The Society of Fellows hosts the Thursday Lecture Series (TLS), which runs regularly throughout the academic year. The Fall Semester TLS, our Fellows present their own work, chaired by Columbia faculty.

"How Initial Peasant Support for Shining Path Shifted to Violent Resistance in Peru"

Lecture by Renzo Aroni
Chaired by Gareth Williams

Why did Indigenous peasants, particularly youth, support but ultimately resist the Maoist Shining Path guerrilla group in highland Quechua communities? The different ways rebels and government security forces interacted in each Andean community explain the diverse peasant responses. At first, the politics of pursuing social justice mobilized a large part of the rural population, especially the youths, who often sympathized with the Maoist revolution. The motivating factors in engaging with the insurgency in rural communities include local experiences of state neglect, social inequality, power relation, and fear and intimidation. Shining Path’s mounting authoritarianism, most notably their brutal killing of community authorities and demand that peasants withdraw from the market economy, explains the root of violent peasant uprisings against the rebels.

This event also will be recorded. By being electronically present, you consent to the SOF/Heyman using such video for promotional purposes.

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