Para- military force

Join date : 2012-01-30

Quote :: ParamilitaryA paramilitary is a 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]

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.

For instance, in Northern Ireland, paramilitary refers to any illegal armed group with a political purpose, but in Colombia, paramilitary refers only to illegal armed right-wing groups (such as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia) that are not in direct opposition to the government, while illegal armed left-wing groups rebelling against the government (such as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) are referred to as guerrillas.[2]

This one sounds similar to the police. They are not the states formal armed force but they are a force - the police force. The police could be viewed as a palamilitary force, enforcing the will of the state, using force to advance the cause of government.
In this modern world of corporate governance it could be argued that the police force or paramilitary force, is a private army of non military status. In itself it doesnt have any political agenda, it is politically neuteral, it provides a service of enforcement and protection to the corporate government at the time.
As government comes and goes, it is perhaps a force under the control of the civil service and privy council as these change much less often.
Statute law will have us believe they are here (the force) to protect and serve the people but reality shows us that is not the case.