Europe, hypermilitarised policing and the authoritarian state

This piece contains edited excerpts from a larger report by the author, ‘Paramilitary Policing Against the People: Colonial Continuities and the Challenge from Below’ published by the Institute of Race Relations in 2025, which warns that paramilitary policing at borders, during civil unrest and against public protest now affects Europe’s citizens and non-citizens alike, and racialised groups particularly. It explains exactly why such hypermilitarised policing has evolved now and focuses on the growth in the use of ‘less lethal weaponry’ as a material indicator of the move, indicating how people are being killed and seriously injured by state forces.