Since the end of The Second World War there have been a number of insurgencies in which Marxist forces have fought against pro-Western governments. In some cases the Marxists have come to power, as in Vietnam, Cuba, Kampuchea, Laos, Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, South Yemen, and Nicaragua. In others the Marxists have been defeated, as in Greece, Malaya, and Oman. But whether they have won or lost, the West has seen itself on the defensive against the Marxists. Since the mid-1970s, though, a new phenomenon has taken place. Pro-Soviet Marxist Third World governments have had to fight armed internal opponents in Afghanistan, Kampuchea, Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua. Further, these Marxist governments have been unable to defeat their opponents even after many years of fighting.

The term “anti-Soviet insurgency” is not really the most accurate description of these conflicts. For the most part, the forces opposing pro-Soviet governments are not primarily motivated by anti-Soviet or even anti-communist concerns, but by local factors. The term “anti-Soviet insurgency” is nevertheless a useful one, for it points out a larger problem faced by Soviet foreign policy. No matter what the cause of each of these insurrections might have been, they demonstrate that the rule of pro-Soviet Marxist–Leninist governments in the Third World is not especially secure. Although none of these pro-Soviet Marxist–Leninist governments has yet been overthrown by guerrilla forces, neither have Marxist governments been able to defeat the guerrillas.