** The Tamil [[Sri Lankan civil war|resistance]] to [[Sri Lankan state-sponsored colonisation schemes|Sri Lankan colonization]] in Tamil-speaking territories and discrimination against the Tamil people.
** The [[Malagasy Uprising]] against French colonial rule in 1947.
** The [[Algerian War]] against [[France]] (1954–1962).
** The [[Portuguese Colonial War|Portuguese Overseas War]] in [[Angola]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], and [[Mozambique]] against [[Portugal]] (1961–1974).
** In [[Cameroon]], by the [[Union of the Peoples of Cameroon|UPC]] against [[France]].
** In [[South Yemen]] by the [[National Liberation Front (South Yemen)|National Liberation Front]] (NLF) and the [[Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen]] (FLOSY).
** The [[Mau Mau Uprising|Mau Mau Rebellion]] against British rule in Kenya.
** The [[Rhodesian Bush War]] in white-ruled [[Rhodesia]] (now [[Zimbabwe]]), led by [[Zimbabwe African National Union|ZANU]] and [[Zimbabwe African People's Union|ZAPU]].
** In [[Western Sahara]], by the [[Moroccan Army of Liberation]] against [[Spain]] and [[France]], and by the [[Polisario Front]] against [[Morocco|Moroccan]] and [[Mauritania]]n occupation.
** In [[Namibia]], by the South West Africa People's Organization ([[SWAPO]]) and [[SWANU]] against [[apartheid]] South Africa.
** The [[Dhofar Rebellion]] in [[Muscat and Oman]].
** The [[Somaliland campaign|Dervish War]] in [[Somalia]].
** The [[Brunei revolt|Brunei Revolt]].
* The [[Estonian War of Independence]].
* The [[Latvian War of Independence]].
* The [[Lithuanian Wars of Independence]].
* The [[Ukrainian War of Independence]].
* The [[Turkish War of Independence]].
* The [[National Liberation War in Yugoslavia]], within [[World War II]], by the [[Yugoslav Partisans]] against the occupation of the [[Axis powers]] and their collaborators.
* The [[Italian Civil War]] in which forces of the [[Kingdom of Italy]] and the [[Italian resistance movement]] fought against occupying forces of [[Nazi Germany]] and forces of the [[Italian Social Republic]] during the [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]] of [[World War II]].
* In [[China]], the [[Chinese Communist Revolution|Chinese Civil War (1945–1949)]].
* The [[1948 Palestine War|Israeli Independence War]]
* In [[North Korea]], the [[Korean War]] against [[South Korea]].
* The [[Vietnam War]], with [[South Vietnam]] and the [[United States]] against [[North Vietnam]], [[China]], [[Soviet Union]] and communist bloc.
* The [[Eritrean War of Independence]] against [[Ethiopia]].
* The [[Bangladesh Liberation War]] against [[West Pakistan]].
* The [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet-Afghan War]] against the occupying [[Soviet Army]].
* In [[Ireland]], the [[Anglo-irish war|Anglo-Irish War]] and [[The Troubles]] in [[Northern Ireland]]; also, the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]] [[insurgency]] against the [[United Kingdom]], aimed at creating a socialist republic within a united Ireland, from 1969 until 1998.
* In [[Cambodia]], against the occupying [[People's Army of Vietnam|Vietnamese Army]] and [[People's Republic of Kampuchea]] during the [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War]].
* The [[Western Sahara War]]
* The [[Ogaden War]] of 1977 with [[Somalia]] against [[Ethiopia]]
* In [[Nicaragua]], by [[Augusto César Sandino|Augusto Sandino]]'s forces against the occupying [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]].
* In [[Chad]], by [[FROLINAT]] against the [[François Tombalbaye|Tombalbaye]] dictatorship
* In [[South Africa]], against the [[apartheid]] regime by [[Umkhonto we Sizwe]] and [[Azanian People's Liberation Army]].
