Paramilitary

A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion.

Paramilitary groups as extra-judicial "security" forces

These groups are neither a police agency nor a military organization, having elements of both but also lacking elements of both. These elements act outside the law and, in functional democracies, are both illegal and considered part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

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This sort of paramilitary force exists ostensibly to assure the internal control of a country and to suppress anarchy, civil war, but more often simply to suppress change. They are typically armed with small arms and wear military uniforms. They are also often equipped with tear gas and other non-lethal weapons. Such paramilitaries may be controlled by the ruling political party or by the head of state personally rather than by the legal government.

Related Topics:
Anarchy - Civil war - Small arms - Uniforms - Tear gas - Non-lethal

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In some situations, where the state or military apparatus is particularly weak or absent, they can act with a large degree of practical independence, having their own command structures and benefitting from private sponsors (instead of, or in addition to, any institutional ones), such as landowners, regional authorities, local interest groups, former victims of revolutionary paramilitary forces, warlords, drug lords or foreign interests. These sponsors may then be able to further extend their influence or control over the paramilitary forces, or even organize paramilitary groups of their own.

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These forces ostensibly operate to enforce the law but may act with disregard of the rule of law or at cross-purposes to the existing civilian or military authorities, which may or may not lead to confrontation if the resulting discrepancies are significant enough.

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Depending on their degree of political and financial autonomy, the relationship between the independent paramilitary forces and official institutions can vary from one of tolerance or incidental alliances (rather than of direct oversight and cooperation) to outright illegality. These groups may then act according to their own subset of tactical, economical and even political objectives, which may or may not be in opposition to those of the central government or established military command as a whole. Paramilitary forces have been responsible for some violations of the laws of war and for several atrocities.

Related Topics:
Laws of war - Atrocities

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Examples of this kind of paramilitary force include the Colombian right wing paramilitary groups such as the AUC and Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, such as the UVF/UFF.

Related Topics:
Colombia - AUC - Loyalist - UVF - UFF

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