Paramilitary Groups
Paramilitary Groups.The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term paramilitary as “ancillary to and similarly organized to military forces.” Almost all paramilitary organizations in American history developed in response to a threat of real or perceived violence from social groups or institutions. These organizations have varied from bands of frontier horse thieves to agencies of the U.S. government. Paramilitary organizations, both legal and extralegal, were based on the assumption that violence must be met with violence, mobilized either offensively or defensively, to protect a way of life. They have shared several characteristics. At its most basic, a paramilitary group was structured to resemble or imitate a command or military organization. Though it may have been hired or even organized by the state, a paramilitary group was not a direct extension of the state, differentiating it from a government's regular armed forces, militias, or police forces....
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