Sabotage efforts depend on local circumstances and conditions. The best way to resist the Soviet Union is different from the best way to resist the Roman Empires is different from the best way to resist the Mongol Empire is different from the best way to resist the Japanese Empire. The best way to resist the Japanese Empire in Taiwan was different from resisting it in Shanghai was resisting it in Tokyo was different from resisting it in Hokkaido. Even for those living in Tokyo, it depended on your race, your social class, your gender, your skills and your economic situation.
I want to emphasize this very clearly, perhaps more than most kinds of war, protracted war is very much shaped by local conditions and so has to be highly modified to fit those conditions.
Srđa Popović emphasizes this idea too in his book Blueprint for Revolution. Thus, I cannot provide good answers for “a hypothetical, imaginary Evil Empire”. I need to understand the technology, the culture, the history, the terrain, the politics, the economics, foreign affairs, etcetera. Heterogeneity is on the side of the insurgent.
The techniques used in one situation can be counterproductive in another situation. For example, women standing barechested like Lady Liberty works great in France. Not so much in Saudi Arabia.
Well, I agree, and thanks for the links! I don’t want to ask how to sabotage real countries, though, answering that would be illegal in some countries and I don’t want to accidentally get anyone in trouble.
Even in a real “evil empire”, sabotage is all about targets of opportunity. If you see something important that you can screw up with an acceptable level of risk, you screw it up. It depends entirely on what’s near you and what you have access to. Most often, when you have access to something, that’s a sign that you already know how to break it and at least something about what the impact would be.
Sabotage efforts depend on local circumstances and conditions. The best way to resist the Soviet Union is different from the best way to resist the Roman Empires is different from the best way to resist the Mongol Empire is different from the best way to resist the Japanese Empire. The best way to resist the Japanese Empire in Taiwan was different from resisting it in Shanghai was resisting it in Tokyo was different from resisting it in Hokkaido. Even for those living in Tokyo, it depended on your race, your social class, your gender, your skills and your economic situation.
Srđa Popović emphasizes this idea too in his book Blueprint for Revolution. Thus, I cannot provide good answers for “a hypothetical, imaginary Evil Empire”. I need to understand the technology, the culture, the history, the terrain, the politics, the economics, foreign affairs, etcetera. Heterogeneity is on the side of the insurgent.
The techniques used in one situation can be counterproductive in another situation. For example, women standing barechested like Lady Liberty works great in France. Not so much in Saudi Arabia.
Well, I agree, and thanks for the links! I don’t want to ask how to sabotage real countries, though, answering that would be illegal in some countries and I don’t want to accidentally get anyone in trouble.
Even in a real “evil empire”, sabotage is all about targets of opportunity. If you see something important that you can screw up with an acceptable level of risk, you screw it up. It depends entirely on what’s near you and what you have access to. Most often, when you have access to something, that’s a sign that you already know how to break it and at least something about what the impact would be.