Police state: Difference between revisions
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==Features of police states== |
==Features of police states== |
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There are many [[List of freedom indices|freedom indices]] which attempt to rate countries according to the amount of freedom they allow their citizens.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2010/12/annual-international-human-rights-ratings-announced/| author= Michael Kirk| title=Annual International Human Rights Ratings Announced| publisher=University of Connecticut| date=December 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world-2013/checklist-questions-and-guidelines| title=Checklist Questions and Guidelines| publisher=Freedom House| accessdate=October 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.fraserinstitute.org/uploadedFiles/fraser-ca/Content/research-news/research/publications/ch3-an-index-of-freedom-in-the-world.pdf| title=An Index of Freedom in the World| publisher=Fraser Institute| year=2012| page=4}}</ref> |
There are many [[List of freedom indices|freedom indices]] which attempt to rate countries according to the amount of freedom they allow their citizens.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2010/12/annual-international-human-rights-ratings-announced/| author= Michael Kirk| title=Annual International Human Rights Ratings Announced| publisher=University of Connecticut| date=December 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world-2013/checklist-questions-and-guidelines| title=Checklist Questions and Guidelines| publisher=Freedom House| accessdate=October 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.fraserinstitute.org/uploadedFiles/fraser-ca/Content/research-news/research/publications/ch3-an-index-of-freedom-in-the-world.pdf| title=An Index of Freedom in the World| publisher=Fraser Institute| year=2012| page=4}}</ref> States which fall at the bottom of these rankings have been described as countries "where basic political rights are absent, and basic civil liberties are widely and systematically denied."<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FIW%202013%20Booklet.pdf| title=Freedom in the World 2013| publisher=Freedom House| year=2013| page=4}}</ref> |
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Factors which are considered when determining the degree of freedom in a society include things such as: |
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* whether or not there are free and fair elections |
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* whether or not citizens have the right to organize opposition political parties |
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* whether or not opposition parties have a realistic hope of increasing their support or winning elections |
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* whether or not the political process is dominated by powerful interests |
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* whether or not minority groups have political rights |
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* whether or not elected representatives actually hold power |
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* whether or not the political process is free of corruption |
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* whether or not the government is accountable for its actions |
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* whether or not the government operates with openness and transparency |
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* whether or not the government tries to change the ethnic composition of the country |
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* whether or not the media are free and independent |
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* whether or not religious freedom is allowed |
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* whether or not academic freedom exists |
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* whether or not there is political indoctrination in the schools |
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* whether or not citizens are permitted to freely express their opinions |
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* whether or not citizens are free to gather, demonstrate and express themselves in a public setting |
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* whether or not citizens are allowed to freely form groups and associations |
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* whether or not the rule of law is observed and all citizens are treated equally |
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* whether or not there is political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture |
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* whether or not citizens have the right to travel, move, and choose their occupation |
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* whether or not citizens have the right to own property and operate businesses without excessive interference |
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* whether or not citizens are free in their personal lives (choice of marriage partner, size of family, etc.) |
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* whether or not there is gender equality and equality of opportunity |
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* whether or not there is economic exploitation<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world-2013/checklist-questions-and-guidelines| title=Checklist Questions and Guidelines| publisher=Freedom House| accessdate=November 22, 2013}}</ref> |
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States which fall at the bottom of these rankings have been described as countries "where basic political rights are absent, and basic civil liberties are widely and systematically denied."<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FIW%202013%20Booklet.pdf| title=Freedom in the World 2013| publisher=Freedom House| year=2013| page=4}}</ref> |
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==Examples of states with police state-like attributes== |
==Examples of states with police state-like attributes== |
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A police state is a state in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic, and political life of the population. A police state typically exhibits elements of totalitarianism and social control, and there is usually little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the executive.
The inhabitants of a police state experience restrictions on their mobility, and on their freedom to express or communicate political or other views, which are subject to police monitoring or enforcement. Political control may be exerted by means of a secret police force which operates outside the boundaries normally imposed by a constitutional state.[1]
History of usage
The Oxford English Dictionary traces the phrase "police State" back to 1851. The German term Polizeistaat came into English usage in the 1930s with reference to totalitarian governments that had began to emerge in Europe.[2]
Genuine police states are fundamentally authoritarian, and are often dictatorships. However the degree of government repression varies widely among societies. Most regimes fall into some middle ground between the extremes of civil libertarianism and totalitarianism.
In times of national emergency or war, the balance which may usually exist between freedom and national security often tips in favour of security. This shift may lead to allegations that the nation in question has become, or is becoming, a police state.
Because there are different political perspectives as to what an appropriate balance is between individual freedom and national security, there are no definitive objective standards to determine whether the term "police state" applies to a particular nation at any given point in time. Thus, it is difficult to evaluate objectively the truth of allegations that a nation is, or is not becoming, a police state. One way to view the concept of the police state and the free state is through the medium of a balance or scale, where any law focused on removing liberty is seen as moving towards a police state, and any law which limits government oversight is seen as moving towards a free state.[4]
An electronic police state is one in which the government aggressively uses electronic technologies to record, organize, search, and distribute forensic evidence against its citizens.
