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Gérard Chaliand (born 1934) is a French expert in geopolitics who has published widely on
irregular warfare Irregular warfare (IW) is defined in United States joint doctrine as "a violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations." Concepts associated with irregular warfare are older than the te ...
and
military strategy Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek word '' strategos'', the term strategy, when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow ...
. Chaliand analyses of insurgencies in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and
the Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europea ...
, mostly based on his field experience with insurgent forces, have appeared in more than 20 books and in numerous newspaper articles. He has worked autonomously throughout his career, unconstrained by the perspectives of national governments and policy institutes. As a result, his work provides an independent perspective on many of the major conflicts characterized the 20th and 21st centuries. He is also a published poet.


Early life and education

Born in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
to Armenian parents and raised in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, Chaliand attended the ''
Lycée Henri IV In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children betwee ...
'' in the
Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistro ...
and spent nearly a year in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
. He travelled North Africa before entering the School of Oriental Languages and Civilisations (INALCO) in Paris, where his studies focused on the history and culture of non-western societies. During his youth he hitchhiked across North Africa, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India. He published his first book of poetry (''La Marche Têtue,'' Gallimard) in 1959. In 1960 he joined the clandestine struggle for Algerian Independence. After the
Algerian independence An independence referendum was held in French Algeria on 1 July 1962. It followed French approval of the Évian Accords in an April referendum. Voters were asked whether Algeria should become an independent state, co-operating with France; 99 ...
, he worked during 1963-64 as an editor at the ''Revolution Africaine,'' a weekly in
Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...
where he met many of the leaders of the national liberation movements of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. He received his PhD from
Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sor ...
in Paris in 1975. His dissertation ''Mythes révolutionnaires du tiers monde,'' was published in 1976 and quickly translated into English: Revolution in the Third World, Myths and Propects,
Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...
,
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 1977. Chaliand has been a participant-observer in various guerrilla conflicts: * Guinea Bissau, 1966 * North Vietnam, 1967 * Colombia, 1968/91 * Palestine/Israel, 1969/70/75/ 98/99 * Eritrea, 1977/91 * Afghanistan, 1980/82/2006-2012 * Iranian Kurdistan, 1980 * Salvador, 1982 * Angola, 1985 * Peru, 1985 * Philippines, 1987 *
Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...
, 1993 * Georgia (Ossetia), 1994/2006/08 * Burma, 1990/95 * Kashmir, 1999 * Sri Lanka, 1987/99/2007 * Iraqi Kurdistan, 1999-2008/2012-2015 * Iraq, 2003-2008 * Syria, 2014
He has conducted field studies for over four decades in: * Asia/Pacific * Caucasus and Central Asia * Central and South America * Middle East * Northern Africa * Russia * South and South East Asia * West, East and Southern Africa


Teaching

He taught in Paris, France, at the ''
École nationale d'administration The École nationale d'administration (generally referred to as ENA, en, National School of Administration) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by President Charles de Gaulle and principal author of the 1958 Constitution Michel Deb ...
'' (1980-1987) and at ''Ecole de Guerre'' (War College) from 1990 to 1995. Chaliand has spent more than five years as a visiting professor in the United States at Harvard, U.C.L.A. and U.C. Berkeley. He delivered over five hundred lectures in major Universities and research centers, including the Rand Corporation and the US Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. (1969-2009). He was also a visiting professor at the military academy, Bogota (Colombia), and Universities of Cape Town (South Africa), Montreal (Canada), Salamanca (Spain), Sussex and Manchester (United Kingdom), Vladikavkaz (Northern Ossetia), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq), and Ilia Chavchavadze (Georgia). He was senior visiting fellow at the centre for Conflicts and Peace Studies, Kabul (Afghanistan) from 2005 to 2011. He taught a summer course at Nanyang University (Singapore) from 2004 to 2014 and Hawler University (Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, since 2012). He has also lectured at Strategic Institutes in Washington D.C., London, Canberra, Beijing, Madrid, and Tokyo.


