Organization similar to, but not part of, a military
Legion of Frontiersmen , Edmonton Command, 1915 – a nationalist paramilitary group not officially affiliated with theCanadian Army Aparamilitary is a force or unit that functions and is organized in a manner analogous to a military force, but does not have professional or legitimate status.[ 1] Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934.[ 2] political organization especiallyfar-right politics groups and by many different organizations.[ 3] violence ,political repression ,ethnic cleansing ,genocide andcrimes against humanity .[ 4] internal security /SWAT vehicles ), or even actual military equipment (such asarmored personnel carriers ;[citation needed usuallymilitary surplus resources) that are compatible with their purpose, often combining them with skills from other relevant fields such aslaw enforcement ,coast guard , orsearch and rescue .[citation needed A paramilitary may fall under the command of amilitary , train alongside them, or have permission to use their resources, despite not actually being part of them.[ 5]
Under thelaw of war , a state may incorporate a paramilitary organization or armed agency (such as alaw enforcement agency or a private volunteermilitia ) into itscombatant armed forces. Some countries' constitutionsprohibit paramilitary organizations outside government use .
A group of the "Forest Brothers " in centralEstonia meeting with a German unit in 1941 The Steel Shirts copying theNazi salute during its rally inSyria Depending on the definition adopted, "paramilitaries" may include:
Military organizations [ edit ] Private military contractors andmercenaries Irregular military forces, such asmilitias ,partisans ,resistance movements ,freedom fighters ,rebel groups ,liberation armies ,guerrilla armies ,militants ,insurgents , andterrorist groups .State-parallel armed groups such as the SudaneseRapid Support Forces and the IraqiPopular Mobilization Forces [ 6] Semi-militarized law enforcement units within civilian police, such aspolice tactical units ,SWAT ,Emergency Service Units , andincident response teams Gendarmeries , such as the FrenchNational Gendarmerie , ChinesePeople's Armed Police , DutchRoyal Marechaussee , EgyptianCentral Security Forces , EuropeanEUROGENDFOR , TurkicTAKM , and ChileanCarabineros de Chile Border guards , such as theU.S. Border Patrol ,Australian Border Force , IndianBorder Security Force ,Bangladeshi Border Guard Bangladesh , and Turkishvillage guards Security forces of ambiguous military status, such asinternal troops ,railroad guard corps , andrailway troops Branches ofgovernment agencies such asintelligence agencies tasked with law enforcement, tactical support, or security operations, such as theCentral Intelligence Agency 'sSpecial Activities Center andGlobal Response Staff , or theU.S. Department of Energy 'sFederal Protective Forces Examples of paramilitary units [ edit ] ^ "paramilitary" .Oxford English Dictionary Oxford University Press . June 2011 [online edition; original published in June 2005]. Retrieved2011-09-13 .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. ^ "paramilitary" Oxford English Dictionary (Subscription orparticipating institution membership required.) ^ Doxsee, Catrina (August 12, 2025)."Examining Extremism: The Militia Movement" .Center for Strategic and International Studies . ^ Dasgputa, Sunil (April 6, 2003)."Paramilitaries on the March" .Brookings . ^ Böhmelt, Tobias; Clayton, Govinda (February 2018)."Auxiliary Force Structure: Paramilitary Forces and Progovernment Militias" .Comparative Political Studies .51 (2):197– 237.doi :10.1177/0010414017699204 .hdl :10654/38817 ISSN 0010-4140 . ^ Aliyev, Huseyn (2016)."Strong militias, weak states and armed violence: towards a theory of 'state-parallel' paramilitaries" (PDF) .Security Dialogue .47 (6):498– 516.doi :10.1177/0967010616669900 .
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