Conclusion: The View from the Windows

Abstract

As we try to understand the Shining Path (Sendero or SL) insurgency both in the Peruvian context and as an example of revolutionary movements in different parts of the world at different historical moments, the array of considerations that must be taken into account is daunting indeed. Each of the chapters in this book contributes to our understanding. Different authors with different backgrounds and experiences look at different parts of Sendero in different parts of the country and consider different facets of its internal and external relationships. It is not surprising that some of their conclusions differ also. Like the fable of the blind people touching various parts of an elephant and then describing what they felt, our individual analyses illuminate distinctive features of the SL phenomenon. Each conclusion, however valid for the particular component under study, may be in tension with or even seem to contradict another.