Shining and Other Paths offers the first systematic account of the social experiences at the heart of the war waged between Shining Path and the Peruvian military during the 1980s and early 1990s. Confronting and untangling the many myths and enigmas that surround the war and the wider history of twentieth-century Peru, this book presents clear and often poignant analyses of the brutal reshaping of life and politics during a war that cost tens of thousands of lives.
The contributors-a team of Peruvian and U.S. historians, social scientists, and human rights activists-explore the origins, social dynamics, and long-term consequences of the effort by Shining Path to effect an armed communist revolution. The book begins by interpreting Shining Path's emergence and decision for war as one logical culmination, among several competing culminations, of trends in oppositional politics and social movements. It then traces the experiences of peasants and refugees to demonstrate how human struggle and resilience came together in grassroots determination to defeat Shining Path, and explores the unsuccessful efforts of urban shantytown dwellers, as well as rural and urban activists, to build a "third path" to social justice. Integral to this discussion is an examination of women's activism and consciousness during the years of the crisis. Finally, this book analyzes the often paradoxical and unintended legacies of this tumultuous period for social and human rights movements, and for presidential and military leadership in Peru.
Extensive field research, broad historical vision, and strong editorial coordination enable the authors to write a coherent and deeply humanistic account, one that draws out the inner tragedies, ambiguities, and conflicts of the war.
Providing historically grounded explication of the conflicts that reshaped contemporary Peru, Shining and Other Paths will be widely read by Latin Americanists, historians, anthropologists, gender theorists, sociologists, political scientists, and human rights activists.
Contributors. Jo-Marie Burt, Marisol de la Cadena, Isabel Coral Cordero, Carlos Iván Degregori, Iván Hinojosa, Carlos Basombrío Iglesias, Florencia E. Mallon, Nelson Manrique, Hortensia Muñoz, Enrique Obando, Patricia Oliart, Ponciano del Pino H., José Luis Rénique, Orin Starn, Steve J. Stern

About the Series ix
Preface and Acknowledgments xi
Introduction. Beyond Enigma: An Agenda for Interpreting Shining Path and Peru, 1980–1995 / Steve J. Stern 1
Part I. Within and Against History: Conceptualizing Roots
1. From Race to Class: Insurgent Intellectuals de provincia in Peru, 1910–1970 / Marisol de la Cadena 22
2. On Poor Relations and the Nouveau Riche: Shining Path and the Radical Peruvian Left / Iván Hinojosa 60
3. Chronicle of a Path Foretold? Velasco's Revolution, Vanguardia Revolucionaria, and "Shining Omens" in the Indigenous Communities of Andahuaylas / Florencia E. Mallon 84
Part II. The Conquest that Failed: The War for the Center-South
Introduction to Part II 121
4. Harvesting Storms: Peasant Rondas and the Defeat of Sendero Luminoso in Ayacucho / Carlos Iván Degregori 128
5. Family, Culture, and "Revolution": Everyday Life with Sendero Luminoso / Ponciano del Pino H. 158
6. The War of the Central Sierra / Nelson Manrique 192
7. Villagers at Arms: War and Counterrevolution in the Central-South Andes / Orin Starn 224
Part III. Obliterating Third Paths: The Battles of Lima and Puno
Introduction to Part III 261
8. Shining Path and the "Decisive Battle" in Lima's Barriadas: The Case of Villa El Salvador / Jo-Marie Burt 267
9. Apogee and Crisis of a "Third Path": Mariateguismo, "People's War," and Counterinsurgency in Puno, 1987–1994 / José Luis Rénique 307
Part IV. Women as Citizen-Subjects: Exploring the Gendered War
Introduction to Part IV 341
10. Women in War: Impact and Responses / Isabel Coral Cordero 345
Part V. Political Rule, Political Culture: The Ironic Legacies of War
Introduction to Part V 377
11. Civil-Military Relations in Peru, 1980–1996: How to Control and Coopt the Military (and the consequences of doing so) / Enrique Obando 385
12. Alberto Fujimori: "The Man Peru Needed?" / Patricia Oliart 411
13. Sendero Luminoso and Human Rights: A Perverse Logic that Captured the Country / Carlos Basombrío Iglesias 425
14. Human Rights and Social Referents: The Construction of New Sensibilities / Hortensia Muñoz 447
Conclusion. Shining and Other Paths: The Origins, Dynamics, and Legacies of War, 1980–1995 / Steve J. Stern 470
Abbreviations and Organizations 477
Bibliography 481
Index 511
Contributors 533