Mediterranean Constabulary Forces: Theory, Practice, Solution?

We received this overview of a soon to be published book from the author, Ms. Karina Marczuk. Marczuk is the Deputy Director of the Office of the Secretary of the State, Deputy Chief of the Crisis Management Team of the State within the National Security Bureau -- Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland. This SWJ blog post is an excerpt from a much longer and detailed article published in the January -- March edition of Romanian Military Thinking. We encourage our readers to visit their link for a detailed discussion of Marczuk's book and an European view of the security role of police forces.

Mediterranean Constabulary Forces: Theory, Practice, Solution?

Karina Paulina Marczuk

Contemporary American and European international relations researchers, security analysts and strategists have noted the importance of maintaining security, inside traditional nation-states and during operations abroad. The larger part of modern literature notes that only police forces with military status (known as paramilitary forces, gendarmerie-type forces or constabulary forces) can provide security and public order management, especially during the stabilization phase of peacekeeping operations.

The issue of maintaining public security and public order within states and during interventions abroad by police forces with military status is discussed in my soon-to-be-published book Mediterranean Constabulary Forces -- Theory, Practice, Solution?

The subject of the book is constabulary forces in several Mediterranean countries (French National Gendarmerie, Italian Carabineers Army, Portuguese National Republican Guard, Romanian Gendarmerie, Spanish Civil Guard and Turkish Gendarmerie). I attempt to answer such questions as: Does only one, common and universal definition of gendarmerie-type forces exist? What should we call them, according to the rules of European (dominated by French and Italian researchers) and American schools? What were the common features of Mediterranean constabulary forces in the past and what are they now? How have national, internal and public security and public order conceptions changed in the post-Cold War period? What is the role of the so-called Barry Buzan Copenhagen School (broad security conception) of security in this process? What does the broad conception of security mean for modern constabulary forces? What is the position of gendarmeries in the national security systems of the states? Are the constabulary forces a new tool to provide public order and security inside the country and during peacekeeping operations? And finally, does the international cooperation of Mediterranean police forces with military status form a basis for European cooperation in the internal security field?

In attempting to answer these questions, my book provides a brief description of the French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Turkish constabulary forces. I also explore the American system for keeping order and tranquility inside and outside the country -- the activity of the US Army National Guard, which is a de facto reserve army. Last but not least, I address the Polish Gendarmerie history and the changes in the Polish system of internal security after 1989, when former President Lech Walesa intended to create a National Guard of the Republic of Poland.

The first part of the book consists of two theoretical chapters. Chapter I - The Nature of Mediterranean Constabulary Forces: Police Forces with Military Status, discusses the unique nature of the constabulary forces, based on historical and contemporary backgrounds in the selected Mediterranean countries. I seek common features among these gendarmeries and attempt to establish a common name for them, using both European and American approaches. To compare Mediterranean gendarmeries with the American system, the chapter contains a short analysis of the American Army National Guard as an example of a reserve arm. Comparing all the mentioned schools, I establish a new title for modern constabulary using the phrase "auxiliary forces" -- derived from the Latin word auxilia. Auxila troops were expeditionary forces used by the Roman Empire to keep order in its colonies.

Chapter II is devoted to the role of Constabulary forces in the national security systems of states. It concerns contemporary definitions of security, national security and international security and the relations between them. The lesson here is a new approach to security matters which today means a broad security concept (the so-called Copenhagen School by Barry Buzan) that is developing into a human security theory. I also address the internal aspect of security, including public order and public security management. It is necessary to note that the borderline between internal and external security is blurring. That is why some researchers start to talk about intermestic security (a neologism made from two words: inter and domestic) because of the threats posed by trans-national groups (organized crime and terrorists).

The second part of the book (Chapters III -- VI) provides descriptions of French, Portuguese, Romanian, Italian, Spanish and Turkish gendarmerie forces. These descriptions are based on official publications, as well as on internal documents which the I received from Polish and foreign governmental institutions.

In Chapter III I stress that in France, Portugal and Romania a similar model of the internal security structure exists, based on the Napoleonic gendarmerie-type force. Here we can find a comparison between these three formations, including their history, contemporary tasks and competence. The purpose is to explore common features.

Chapter IV - The Army of Carabineers as the Fourth Kind of Italian Armed Force, gives examples from the history of Italian Carabineers, their contemporary tasks and position in the national security system of Italy. The history of this formation and the history of Italian small states resulted in the Carabineers becoming the fourth pillar of the Italian Armed Forces. Being a militarized institution, the Carabineers were able to serve as one of the important factors during the unification process of Italy in the 19th century. Their present tasks include the fight against the mafia and participation in peacekeeping operations.

Chapter V - The Civil Guard in Spain: A Return to Civilian Police Forces discusses the present changes in the structure and organization of the Spanish Civil Guard. In September 2006, the Spanish Government established that the Guardia Civil (GC) must have the same Director General as the Spanish National Police - the type of reform made in Belgium and Austria, where gendarmerie-type forces no longer exist. Today, the Civil Guard is the main formation devoted to the fight against Basque terrorism and illegal immigrants.

Chapter VI - The Turkish Gendarmerie: The Concept of Military Police Units, provides a description of this formation. It is necessary to stress that Jandarma is the most militarized gendarmerie in the Mediterranean region. This section discusses its history, the role played by the father of the modern Turkish state Mustafa Kemal Atatí¼rk and finally, it examines the changes in the structure of its formation in Turkey's attempt to become a member of the European Union.

Chapter VI is Institutionalization of the Cooperation of Mediterranean Constabulary Forces and explores a system for European co-operation in the internal security field.