Colombian state and non-state actors are engaging in an important conceptual debate concerning the nature of a "new" type of armed group in the country. The state labels these groups "BACRIM" (criminal gangs), arguing that they are actors of organized crime. Members of civil society reject the state's conceptualization, arguing that these groups are paramilitaries operating in the context of the armed conflict. These organizations explain that "new" groups commit the same systematic human rights violations and adhere to the same modus operandi as the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, an umbrella organization of over 30,000 paramilitaries that the government supposedly demobilized in a 2005 negotiation. The state, in turn, argues that paramilitarism no longer exists in Colombia and that these "new" groups do not adhere to the counterinsurgent political ideology that was characteristic of paramilitarism. My research project is a nuanced analysis of the Colombian state and non-state debate concerning these "new" armed groups. I combine interviews with state and civil society representatives with historical contextualization in order to understand what is at stake in the positions that both sides are aggressively fostering in the debate. In conceptualizing these "new" groups, many key informants engaged in a renegotiation of the state-formed historical memory concerning paramilitarism. An analysis of the trajectory of paramilitary activity reveals the protection of important elite economic and political interests as the driving force of paramilitarism; this paramilitary project fits within the goals of a state-sponsored economic process of capital accumulation. In utilizing the paramilitary label, civil society highlights these as the structural causes of paramilitarism. The state, in turn, attempts to cement its simplified definition of paramilitarism as a counterinsurgency project in removing the term 'paramilitary' from the official discourse. Furthermore, in erasing paramilitarism from the discourse, the state attempts to disassociate itself with a dark history of human rights violations against civilians. To fully understand the debate in Colombia is to understand more generally the power and weight of words in denouncing or, conversely, in silencing important issues of human rights and, ultimately, in accurately or inaccurately constructing historical memory of armed conflict. / text

Univ., Diss.--Kassel, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 415-423) and indexes.

Univ., Diss.--Kassel, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 415-423) and indexes.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Security Building in a Post-Conflict Environment))--Naval Postgraduate School, Dec. 2004. / Thesis Advisor(s): Gaye Christoffersen, Lyman Miller. Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-76). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--American University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 597-628).

Determining what constitutes the proper role and characteristics of a constabulary has received renewed interest in recent years as the international community increasingly involves itself in peace and stability operations. The U.S. invasion of Iraq has further stimulated discussion over how foreign powers should go about establishing security institutions within a host nation, particularly in one as turbulent as Iraq. Recent events in both Iraq and Afghanistan have made clear the importance of indigenous police forces, or constabularies, to pacification and state-building operations. Effective constabularies can perform the key role of separating insurgents from the population and giving substance and legitimacy to federal and local government. This thesis examines two U.S.-organized paramilitaries: the Philippine Constabulary (1901-1917) and the Haitian Gendarmerie (1916-1934). It argues that in both the Philippines and Haiti, the constabularies became armies, and the instruments of autocratic rule, because American military officers allowed the militarization of the police forces to become institutionalized without also establishing normative constraints on the use of military power. The thesis contends that American military authorities undermined the constabularies’ suitability for enforcing civil law by aggressively developing their military capabilities to meet the challenges of fighting violent insurgencies. Both organizations generalized their pragmatic responses to immediate circumstances without considering the long term implications for them as institutions. The historical experience of the Constabulary and Gendarmerie testify to the real temptation for leaders to stretch an organization beyond its mandate or capabilities by focusing on success and victory over purpose and the ends for which the organization exists.

Determining what constitutes the proper role and characteristics of a constabulary has received renewed interest in recent years as the international community increasingly involves itself in peace and stability operations. The U.S. invasion of Iraq has further stimulated discussion over how foreign powers should go about establishing security institutions within a host nation, particularly in one as turbulent as Iraq. Recent events in both Iraq and Afghanistan have made clear the importance of indigenous police forces, or constabularies, to pacification and state-building operations. Effective constabularies can perform the key role of separating insurgents from the population and giving substance and legitimacy to federal and local government. This thesis examines two U.S.-organized paramilitaries: the Philippine Constabulary (1901-1917) and the Haitian Gendarmerie (1916-1934). It argues that in both the Philippines and Haiti, the constabularies became armies, and the instruments of autocratic rule, because American military officers allowed the militarization of the police forces to become institutionalized without also establishing normative constraints on the use of military power. The thesis contends that American military authorities undermined the constabularies’ suitability for enforcing civil law by aggressively developing their military capabilities to meet the challenges of fighting violent insurgencies. Both organizations generalized their pragmatic responses to immediate circumstances without considering the long term implications for them as institutions. The historical experience of the Constabulary and Gendarmerie testify to the real temptation for leaders to stretch an organization beyond its mandate or capabilities by focusing on success and victory over purpose and the ends for which the organization exists.

Thesis (M.S. in Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2005. / Thesis Advisor(s): William R. Gates, Bill Hatch. Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-107). Also available online.

This thesis examines the relationship between the Popular Mobilization Forces and the state in post-conflict Iraq. It critically assesses their link as mutually exploitative and derives back their agency to both actors. The concept of hybridity, to characterise a behaviour that is simultaneously cooperative and competitive, is applied to both terms of the dyad. Overcoming the Western conception of the state, the research offers to consider the Iraq as a post- Weberian system where hybrid state and non-state actors collaborate to offer an alternative political order.

The Turkish General Command of the Gendarmerie, as a paramilitary police force, provides public security and order for people throughout 81 provinces and 902 districts. The Gendarmerie performs security and public order services in 92% of Turkey geographically and for 41% of the total population. Approximately 27 million people live in Gendarmerie jurisdiction areas / this number increases to 43 million (65% of the population) in the summer months. This study is an organizational analysis of the current assignment process of the Turkish General Command of the Gendarmerie. The analysis recommends long-term and short-term policy changes and implementation methodologies to the assignment process while taking into consideration such a geographically diverse region and often difficult assignment choices for individuals. In addition to the law-enforcement-related operations, the Gendarmerie is tasked to carry out various other types of operations, such as border security, antiterrorism, and peacekeeping. The Gendarmerie Organization, Duty, and Jurisdiction Law classifies these duties under four categories: administrative, judicial, military, and other duties. As a result of this job diversity, the Gendarmerie personnel perform different tasks in different unit areas. Therefore, the existence of geographically diverse billet characteristics has been an obstacle in the Gendarmerie assignment process.