Features of police states
There are many freedom indices which attempt to rate countries according to the amount of freedom they allow their citizens.[5][6][7] States which fall at the bottom of these rankings have been described as countries "where basic political rights are absent, and basic civil liberties are widely and systematically denied."[8]
Examples of states with police state-like attributes
 |
| Full democracies: 9-10 8-8.9 Flawed democracies: 7-7.9 6-6.9 No data | Hybrid regimes: 5-5.9 4-4.9 Authoritarian regimes: 3-3.9 2-2.9 0-1.9 |
As previously discussed, it is impossible to objectively determine whether a nation has become or is becoming a police state.[citation needed] As a consequence, to draw up an exhaustive list of police states would be inherently flawed. However, there are a few highly debated examples which serve to illustrate partial characteristics of a police state's structure. These examples are listed below.
The South African apartheid system was generally considered to have been a police state despite having been nominally a democracy (albeit with the Black African majority population excluded from the democracy).
The Soviet Union and its many satellite states, including North Korea and East Germany, were notorious for their extensive and repressive police and intelligence services with, e.g. approximately 2.5% of the East German adult population serving (knowingly or unknowingly) as informants for the Stasi.
Nazi Germany, a dictatorship, was, at least initially, brought into being through a nominal democracy, yet exerted repressive controls over its people. Nazi Germany was indeed a police state; using the SS/SA to assert control over the population in the 1930s.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders ranked North Korea second last out of 168 countries in a test of press freedom.[9] It has been reported that the only TV channel in North Korea predominately eulogises the country's past leaders Kim Jong Il and his father Kim Il Sung. As a result, some locals in Pyongyang have been quoted as stating that their leaders are gods.[10]
George Churchill-Coleman, who headed Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist squad in the United Kingdom, stated he had a "horrible feeling" that Britain was moving in the direction of a police state.[11] Claims of police state behaviour have been dismissed by the UK government.[12]
Etymology
The term "police state" was first used in 1851, in reference to the use of a national police force to maintain order, in Austria.[13]
Enlightened absolutism
Under the political model of enlightened absolutism, the ruler is the "highest servant of the state" and exercises absolute power to provide for the general welfare of the population. This model of government proposes that all the power of the state must be directed toward this end, and rejects codified, statutory constraints upon the ruler's absolute power. Thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes supported this type of absolutist government.[citation needed]
As the enlightened, absolute ruler is said to be charged with the public good, and implicitly infallible by right of appointment, even critical, loyal opposition to the ruler's party is a crime against the state. The concept of loyal opposition is incompatible with these politics. As public dissent is forbidden, it inevitably becomes secret, which, in turn, is countered with political repression via a secret police.
Liberal democracy, which emphasizes the rule of law, focuses on the police state's not being subject to law. Robert von Mohl, who first introduced the rule of law to German jurisprudence, contrasted the Rechtsstaat ("legal" or "constitutional" state) with the aristocratic Polizeistaat ("police state").[14]
Fictional police states
Fictional police states have been featured in a number of media ranging from novels to films to video games. George Orwell's 1984 has been described as "the definitive fictional treatment of a police state, which has also influenced contemporary usage of the term".[15]
See also
- Counterintelligence state
- Dictatorship
- List of forms of government
- Martial law, the suspension of normal civil law during periods of emergency
- Military dictatorship
- Rechtsstaat (German)
- Surveillance state
References
- ^ A Dictionary of World History, Market House Books, Oxford University Press, 2000.
- ^ The New Police Science: The Police Power in Domestic and International edited by Markus Dubber, Mariana Valverde
- ^ http://polisci.la.psu.edu/faculty/Casper/caspertufisPAweb.pdf
- ^ Police State (Key Concepts in Political Science), Brian Chapman, Macmillan, 1971.
- ^ Michael Kirk (December 10, 2010). "Annual International Human Rights Ratings Announced". University of Connecticut.
- ^ "Checklist Questions and Guidelines". Freedom House. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ^ "An Index of Freedom in the World" (PDF). Fraser Institute. 2012. p. 4.
- ^ "Freedom in the World 2013" (PDF). Freedom House. 2013. p. 4.
- ^ "North Korea Rated World's Worst Violator of Press Freedom". America.gov. 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
- ^ "Life in the secret state". BBC News. 2001-09-01. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
- ^ Travis, Alan (2005-01-28). "Britain 'sliding into police state'". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ^ "No 10 rejects police state claim". BBC News. 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, Third edition, January 2009; online version November 2010. <http://www.oed.com:80/Entry/146832>; accessed 19 January 2011.
- ^ The Police State, Chapman, B., Government and Opposition, Vol.3:4, 428–440, (2007). Accessible online at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119912141/abstract, retrieved 15th August 2008.
- ^ [1]
External links
- Amnesty international, 2005 — annual report on human rights violations.
- Council for Secular Humanism article describing attributes of police states
- David Mery, September 22, 2005; The Guardian — example of "police state" defined in a modern context.