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| -Land of the Free |
| Are militias a menace? |
| 2015-01-07 |
| Via Western Rifle Shooters Association: A Hokie prof confuses militias and gangs, but inadvertently described what may be happening with the recent announcement by the Black Panthers that they will start patrolling their neighborhoods in Dallas. The conclusions, but read the whole thing: [WashingtonPost] For states mobilizing militia forces in counterinsurgency, then, the crucial lesson is to do more by doing less. Instead of showering militias with resources and training to ensure their dependence on the state and compliance with directives, it is often better to encourage self-sufficiency and preserve and deepen local roots as much as possible. Of course, as Kimberly Marten argues, relying on tribal networks and clan-based norms to check the behavior of armed groups is far from perfect. Instead of fostering egalitarian and inclusive notions of national citizenship, it reinforces patterns of male dominance and exclusivist kinship relationships. Yet, in the crucible of war and insurgencies, these relationships and the discipline they produce may be the best that can be hoped for. What Stephen Krasner and Merilee Grindle call “good enough” governance of security by armed non-state actors is a worthy goal when the alternative is continued bloodshed. My own research suggests that militias tend to emerge when states lack the coercive and administrative capacity to centralize power and instead must co-opt local powerbrokers, tribal leaders and warlords. Dependence on militias, then, becomes a self-perpetuating cycle; institutional weakness begets more weakness, necessitating continuing commitments to militia mobilization. Learning to work with those that are actually capable of providing security and protection to local communities is better than waiting in vain for strong and responsive states to arrive. One of the academics quoted in the WaPo piece, Goran Peic published this, which describes government supplied militia groups. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #1 Are militias a menace? Only white militias in the U.S. Black and Muslim militias not so much. (sarc on). |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2015-01-07 12:11 |