Samenvatting

Against the backdrop of a complex and dynamic security arena, this exploratory Research Paper
aims to contribute to a better understanding of the concept of military policing. Military policing
is usually defined as the performance of police-related tasks by the military.
However, from the very start of this paper it should be clear that definitions vary from one
country to another, as it may refer to a section of the military responsible for policing certain
areas of responsibility (“provosts”) of the armed forces against criminality by military or civilian
personnel; it may also refer to a section of the military that is responsible for policing the armed
forces as well as the civilian population (mostly known as gendarmerie forces such as the Italian
Carabinieri or the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee), or to a part of the military that only polices the
civilian population (such as the Romanian gendarmerie); and ultimately military policing may
be conducted by so-called reserve forces of the Army that become active (for instance as a Federal
Forces) during times of war.
In doing so, the paper seeks to position the exploration of military policing in the context of the
of the blurring lines between police and military, as well as the changing security landscape
and the impact for the performance of the policing task. While the paper refers to the NATO
Military Police Doctrine (AJP 3.21) (NATO, 2019) and the NATO Stability Policing Doctrine (AJP 3.220)
(NATO, 2016), it does not aim to repeat the contents of these doctrines. Several defence forces
within the NATO-member states and beyond tend to be confronted with questions concerning the
distribution of tasks among security providers. However, this analysis does not exclusively focus
on military policing by NATO-members, but occasionally also look at other practices of military
policing around the world.
This Research Paper starts with an analysis of emerging security threats: for decades we have
witnessed an increasingly dynamic relationship between national and international security.
There has been a proportionate decrease of interstate wars. Meanwhile the presence of violent
non-state actors and insurgents has increased, in the physical as well as the virtual arena. The
upsurge of fluid, asymmetric violence and insurgency as well as the long-term security deficits
generated by genocide, civil war or suppression requires a strategic shift of all security forces,
ranging from internal to external security, from national to international security actors, and from
military to police organizations.
Hence, a reflection is required on the effects of emerging security threats on the classic division
between police and military: on the one hand, civil police organizations increasingly have to turn
their perspective towards the link between internal and external security, while on the other hand
defence forces are increasingly asked to perform so-called “constabulary tasks” within the context
of both national security as well as international military missions. The traditional boundaries are
thus subject to a blurring process: “green goes blue, while blue goes green”. . Constabularization
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of the military as well as militarization of the police are simultaneous trends in need of further
analysis in the context of this research paper.
Meanwhile, gendarmerie organizations seem ideally equipped to manage security challenges
on the crossroads of internal and external security: not only are they trained, educated and
drilled in military operational action, they also carry a formal mandate to perform policing tasks,
often complementary to public police organizations, and mostly positioned at the higher end
of the violence spectrum. One of the objectives of this Research Paper is to enhance a deeper
understanding of the current and future role of gendarmerie organizations in the context of the
changing security paradigm
A parallel and pressing development is the evolution of the NATO-doctrine on military policing,
which will have a binding impact on the relevant security organizations in all NATO-Member
States. In the Netherlands, this development includes organizational and cultural challenges such
as the implementation of the Mission Command1
, the training of the “officer of the future”, and
positioning the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee in view of national and international demands.
As a consequence, this Research Paper also delves into the various elements of the military policing
doctrine and seeks to analyse what will be needed in terms of training, education and research in
order to ensure a smooth implementation of new doctrinal demands. Eventually, this results in
sketching a typology of military policing.
In sum, the first objective of this Research Paper is to prepare a basis for future reference in
education and research. It does do by offering a reflection on the changing security landscape,
the blurring lines between police and military, as well as an analysis of consequences for the
performance of the policing task. The written text is primarily based on a selection of authoritative
literature on core subject matters. The target audience of this Research Paper primarily consists
of Bachelor and Master Students at the Netherlands Defence Academy and relevant teaching
and research staff, as well as the wider academic community of scholars on military policing,
gendarmerie organizations and plural policing. In order to optimize academic access and stimulate
educational reading, this publication will be distributed both in print as well as online