A police state is a government that controls citizens’ daily lives using coercive power. The police serve as an instrument of social control, and political dissent may be illegal. Techniques include secret police, electronic surveillance, and religious police. Even democratic states have used police as social control. Countries with limited press freedom and individual rights are often considered police states.
A police state is a jurisdiction where the government controls the daily lives of its citizens using coercive power. The police in a police state serve as an instrument of social control, in lieu of or in addition to the police service. Political dissent might be illegal in a police state, and the government might prevent its citizens from leaving. Historical examples of police states include authoritarian regimes such as Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and apartheid South Africa. Modern authoritarian regimes such as Myanmar and North Korea in the early 21st century have been considered police states by some observers.
All states restrict the individual freedoms of their citizens to some extent. As a result, “police state” is often viewed as a loaded and controversial term. What a critic of the government might call a repressive measure, a supporter might call a strategy needed to fight crime, terrorism or subversion.
Coercion and control techniques
The techniques police states use to enforce their rules vary. Common strategies include the use of secret police who infiltrate anti-government groups and report them to the government. Electronic surveillance is also common. Phones and the internet are typically monitored and video surveillance could be used to track public movement. This type of police state is often referred to as a surveillance state.
In some police states, the religious police work alongside the regular police. For example, some countries have had volunteer patrols whose members reinforce their opinion on religious morality or customs. The punishment inflicted by these willful forces is sometimes considered harsh by outside observers.
Police ranks
Typically, a police state will be a dictatorship or other type of authoritarian regime. Even democratic or constitutional states, however, have sometimes used the police as a form of social control. Between 1956 and 1971, for example, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted undercover operations against groups and individuals it deemed subversive. Similarly, in the UK, opponents of video surveillance in public areas and increased police powers have argued that these constitute police state tactics. Critics of excessive government intervention in citizens’ lives, such as extensive health and safety regulations, have coined the term “nanny state” to describe this phenomenon.
Limited freedom
Some non-governmental organizations publish country rankings based on issues such as press freedom and individual rights in those countries. Many of the lowest-ranked countries on these lists have all the makings of a police state. While it can be difficult to judge at times, therefore, most analysts feel comfortable identifying as police states those repressive regimes in which the machinery of the state is used to limit freedom and stifle dissent.
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