NATIONAL LIBERATION STRUGGLE STAGES

STAGE ONE
     The people begin to doubt if the government policies,
institutions and laws are able to achieve their beliefs, ideals and
material needs.  Economic difficulties expressed in terms of the
system being overloaded with demand.  Popular challenges to
governmental decisions or the decisions of the traditional
leadership.  The existence of revolutionary individuals and
revolutionary individuals organized into an alliance of
revolutionary groups (CRO).  The existence of popular challenges to
certain existing institutions and to the moral authority of the
ruling elites or classes.  The lack of popular conviction that the
perceived important problems can be solved within the framework of
traditional politics.  The ineffectiveness of the ruling elites of
the oppressed masses in winning popular support for governmental
problems.  Indifference to voting for governmental officials.  It
is at this stage that the revolutionary thinkers appear and begin
the process of internationalization of the problem.  That is, they
begin to bring the question of Afro-american oppression to the
attention of the world.  This usually is done simply by domestic
organizations of revolutionary thinkers extending branches outside
of the country concerned for the purpose of acting in such a manner
as to inform world opinion of the existing condition of oppression. 
Such acts alone (given there is a significant condition of
oppression) stimulate both moral and material support.  The natural
degree of this support will be determined by the degree and nature
of the oppression as well as the degree and nature of popular
resistance to the oppressor.

STAGE TWO
     An acceleration of the process mentioned above.  The
appearance of a central revolutionary diplomatic organization (CRO)
usually both inside and outside of the country concerned which
identifies with the popular masses' ideologies and attitudes.  The
CRO explains, rationalizes, encourages, defends and takes credit
for revolutionary or popular acts of revolutionary individuals and
groups.  Such acts are rationalized in terms of initiating the
revolutionary process.  An increase in the popular tendency to
discredit governmental and associated actions, institutions and
programs.

STAGE THREE
     The persistent and effective moral defence of popular and
revolutionary acts by the CRO leads to its increased popularization
and an increase in the popular tendency to discredit governmental
traditional leadership and governmental sponsored and associated
institutions.  Salient features of stages one and two are
accelerated.

STAGE FOUR
     The popularization of the CRO provides the CRO with greater
moral influence, and it becomes a key factor in shaping the
opinions and attitudes of the masses, particularly in relation to
the government, and in the case of Afro-americans, the
irresponsible traditional negro leadership.  At this stage, the
salient features mentioned in stages one, two and three are
identified and explained.

STAGE FIVE
     The CRO, by its moral influence and popularity, begins to
guide and influence the actions and determine the attitudes of the
masses in relation to the government and irresponsible traditional
negro leadership.  A decentralization of authority begins to appear
as the government or irresponsible traditional negro leadership is
increasingly forced to compete with the CRO for the allegiance of
the masses.  This stage resembles anarchism where authority,
particularly moral and effective authority, is divided among
numerous smaller societal entities and communities.  This is the
beginning of the transition stage.  The salient features of stages
one through four continue to expand and intensify.

STAGE SIX
     At this stage, if the government or its sponsored negro
leadership fails to win the real allegiance of the Afro-american
masses for its decisions and program, a contradiction of power
exists.  Two major contradicting centers of power will develop. 
The government and its sponsored leadership, which still holds the
monopoly of military and economic coercion, will no longer hold a
complimentary and appropriate degree of popular influence.  It will
be in the process of becoming the de jure center of coercive power
while the CRO will be in the process of becoming the de facto
center of socio-political power.  Thus, the salient factors already
mentioned become the dominant popular tendencies.  The power
transition has begun.  Thus, the maintenance of the revolutionary
process is almost assured.

STAGE SEVEN
     At this stage, if the government or its sponsored negro
leadership does not resign, collapse or permit the demands of the
CRO (some form of political autonomy to the oppressed minority, in
the case, the Afro-americans), it is left with no alternative other
than the use of physical force without popular sanction and against
popular actions.  Such popular actions at this stage usually take
the form of general strikes or mass demonstrations, etc...  The
goal of all popular actions becomes the replacement of the
government or its sponsored leadership through the new popular
leaders of the CRO or some degree of socio-political independence
from the political control and socio-economic institutions of the
governing body.  Salient features mentioned in stages one through
six have become all-pervasive and are consciously encouraged as
tactics by the masses to make it impossible for the government to
effectively govern the oppressed or to function normally.  The
masses automatically become politicized around the CRO.  Anarchy,
decentralization of authority or anarchism becomes the order of the
day as failure of governmental institutions and organizations
create the need for Afro-american centralized authority or leave
political vacuums, some that can be filled by the CRO and some that
cannot be so filled by an as yet unestablished or officially
recognized new de facto power center.  The circumstances at this
point bring the government to use abusively its only remaining
symbol of power: its control over the military and police.  At
first this is done sparingly in hope that the threat of force can
re-establish order.  But if it does not, the recourse to force is
employed in earnest.

