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Parallel state

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 they are not ocially
part of the legitimate state or government. They serve
primarily to promote the prevailing political and social
ideology of the state.
The parallel state diers 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 hurches and religious institutions or secret societies with their owns laws and court systems).
However, Turkeys former Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdoan has used the term parallel state (or parallel structure) to describe followers of Fethullah Glen
who occupy senior bureaucratic and judicial positions,
which have been accused of attempting to bring down
Erdoans government. This is in contrast to the meaning of the term initially coined by Paxton, and instead
resembles the term state within a state. Glens Cemaat
Movement, which has a large presence within Turkey,
have been involved in limiting the power of the Turkish
Armed Forces through the Ergenekon trials and the
Sledgehammer case while allied with Erdoan. Following the 2013-14 protests against Erdoans government,
the Cemaat Movement turned against Erdoan, who thus
labelled them as a parallel state. Erdoan has blamed
Glens followers on orchestrating the 2013 government
corruption scandal.
Parallel states are common in totalitarian societies, such
as Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Soviet Union, and
North Korea and are youth organizations, leisure organizations, work/labor collectives, unions, and militias.

1 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Text

Parallel state Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel%20state?oldid=623435434 Contributors: Giraedata, Woohookitty, RHaworth, Iridescent, PamD, Addbot, CrocodylusPontifex, America Needs Satan, Yobot, T.C. Ataturkiye and Anonymous: 4

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Images

File:Leviathan.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Leviathan.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:


Unknown Original artist: Unknown

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Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

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