* The Armenian-led [[Karabakh movement|Karabakh Movement]] in the [[Nagorno-Karabakh conflict]]<ref name="Vicken Cheterian">{{cite book |author=Vicken Cheterian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iOCGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA123 |title=War and Peace in the Caucasus Russia's Troubled Frontier |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-78738-186-5 |pages=123 |quote=By June 1989, the Armenian National Movement (Hayots Hamazkayin Sharzhoum, ANM) was formed, transforming the Karabakh Committee into an instrument for the struggle of national independence.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Anniversary of Karabakh movement reminds Yerevan residents about national idea |url=https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/42438 |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=Caucasian Knot}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Civilnet |date=2018-02-22 |title=Yerevan Photo Exhibit Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Karabakh Movement |url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/383782/yerevan-photo-exhibit-celebrates-30th-anniversary-of-karabakh-movement/ |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=CIVILNET |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In [[Autonomous Region of Bougainville|Bougainville]], by the [[Bougainville Revolutionary Army]] against [[Papua New Guinea]]
* The [[Chiapas conflict]] by the [[Zapatista Army of National Liberation]] against [[Mexico]] has been considered a national liberation movement.
* The [[Croatian War of Independence]]
* The [[Slovenian War of Independence|Ten-Day War]]
* The [[Bosnian War of 1992-1995|Bosnian War]]
* The [[First Chechen War|First]] and [[Second Chechen War]]s, by the Chechen peoples against [[Russia]]
* The [[Iraq War]], by the [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)|Iraqi resistance]] against the [[Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011)|United States]]
* The [[South Sudanese wars of independence]], the first from 1955 to 1972, and the second from 1983 to 2005, ultimately culminating in the 2011 independence of [[South Sudan]] from [[Sudan]].

== See also ==
{{Portal|Politics|History}}
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[African independence movements]]
* [[American War of Independence]]
* [[Clausewitz]]'s ''[[On War]]''
* [[Colonialism]] and [[chronology of colonialism]]
* [[Decolonization of the Americas]]
* [[Fourteen Points]], especially V and XII
* [[Hukbalahap]]
* [[Insurgency]] and [[counter-insurgency]]
* [[List of wars of independence]]
* [[List of active autonomist and secessionist movements]]
* [[List of active separatist movements recognized by intergovernmental organizations]]
* [[List of decolonized nations]]
* [[List of historical separatist movements]]
* [[List of sovereign states by date of formation]]
* [[List of states with limited recognition]]
* [[Minzu jiefang]]
* [[Separatism]]
* [[Stateless nation]]
}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NR7mFXCB-wgC&pg=PA86 |page=86 |title=International law: a dictionary |author=Boleslaw Adam Boczek |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8108-5078-1}}
* {{cite book |title=Akehurst's Modern Introduction to International Law |first=Peter Autor |last=Malanczuk |publisher=Routledge |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-415-11120-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/akehurstsmoderni0000mala}}
* {{cite book |title=Native vs. settler: ethnic conflict in Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland, and South Africa |first1=Thomas G. |last1=Mitchell |edition=Illustrated |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-313-31357-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3PNt46aB_sYC&pg=PA41}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtebWixsIdYC&pg=PA100 |title=The Soviet Union and revolutionary warfare: principles, practices, and regional comparisons |author=[[Richard H. Shultz]] |publisher=Hoover Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-8179-8711-4}}
* {{cite book |title=International law and the use of force by national liberation movements |first1=Heather A. |last1=Wilson |edition=Illustrated |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-19-825662-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MNj5hzOHIasC&pg=PA119}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://*.iapl.net/statements/nlm.pdf Edre U. Olalia, Vice President of International Association of People's Lawyers (IAPL), "The Status in International Law of Liberation Movements and Their Use of Armed Force"]
* [http://www.iadllaw.org/files/THE%20STATUS%20IN%20INTERNATIONAL%20LAW%20OF%20NATIONAL%20LIBERATION%20MOVEMENTS%20AND%20THEIR%20USE%20OF%20ARMED%20FORCE%20by%20Edre%20Olalia.pdf Edre U. Olalia, Vice President of International Association of People's Lawyers, "The status in International Law of National Liberation Movements"]
* [http://www.iapl.net/index.php/en/third-congress/79-a-reversal-of-international-law A reversal of International Law]
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[[Category:Wars of independence|*]]
[[Category:National liberation movements|*]]
[[Category:Decolonization]]
[[Category:European colonisation of Africa]]
[[Category:Marxist terminology]]