STAGE EIGHT
     At this stage, if the revolutionary acts continue despite use
of force in earnest, large clashes by the popular masses seeking
the overthrow of this or that government policy and/or its
traditional negro leaders, as would be the case of the Afro-
americans, and large scale military violence by the government must
now occur.  The unpopular use of force leads to many injustices
inflicted against the popular masses.  This acts to mobilize and
politicize other large segments of the oppressed community.  This
is largely true because the oppressed community no longer will have
the choice of indifference.  Each individual will find [themselves]
pushed by environmental circumstances towards one side or the
other.  The government and its sponsored leadership is now caught
in a vicious cycle whereby it must use force to survive or maintain
its authority over the oppressed, yet the very force it uses serves
the purpose of completely discrediting the authority of the
government in the eyes of the masses, both foreign and domestic. 
This stage continues until the government is effectively
discredited and its use of morally unsanctioned violence has served
to legitimize the use of organized defensive force against the
government and its institutions.  At this point the revolutionary
individuals and groups begin to engage in violent vendetta with the
police, government and its sponsored leadership, and act against
economic as well as political targets.  This stage must lead to the
government outlawing the CRO, imprisoning some of its leaders,
etc... If this has not already occurred.

STAGE NINE
     At this stage, if the popular will to struggle continues,
despite the price the masses are forced to pay, and the government
is still unable to meet the popular demands, a military civil
conflict occurs.  The revolution enters the armed struggle stage. 
The CRO assists the revolutionary individuals in securing arms,
diplomatic and logistic support.  Soon there appear self-organized
armed groups of revolutionary individuals acting in common cause
around the banner of the CRO.  Such groups soon become, with the
logistic and diplomatic assistance of the CRO, its resistance
armies or urban guerrilla squads or armed forces of "one".  Their
aim now is to completely topple the irresponsible traditional negro
leadership at all costs and to cause so much social, economic and
political damage that the government will be willing to give in to
the popular demands of the oppressed (minority, viz-a-viz, Afro-
americans) for an appropriate degree of national liberation and
self-determination.

     The armed conflict between the traditional leadership,
government and armed revolutionary groups increases until it
becomes a conflict between the CRO and government for the political
authority over the state, group or national minority concerned. 
Each side attempts to prevent the other side from functioning
effectively among the population concerned.  If the conflict
concerns solely a domestic uprising among members of the same
nation or ethny, the resolution is likely to come only through
armed conflict, military victory and military defeat.  However, if
the conflict involves the question of self-determination or greater
political autonomy for a nation or ethnic group, and pits the
rulers of the oppressor ruling group, not its people, against the
popular masses of the oppressed ethny, the solution may be found in
cost-benefit analysis.  That is, if the fighting is raised to a
level where the ruling ethny sees it has more to lose in continuing
the armed struggle than it has in providing the ethny or nation in
revolt with an appropriate degree of self-determination, military
victory becomes irrelevant, provided the oppressed nation is
willing and able to continue fighting, at all costs and by any
means necessary.  If the conflict involves both members of the
majority ethny and an oppressed ethny's search for self-
determination, resolution of the conflict will necessarily involve
a higher degree of military defeat for the government.  Still,
national liberation for the ethny need not mean collapse of the
system of the ruling ethny (depending on the degree the masses of
that majority ethny have joined in the revolutionary cause), but it
does always mean that the government must be convinced that no
matter how much force it uses, short of genocide or civil war it
cannot stop the acts and nationally-destructive disintegrating
effects of the oppressed ethnic group searching for national
liberation.  Genocide is set as a limit because no ruling group in
today's world could carry out genocide without destroying itself as
well, particularly if it has powerful international enemies and the
internal CRO is able and willing to use weapons made legally
available to it to knock out key economic, socio-political,
industrial and communications institutions.  In such a case, to
contemplate genocide would be to contemplate suicide.

     However, nothing is automatic.  To start a revolution is
easier than to maintain it, and to win a revolution depends on
which side is in closest touch with reality (a complex matrix of
circumstances and factors), and to a limited degree, on chance (an
act of God).  In the final analysis we may conclude that success
depends on encouraging the masses to devise strategies for
themselves that are keenly in touch with their situation, needs,
capabilities and wishes.  Only God decides if a revolution begins,
is maintained, and is victorious.  [People] under the sway of
natural laws act out their part and succumb or ride with the tides
of historical circumstances.  Victory is a process of being in tune
with the age, and defeat results from being in disharmony with the
times, the people and their circumstances.

2007-09-25 Tue 20:04ct