The blurring border between the police and the military
| Date | 01 September 2011 |
| Author | Tomáš Weiss |
| Published date | 01 September 2011 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0010836711416961 |
| Subject Matter | Review Article |
Cooperation and Conflict
46(3) 396 –405
© The Author(s) 2011
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DOI: 10.1177/0010836711416961
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The blurring border between
the police and the military:
A debate without foundations
Tomáš Weiss
Abstract
This review article reviews the current ‘state of the art’ and literature on the role of the police
and military within the changing nature of internal and external security. Some scholars believe
that the border between these two forces has recently begun to blur, whereas others strongly
disagree. This article argues that the current debate lacks comprehensiveness and conceptual
underpinning. It is suggested that definitional differences between the two forces should serve as
the basis for detailed and comprehensive future case studies.
Keywords
external security, internal security, military, police
Introduction
The 1990s witnessed a major shift in scholarly thinking on security resulting from a
double challenge to traditional approaches. First, the traditional view of the state as a
territorial container has been put into question because of pressures connected with
globalization (and European integration) and the decoupling of many state functions
from the spatial framework (cf. Agnew, 1994; Naím, 2006; Kofman, 2007). Some have
even argued for a conceptual shift to a ‘postmodern state’ (Cooper, 2004; Sørensen,
2005). Second, constructivism-inspired approaches, such as securitization, have shifted
attention from the state to other actors and from the traditional military security to other
types of threat (Buzan et al., 1998). As a result, we encounter a thoroughly new concep-
tion of the world suggesting that many key attributes of the state’s role in providing
security are changing. Scholars and politicians alike have tried to cope with the new
situation, developing concepts such as ‘new wars’ (Kaldor, 1999), ‘human security’,
‘responsibility to protect’, and ‘humanitarian intervention’ (cf. Waisová, 2003). Others
Corresponding author:
Tomáš Weiss, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, Rytirska 31, CZ-11000 Prague 1, Czech
Republic
Email: weiss@fsv.cuni.cz
416961CAC46310.1177/0010836711416961WeissCooperation and Conflict
Review Article
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