What is the difference between an "Insurgent" and a "Rebel"?

EmptyForceOfChi said:
What is the difference between an "Insurgent" and a "Rebel"

Peace.
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Insurgent(noun): A rebel or revolutionary.

Rebel(noun): A person who rises in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or ruler.

Not much of a difference in book meaning. In application though, the media refers to insurgents as Middle-Eastern terrorists.

Hope that answers your question.
 
An insurgent usually means someone who lives in the country that they are fighting for while a rebel could be a mercenary from anywhere brought in to help the insurgents .
 
I would have thought the main difference is that insurgencies are always aggressive, whereas rebellions can be peaceful.

So in this regard: while all insurgents are rebels, not all rebels are insurgents.
For example, Ghandi was a rebel, but he was not an insurgent.
 
Sarkus said:
I would have thought the main difference is that insurgencies are always aggressive, whereas rebellions can be peaceful. So in this regard: while all insurgents are rebels, not all rebels are insurgents. For example, Ghandi was a rebel, but he was not an insurgent.
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That's the distinction that Wikipedia makes, although I don't find it in the dictionaries: an insurgent is an armed rebel.
 
Really? It's the way I've always understood the terms (Wiki or not)... fairly interchangeable on the most part. I guess it's 'cos I can't recall ever hearing of a peaceful insurgency. ;)
 
Sarkus said:
I would have thought the main difference is that insurgencies are always aggressive, whereas rebellions can be peaceful.

So in this regard: while all insurgents are rebels, not all rebels are insurgents.
For example, Ghandi was a rebel, but he was not an insurgent.
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That is also my opinion. (A rebellious child is not an insurgent.)
 
Emil said:
That is also my opinion. (A rebellious child is not an insurgent.)
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Indeed. "Rebel" can be applied to a teenager who doesn't come home on time, a music composer who likes chromatic scales and polyrhythmic structure, or a member of the office staff who wears business-casual clothes on Tuesday.

An "insurgent" is a much more serious problem to a whole lot more people. He is attempting to overthrow a government, or at the very least its control over a local area. This generally involves violence, although these days it might be done with some sophisticated computer hacking.
 
In a nation allied with the USA, someone fighting the government there is an insurgent. In a nation not allied with the USA, someone fighting the government there is a rebel or freedom fighter.:bugeye:
 
StrangerInAStrangeLa said:
In a nation allied with the USA, someone fighting the government there is an insurgent. In a nation not allied with the USA, someone fighting the government there is a rebel or freedom fighter.
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I don't find that to be true. The newspapers I read refer to armed rebels who are actively trying to overthrow the government of any country--friend or foe--as insurgents. Although I'll grant you they are not consistent. I think it varies from one writer to the next. Sometimes they refer to them as rebels, again with no regard to our relationship to the government they're trying to overthrow.
 
the word insurgent has been used when someone is fighting the US compared to rebel when they are fighting either a nation the US doesnt care about (like congonese rebels) or when they are surported by the US (Libya)
 
Asguard said:
the word insurgent has been used when someone is fighting the US compared to rebel when they are fighting either a nation the US doesnt care about (like congonese rebels) or when they are surported by the US (Libya)
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Perhaps in your newspapers. I have not found that usage at all consistent in ours. As I said, I'm not sure many people know the difference. They just think "insurgent" is a fancy word for "rebel."
 
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