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 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 with their own laws and court systems).
Parallel states are common in
totalitarian societies, such as
Nazi Germany,
Fascist Italy
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
, and
Imperial Japan,
parties,
youth organizations, leisure organizations, work/labor collectives,
unions, and
militias.
Use of the term in Turkey
However,
Turkey's former Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...
has used the term "parallel state" (or "parallel structure") to describe followers of
Fethullah Gülen 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 through the
Ergenekon trials
The Ergenekon trials were a series of high-profile trials which took place on 2008–2016 in Turkey in which 275 people, including military officers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, all alleged members of Ergenekon, a suspected secularist ...
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." Erdoğan has blamed Gülen's followers on orchestrating the
2013 government corruption scandal, as well as the
2016 coup attempt.
'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, which seeks to explore the potential for a "Parallel States" approach to proposing a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
[Mathias Mossber]
Parallel States - a New Vision for Peace
28 May 2011 ''www.lunduniversity.lu.se'', accessed 22 May 2022
See also
*
State within a state
References
Political science terminology
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