The "parallel state" is a term coined by American historian Robert Paxton to describe a collection of organizations or institutions that are state-like in their organization, management and structure, but are not officially part of the legitimate state or government. They serve primarily to promote the prevailing political and social ideology of the state. The parallel state differs from the more commonly used " state within a state" in that they are usually endorsed by the prevailing political elite of a country, while the "state within a state" is a

pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...

term to describe state-like institutions that operate without the consent of and even to the detriment to the authority of an established state (such as churches and religious institutions or

secret societies A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

with their own laws and court systems). Parallel states are common in

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sph ...

societies, such as

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

, and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Organizations usually associated with the idea of a Parallel state include

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

, unions, intelligence agencies, and

militaries A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

'Parallel States' academic studies

"Parallel States" is also a study into the possibility of uniting one country while giving them two states parallel to each other in power and representation; both those states would however be compliant to one central-authority. This study was also suggested as a corner-stone for possible peace scenarios in war torn countries. One such example is the "Parallel States Project", hosted at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

, which seeks to explore the potential for a "Parallel States" approach to proposing a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Examples

Turkey

Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

has used the term "parallel state" (or "parallel structure") to describe followers of

Fethullah Gülen Muhammed Fethullah Gülen (27 April 1941 – 20 October 2024) was a Turkish Ulama, Muslim scholar, preacher, and leader of the Gülen movement who as of 2016 had millions of followers. Gülen was an influential Neo-Ottomanism, neo-Ottomanist, A ...

who occupy senior bureaucratic and judicial positions, which have been accused of attempting to bring down Erdoğan's government. This is in contrast to the meaning of the term initially coined by Paxton, and instead resembles the term "state within a state." Gülen's Cemaat movement, which has a large presence within Turkey, has allegedly been involved in limiting the power of the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

through the

Ergenekon trials The Ergenekon trials or the Ergenekon conspiracy, were a series of high-profile trials which took place in 2008–2016 in Turkey in which 275 people, including military officers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, all alleged members of Erge ...

and the Sledgehammer case while allied with Erdoğan. Following the 2013–14 protests against Erdoğan's government, the Cemaat Movement turned against Erdoğan, who thereupon labelled them as a "parallel state."Turkey's Erdogan battles 'parallel state'
Mark Lowen, 17 December 2014 ''BBC News'', accessed 23 May 2022 Erdoğan has blamed Gülen's followers on orchestrating the 2013 government corruption scandal, as well as the 2016 coup attempt.

References

Political science terminology Forms of government {{polisci-stub

'Parallel States' academic studies

Examples

Turkey

See also

References