The Shining Path

Abstract

Sendero Luminoso in Peru is an exemplary illustration of the theory of incubation in action in a real-world context. This chapter systematically analyzes Sendero’s prewar activities and demonstrates how this organization successfully underwent the full gamut of incubation processes outlined in Chapter 3. In so doing, this chapter was guided by three central questions. First, among Peru’s political and contextual milieu, how did Sendero manage to get anyone to buy into its particular narrative at a time when most discontents were committed to nonviolent collective action? Second, why did it take a decade before Sendero actually launched its revolutionary campaign?