Security apparatus

Each country creates its own security apparatus. In doing so it aims to validate the fundamental attributes of a sovereign and independent state as a subject of international law. This apparatus is not only supposed to defend the territorial integrity of the state, but also to help the state administration to enforce the legal state as well as the observance of law and order. In democratic societies, the structure of the security apparatus is transparent, being based on adopted legislation and subjected to independent evaluation.

In totalitarian societies the security apparatus not only fulfils the role of the supervisor and guardian of adopted legislation, but it often gets abused by the totalitarian power for deliberate interventions against opponents of the regime. Such a reppressive apparatus plays one of the most important roled within the set totalitarian system of the state. It is controlled by, it receives orders from and is fully subjugated to the interests of the governing establishment. It is fully under control of the state party and its decision making positions are occupied by faithful party members.

In Communist Czechoslovakia, the reppressive security apparatus was composed of the following forces: the National security corps (Public security and State security), the People’s militia, units of the Czechoslovak people’s army and the Corps of correctional education. After the collapse of the totalitarian regime in the ČSSR at the end of 1989, parts of this security apparatus were either directly dissolved, or they were purged and transformed into a new, democratic form.