Miscellaneous

He was Director of the European Centre for the Studies of Conflicts (Foundation for Strategic Research), Paris from 1997 to 2000. He was an independent adviser to the Centre for Analysis and Planning of the French Foreign Ministry from 1983 to 1994. He founded and was the Director of Minority Rights Group (France), from 1978 to 1987. He was the initiator of the cession of the Permanent People’s Tribunal that was dedicated to the genocide of the Armenian people whose jury comprised three Nobel Prize winners, including Mr. Sean Mc Bride, Founder of Amnesty International, and which took place at Sorbonne and saw the sentence towards the Turkish state delivered to the National Assembly. In addition, Chaliand has undertaken several maritime expeditions aboard La Boudeuse, a three mast.


Selected bibliography

Chaliand is the author, the co-author or the editor of more than 50 books, over 20 of which have been translated into English.


Books in English

* ''A World History of War,'' UC Press Berkeley, 2014. * ''History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to al Qaïda'' (with Arnaud Blin), Berkeley, 2007. * ''Mirrors of a Disaster. The Spanish conquest of America,'' Transaction, Rutgers University Press. N.J. 2005 * ''Nomadic Empires, From Mongolia to the Danube,'' Transaction, Rutgers University Press, N.J. 2003. * ''The Penguin Atlas of Diasporas,'' New York, 1995. * ''The Art of War in World History,'' Berkeley, 1994. * ''The Kurdish Tragedy, Zed Press,'' London, 1994, Report to the sub-commission on Human Rights (UN) on the situation of the Kurds in the Middle East. * ''Strategic Atlas: A Comparative Geopolitics of the World's Powers,'' with J.P. Rageau, Harper & Row, New York 1987, 1990, updated edition 1992. * ''Minorities at the Age of Nation-States'' (ed) Pluto Press, London, 1988. * ''Terrorism,'' Saqi Books, London: 1987. * ''The Genocide of the Armenians,'' Zoryan Institute, Boston, Mass, 1986 * ''Guerrilla Strategy. A Historical Anthology From the ''Long March'' to Afghanistan,'' ed. Berkeley, 1982. * ''The Struggle for Africa. Great Power Strategies,'' Macmillan, London 1982. * ''Report from Afghanistan,'' Penguin Books, Baltimore, 1982. * ''A People without a country, The Kurds and Kurdistan,'' (Ed), Zed Books 1980, Olive Branch Press, 1993 * ''Revolution in the Third World: Myths and Prospects,'' Viking, New York 1977; updated edition, Penguin Books, 1989. * ''The Palestinian Resistance,'' Penguin Books, Baltimore 1972. * ''Peasants of North Vietnam,'' Penguin Books, Baltimore 1970. * ''Armed Struggle in Africa: With the guerrillas in Portuguese Guinea,'' Monthly Review Press, New York 1969.
Chaliand has also written a cookbook, ''Food without Frontiers,'' Pluto Press, London 1981 and two books of poems ''The Stubborn March,'' Crane Books, Watercrown, MA. 1990, and ''Lone Rider,'' bilingual edition, translated by André Demir, Paris, 2015. Many of his books have been translated in more than twelve languages.


Books in French


Political Analysis

* ''L'Algérie est-elle socialiste?,'' Maspéro, 1964 * ''Où va l’Afrique du Sud ?,'' Calmann-Lévy, 1986 * ''Etat de crise, vers les nouveaux équilibres mondiaux'' (avec J. Minces), Seuil, 1993 * ''Voyage dans le demi-siècle'' (avec Jean Lacouture), Complexe, 2001 * ''America is back, les nouveaux Césars du Pentagone,'' (avec Arnaud Blin), Bayard, 2003 * ''L'Amérique en guerre, Irak-Afghanistan,'' Editions du Rocher, 2007 * ''L'Impasse afghane,'' Éditions de l’Aube, 2011 * ''Vers un nouvel ordre du monde'' (avec Michel Jan), Le Seuil, 2013 * ''De l’Esprit d’aventure'' (avec P. Franceschi et J.C. Guilbert, J’ai lu, Arthaud,J’ai lu, 2011 * ''Le Regard du singe'' (avec Patrice Franceschi) Seuil 2014


