Internal security
Encyclopedia
Internal security, or IS, is the act of keeping peace within the border
s of a sovereign state
or other self-governing territories
. generally by upholding the national law
and defending against internal security threats. Responsibility for internal security may range from police
to paramilitary
forces, and in exceptional circumstances, the military
itself.
, large scale violence
, or even an armed insurgency
. Threats to internal security may be directed at either the state's citizens, or the organs and infrastructure of the state
itself, and may range from petty crime
, serious organised crime, political or industrial unrest, or even domestic terrorism
. Foreign powers may also act as a threat to internal security, by either committing or sponsoring terrorism or rebellion
, without actually declaring war
.
. Depending on the state, a state's internal security will be maintained by either the ordinary police or law enforcement agencies or more militarised police forces (known as Gendarmerie). Other specialised internal security agencies may exist to augment these main forces, such as border guards, special police units, or aspects of the state's List of intelligence agencies. In some states, internal security may be the primary responsibility of a secret police force.
The level of authorised force used by agencies and forces responsible for maintaining internal security might range from unarmed police
to fully armed paramilitary
organisations, or employ some level of less-lethal weapon
ry in between. For violent situations, internal security forces may contain some element of military type equipment such as non-military armored vehicles
.
on national or federal
levels. As the concept of internal security refers to the entity of the state and its citizens, persons who are threats to internal security may be designated as an enemy of the state
or enemy of the people
.
Persons detained by internal security forces may either be dealt with by the normal criminal justice
system, or for more serious crimes against internal security such as treason
, they may face special measures such as secret trial
s. In times of extreme unrest, internal security actions may include measures such as internment
(detention without trial).
, enforcing internal security will generally not be carried out by a country's military
forces, whose primary role is external defence, except in times of extreme unrest or other state of emergency
, short of civil war
. Often, military involvement in internal security is explicitly prohibited, or is restricted to authorised military aid to the civil power
as part of the principle of civilian control of the military
. Military special forces units may in some cases be put under the temporary command of civilian powers, for special internal security situations such as counter terrorism operations.
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
s of a sovereign state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
or other self-governing territories
Self-governance
Self-governance is an abstract concept that refers to several scales of organization.It may refer to personal conduct or family units but more commonly refers to larger scale activities, i.e., professions, industry bodies, religions and political units , up to and including autonomous regions and...
. generally by upholding the national law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and defending against internal security threats. Responsibility for internal security may range from police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
to paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
forces, and in exceptional circumstances, the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
itself.
Threats to internal security
Threats to the general peace may range from low-level civil disorderCivil disorder
Civil disorder, also known as civil unrest or civil strife, is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe one or more forms of disturbance caused by a group of people. Civil disturbance is typically a symptom of, and a form of protest against, major socio-political problems;...
, large scale violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, or even an armed insurgency
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
. Threats to internal security may be directed at either the state's citizens, or the organs and infrastructure of the state
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
itself, and may range from petty crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
, serious organised crime, political or industrial unrest, or even domestic terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
. Foreign powers may also act as a threat to internal security, by either committing or sponsoring terrorism or rebellion
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
, without actually declaring war
Declaration of war
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one nation goes to war against another. The declaration is a performative speech act by an authorized party of a national government in order to create a state of war between two or more states.The legality of who is competent to declare war varies...
.
Forces and agencies
Governmental responsibility for internal security will generally rest with an interior ministry, as opposed to a defence ministryDefence minister
A defence minister is a person in a cabinet position in charge of a Ministry of Defence, which regulates the armed forces in some sovereign nations...
. Depending on the state, a state's internal security will be maintained by either the ordinary police or law enforcement agencies or more militarised police forces (known as Gendarmerie). Other specialised internal security agencies may exist to augment these main forces, such as border guards, special police units, or aspects of the state's List of intelligence agencies. In some states, internal security may be the primary responsibility of a secret police force.
The level of authorised force used by agencies and forces responsible for maintaining internal security might range from unarmed police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
to fully armed paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
organisations, or employ some level of less-lethal weapon
Less-lethal weapon
Non-lethal weapons, also called less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than are conventional weapons...
ry in between. For violent situations, internal security forces may contain some element of military type equipment such as non-military armored vehicles
Non-military armored vehicles
Non-military armored vehicles are armored vehicles used outside of professional armed forces. While primarily invented and used for defense from an equally well armed organized force, armor technology has found a number of other uses outside of this military context.-Internal security...
.
Justice aspects
Depending on the organisation of the state, internal security forces may have jurisdictionJurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
on national or federal
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
levels. As the concept of internal security refers to the entity of the state and its citizens, persons who are threats to internal security may be designated as an enemy of the state
Enemy of the state
An enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the state, such as treason. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example, an authoritarian regime may purport to maintain national security by describing social or political...
or enemy of the people
Enemy of the people
The term enemy of the people is a fluid designation of political or class opponents of the group using the term. The term implies that the "enemies" in question are acting against society as a whole. It is similar to the notion of "enemy of the state". The term originated in Roman times as ,...
.
Persons detained by internal security forces may either be dealt with by the normal criminal justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
system, or for more serious crimes against internal security such as treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
, they may face special measures such as secret trial
Secret trial
A secret trial is a trial that is not open to the public, nor generally reported in the news, especially any in-trial proceedings. Generally no official record of the case or the judge's verdict is made available. Often there is no indictment...
s. In times of extreme unrest, internal security actions may include measures such as internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
(detention without trial).
Relationship with the military
Depending on the nature of the specific state's form of governmentForm of government
A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...
, enforcing internal security will generally not be carried out by a country's military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
forces, whose primary role is external defence, except in times of extreme unrest or other state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
, short of civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
. Often, military involvement in internal security is explicitly prohibited, or is restricted to authorised military aid to the civil power
Military Aid to the Civil Power
Military aid to the civil power is assistance by the armed forces to the civil authorities of the state with the provision of specialist equipment or trained personnel...
as part of the principle of civilian control of the military
Civilian control of the military
Civilian control of the military is a doctrine in military and political science that places ultimate responsibility for a country's strategic decision-making in the hands of the civilian political leadership, rather than professional military officers. One author, paraphrasing Samuel P...
. Military special forces units may in some cases be put under the temporary command of civilian powers, for special internal security situations such as counter terrorism operations.
See also
- Homeland securityHomeland securityHomeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...
- RSHARSHAThe RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt was an organization subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacities as Chef der Deutschen Polizei and Reichsführer-SS...
- National securityNational securityNational security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
- Private security
- McCarran Internal Security ActMcCarran Internal Security ActThe Internal Security Act of 1950, , also known as the Subversive Activities Control Act or the McCarran Act, after Senator Pat McCarran , is a United States federal law of the McCarthy era. It was passed over President Harry Truman's veto...
of 1950 (US)