Mao Zedong often emphasized the relationship between politics and war, as two sides of the same coin. Politics and violence must be present in the right balance — if there were too much violence and not enough politics, the purpose of the revolutionary insurgency would be lost in an ever-escalating civil war, but if there were too much politics and not enough violence, the insurgency would be weak and would never achieve its goals. The keys to a successful revolutionary insurgency, according to Mao, were a multi-dimensional combination of extensive organization, popular support, and a three-stage revolutionary strategy.

By Mao’s definition, insurgency is primarily political rather than military, even though part of his strategy was training terrorist groups in guerilla-style warfare. The basic structure of a rebellion is the tetrahedral pyramid, in which the leaders at the top are more visible, with a strong foundation of public sentiment that is not easily seen. The cell system fits well into the pyramid. This structure misleads authorities, making them concentrate on obvious targets while the insurgency grows, hidden among the ordinary people. Zedong strongly emphasized the need for all people, especially peasants, to side with the revolution.

Mao’s strategy required careful planning. In the first stage of insurgency, he avoided direct battles until he had enough time to build up the base of supporters for his politics. This required the dissemination of information against the government to people throughout the country, especially in the rural areas. The information was designed to bring the people together and to persuade them so they would be in favor of the revolution when it arrived. Otherwise, the Party would not win.

Simultaneously with the distribution of information, a network of secret cells was developed; these were individuals dedicated to the cause and willing to fight for it. They trained in terrorist practices and guerilla tactics.. These two procedures — informing the public and building fighting cells — represented the first stage of Zedong’s plan of insurgency.

During the second stage, the network of cells began to act using guerilla warfare. This took place primarily in rural or mountainous areas where it was more difficult for the government to force them into the open, and the government was separated from directly influencing certain portions of the population. This type of violence is intended to harass the government and keep them busy using up their resources with little danger to the insurgents themselves. Guerilla warfare, as opposed to conventional war, forces the authorities into a defensive position. An important aspect of this stage is that the insurgents can return to the first stage if needed, since they have not yet revealed their true power. In the latter part of stage 2, the insurgency seeks to satisfy the needs and desires of the people, in order to increase their loyalty.

Finally, when the insurgents’ full strength was gathered, the strategy moved into the third stage, which was open civil war. By this time, the government had been weakened by the guerilla tactics, but the cell members have maintained their strength. The revolutionary party used all the resources it had to overthrow the ruling class.

Mao Zedong’s keys to insurgency, which included organization, public support, and his three-step strategy, were clearly successful, since, by using these keys, he was able to overcome the leaders of China and win the battle for communism. The Maoist revolution in China is a useful model for other groups wishing to overthrow their governments.