Military strategy

* ''Atlas du nucléaire civil et militaire'' (avec Michel Jan), Payot, 1993 * ''Dictionnaire de stratégie militaire'' (avec Arnaud Blin), Perrin, 1998 * ''Les Guerres irrégulières,'' Folio Gallimard, 2008 * ''Le Nouvel Art de la guerre,'' l'Archipel, 2007, Pocket 2009


Geopolitical and Historical Atlases

* ''Atlas de la découverte du monde'' (avec J-P. Rageau), Fayard, 1984 * ''Atlas politique du XXème siècle'' (avec J-P. Rageau), Seuil, 1987 * ''Atlas des Européens'' (avec J-P. Rageau), Fayard, 1989 * ''Atlas des empires. De Baylone à la Russie Soviétique'' (avec JP Rageau), Payot, 1993 * ''Atlas historique des migrations'' (avec M. Jan et J-P. Rageau), Seuil, 1994 * ''Atlas historique du monde méditerranéen'' (avec J-P. Rageau) Payot, 1995 * ''Atlas de l’Asie orientale'' (avec M. Jan et J-P. Rageau), Seuil, 1997 * ''Atlas du millénaire, la mort des empires,'' 1900-2015 (avec J-P. Rageau), Hachette, 1998 * ''Atlas du nouvel ordre mondial, Laffont,'' 2003 * ''Géopolitique des empires, des pharaons à l'Imperium américain,'' (avec J-P. Rageau) Arthaud, 2010, Flammarion 2014


History

* ''Les Bâtisseurs d'histoire, Arléa,'' 1995, Edition augmentée, Agora 2005, Magellan, 2012 * ''2000 ans de chrétientés,'' (avec S. Mousset), Odile Jacob, 2000, 2003 * ''L'Héritage occidental,'' (avec S. Mousset), Odile Jacob, 2002,2015


Memoirs

* ''Mémoire de ma mémoire,'' Julliard, 2003 * ''Guérillas, du Vietnam à l’Irak,'' Hachette Pluriel, 2008 * ''La Pointe du couteau. Mémoires,'' Robert Laffont, 2011


Travel

* ''Los Angeles, Naissance d’un Mythe, '' Stock, 1991. * ''Aux confins de l’Eldorado,'' Le Seuil, 2006 * ''Le Guide du voyageur autour du monde'' (avec S. Mousset) Odile Jacob, 2007
Gerard Chaliand has also published three plays, four books for children and translations of Kautiliya’s ''Arthashastra'' (book seven), Guevara's ''La guerra de Guerillas,'' and a book of popular Turkish poetry (bilingual).


References


External links


New York Review of Books


April 2006 interview concerning the
Iraqi insurgency Iraqi insurgency may refer to: * Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011), part of the Iraq War ** Iraqi insurgency (2003–2006), 2003–2006 phase of the Iraqi insurgency ** Iraqi civil war (2006–2008), multi-sided civil war in Iraq * Iraqi insurgency (2 ...

Gérard Chaliand : Terrorismes et contre-terrorismes ; de la Palestine à l'Irak
June 25, 2003 conference of ''L'Université de tous les savoirs'', published in ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' (audio files available)
Groupes mafieux et globalisation du crime
(video), conference of the Université de tous les savoirs

June 9, 2006 interview in ''
Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...
''
Le destin shakespearien de Saddam Hussein, dictateur sanguinaire et ambigu, par Gérard Chaliand
op-ed in ''
Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...
'', January 1, 2007
Report before the French Senate
March 22, 2002

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaliand, Gerard 1934 births French poets University of Paris alumni Guerrilla warfare theorists French military writers Living people French male poets French people of Armenian descent French male non-fiction writers Belgian emigrants to France French expatriates in the United Kingdom