Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a military-esque force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces.[1] Under the Law of Armed Conflict, a state may incorporate a paramilitary organization or armed agency charged with police functions into its armed forces. The other parties to a conflict have to be notified thereof.[2]
The term paramilitary is subjective, depending on what is considered similar to a military force, and what status a force is considered to have. The nature of paramilitary forces therefore varies greatly according to the speaker and the context.
Mercenaries and Private Military Companies are not paramilitaries. Under international law signed by 32 nations as of 2012, the training, recruiting and use of mercenary forces is prohibited.[3]
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Types of Paramilitaries [edit]
Depending on context, paramilitaries can include:
- Irregular military forces: militias, guerrillas, insurgents, and so forth
- The auxiliary forces of a state's military
- Some kinds of police forces, e.g. auxiliary police
- Gendarmeries, e.g. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Gendarmerie royale du Canada), Egyptian Central Security Forces and India's Central Reserve Police Force
- Border guards, e.g. Russia's Border Guard Service
- Security forces of ambiguous military status, e.g. Russia's Internal Troops
- Armed units of US national intelligence services such as the Special Activities Division of the CIA or the Hostage Rescue Team of the FBI
- Youth cadet organizations with no wartime role, e.g. India's National Cadet Corps and Canada's Royal Canadian Army Cadets, Royal Canadian Air Cadets and Royal Canadian Sea Cadets
Examples [edit]
- The Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
- The National Security Guards of India
- The GSG-9 of Germany
- The Spetsnaz of Russia
- The Blackshirts of Fascist Italy
- The Basij of Iran
- The Fedayeen Saddam of Ba'athist Iraq
- The Rangers of Pakistan
- The Patriotic Guards of Communist Romania
- The Schutzstaffel (SS), and Sturmabteilung (SA) of Nazi Germany
- The Village Guards of Turkey
- The SWAT of the United States
- State Defense Forces of individual US States
- The Ulster Volunteer Force of United Kingdom
- The Provisional Irish Republican Army of Ireland
- The Red Guards of Maoist China
- The Mobile Brigade (Indonesia) of Indonesia
See also [edit]
- Category:Paramilitary organizations
- Category:Rebel militia groups
- Weimar paramilitary groups
- Paramilitary forces of India
- Fourth-generation warfare
- Private army
References [edit]
- ^ "paramilitary". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. June 2005; online version June 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-13. "Designating, of, or relating to a force or unit whose function and organization are analogous or ancillary to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having professional or legitimate status."
- ^ http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_cou_nl_rule4_sectionb
- ^ International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, 4 December 1989
Further reading [edit]
- Golkar, Saeid. (2012) Paramilitarization of the Economy: the Case of Iran's Basij Militia, Armed Forces & Society, Vol. 38, No. 4
- Golkar, Saeid. (2012). Organization of the Oppressed or Organization for Oppressing: Analysing the Role of the Basij Militia of Iran. Politics, Religion & Ideology, Dec., 37–41. doi:10.1080/21567689.2012.725661
External links [edit]
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