Changes: Paramilitary

Revision as of 20:32, 24 January 2021

Iranian soldier shooting with DShk — Paramilitaries of Iran man a heavy machine gun during Iran-Iraq War

A paramilitary (sometimes listed as quasi-military) is a militarised 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.

Types

Depending on context, "paramilitaries" may include:

Irregular forces

Irregular military forces: militias, guerrillas, insurgents, and so forth

Auxiliary forces

The auxiliary forces of a state's military
State Defense Forces of individual US States

Law enforcement

Some kinds of police forces, e.g. auxiliary police
The GSG-9 of Germany
Gendarmeries, e.g. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Gendarmerie royale du Canada), Egyptian Central Security Forces and India's Central Reserve Police Force
The Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza of Italy
Border guards, e.g. Russia's Border Guard Service
Security forces of ambiguous military status, e.g. Russia's Internal Troops
Militarized police forces, e.g. Law enforcement officers and SWAT Teams of the United States

Political

Weimar paramilitary groups
The Patriotic Guards of Communist Romania
The Waffen, Schutzstaffel (SS), Sturmabteilung (SA) and Hitler Youth (HJ) (From 1940 onwards) of Nazi Germany
The Red Guards of Maoist China
In the United Kingdom, the term is often restricted to armed groups involved in the Northern Ireland Troubles, such as the Ulster Volunteer Force or the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Also the Irish National Liberation Army and the Irish Republican Army
The Basij of Iran
The Fedayeen Saddam of Ba'athist Iraq

Government agencies

CIA Special Activities Center.
DEA Special Response Team.

Home guards

Volunteer Defence Corps, such as Volunteer Defence Corps in Thailand, Volunteer Defence Corps in Australia, Shanghai Volunteer Corps, and Royal Hong Kong Regiment.

Civil Defence

The fire departments of many countries and locales, although unarmed, are often organized in a manner similar to military or police forces.
The Belgian Civiele Bescherming and Singapore Civil Defence Force.
The Australian State Emergency Service.

Examples

The Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
The National Security Guards of India
The Spetsnaz of Russia
The Rangers of Pakistan
The Village Guards of Turkey
The Mobile Brigade (Indonesia) of Indonesia
The Special Task Force of Sri Lanka

References

↑ "paramilitary". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. June 2005; online version June 2011. http://oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=paramilitary. 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."
↑ "Customary IHL - Section B. Incorporation of paramilitary or armed law enforcement agencies into armed forces". Icrc.org. http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_cou_nl_rule4_sectionb. Retrieved 2013-07-27.

External links

Look up paramilitary in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Paramilitary and the edit history here.

[Reference-OED-paramilitary-1] "paramilitary". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. June 2005; online version June 2011. http://oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=paramilitary. 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."

[2] "Customary IHL - Section B. Incorporation of paramilitary or armed law enforcement agencies into armed forces". Icrc.org. http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_cou_nl_rule4_sectionb. Retrieved 2013-07-27.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 ===Law enforcement===
 * Some kinds of [[police forces]], e.g. [[auxiliary police]]
+* The [[GSG-9]] of Germany
 * [[Gendarmerie]]s, e.g. [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] (Gendarmerie royale du Canada), Egyptian [[Central Security Forces]] and India's [[Central Reserve Police Force]]
+* The [[Carabinieri]] and [[Guardia di Finanza]] of Italy
 * [[Border guard]]s, e.g. Russia's [[Border Guard Service of Russia|Border Guard Service]]
 * Security forces of ambiguous military status, e.g. Russia's [[Internal Troops]]
-* Militarized police forces, e.g. [[Law enforcement in the United States|Law enforcement officers]] of the United States
+* Militarized police forces, e.g. [[Law enforcement in the United States|Law enforcement officers]] and SWAT Teams of the United States
 ===Political===
+* [[Weimar paramilitary groups]]
 * The [[Patriotic Guards (Romania)|Patriotic Guards]] of Communist Romania
 * The [[Waffen]], [[Schutzstaffel]] (SS), Sturmabteilung (SA) and [[Hitler Youth]] (HJ) (From 1940 onwards) of [[Nazi Germany]]
 * The [[Red Guards (China)|Red Guards]] of [[Maoist China]]
 * In the United Kingdom, the term is often restricted to armed groups involved in the [[Northern Ireland Troubles]], such as the [[Ulster Volunteer Force]] or the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]]. Also the [[Irish National Liberation Army]] and the [[Irish Republican Army]]
+* The [[Basij]] of Iran
+* The [[Fedayeen Saddam]] of Ba'athist Iraq
 ===Government agencies===
@@ Line 43: / Line 48: @@
 * The [[United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia|Self-Defense Forces]] of Colombia
 * The [[National Security Guards]] of India
-* The [[GSG-9]] of Germany
 * The [[Spetsnaz]] of [[Russia]]
-* The [[Carabinieri]] and [[Guardia di Finanza]] of Italy
-* The [[Basij]] of Iran
-* The [[Fedayeen Saddam]] of Ba'athist Iraq
 * The [[Pakistan Rangers|Rangers]] of Pakistan
 * The [[Village guard system|Village Guards]] of Turkey
-* The SWAT units of some Law Enforcement agencies in the [[United States]]
 * The [[Mobile Brigade (Indonesia)]] of [[Indonesia]]
 * The [[Special Task Force]] of Sri Lanka
@@ Line 57: / Line 57: @@
 * [[:Category:Paramilitary organizations]]
 * [[:Category:Rebel militia groups]]
-* [[Weimar paramilitary groups]]
 * [[Paramilitary forces of India]]
 * [[Fourth generation warfare|Fourth-generation warfare]]