| LC control no. | sh 85097857 |
|---|---|
| Topical heading | Paramilitary forces |
| Variant(s) | Forces, Paramilitary Militias (Paramilitary forces) Paramilitaries Private militias |
| See also | Armed Forces Military art and science |
| Found in | Encarta world Eng. dict. (paramilitary: n. (pl. -ies) unofficial soldier) Jalālzaʼī, Mūsá K̲h̲ān. Whose army : Afghanistan's shrinking army, war criminals, private militias and the future of civil war, 2014. Merriam-Webster dictionary online, May 10, 2022: militia (plural: militias; 3 : a private group of armed individuals that operates as a paramilitary force and is typically motivated by a political or religious ideology; specifically : such a group that aims to defend individual rights against government authority that is perceived as oppressive) paramilitary (This term paramilitary can take in a wide range of organizations, but is usually applied to forces formed by a government. Groups opposing a government, even when organized along military lines, are more often referred to as guerrillas or insurgents. In countries with weak central governments (such as, in recent times, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, or Congo), warlords may form their own paramilitary forces and take over all local police and military functions. Paramilitary often has a sinister sound today, since it's also applied to groups of off-duty military or police personnel who carry out illegal violence, often at night, with the quiet support of a government) Dictionary.com, May 10, 2022: militia (4. a body of citizens organized in a paramilitary group and typically regarding themselves as defenders of individual rights against the presumed interference of the federal government) 5 things you need to know about private militia groups, 2021, via National Policing Institute website, May 10, 2022 (Strictly defined, militias are unauthorized, armed private paramilitary groups that present a threat to public safety; Experience gained from armed conflicts around the world suggests that, when left unchecked, militias formed with seemingly the best of intentions--for example, as patriots or freedom fighters--routinely morphed into little more than elaborate criminal gangs, severely damaging communities, policing efforts, and the very countries in which they were formed) |
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