Power and policy - A comparative study on the state use of paramilitary forces in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and Ukraine

Abstract: Combative paramilitary forces are an unconventional but not unusual notion in warfare. The purpose of this study is to explain how the domestic and international power of a state affect its decision to support and align itself with paramilitary forces in war. By comparing the state alignment in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and Ukraine, the study sets out to explain the phenomena by utilizing existing theories of comparative politics and foreign policy analysis. After having classified the two states as domestically powerful and internationally weak, it is concluded that paramilitary alignment can be regarded as a strategy induced by the executive authority of government and the small degree of social organization and cohesion of society. Further the study argues that civil members can be regarded as a resource of the state - mobilizable and extractable for military purposes. Lastly the concept of “Bolted Policy” is introduced as a theory of how certain policies can change the domestic power dynamics and hence the strategy of a state.