Basic Trope: A civilian agency with paramilitary forces.
- Straight: StateSec is an autonomous organization within the Troperitanian Empire, subordinate directly to Glorious Supreme Leader Evulz, that uses a paramilitary army to help keep order. It also includes administrative, research, propaganda, political sections, a personal bodyguard and elite forces. Personnel puts great emphasis on ideology.
- Exaggerated:
- StateSec includes every civilian security agency, all intelligence agencies, its own fleets and planets, a paramilitary group, a section of regular military loyal to the Glorious Supreme Leader, a Praetorian Guard, Elite Troops to keep everyone in line, Special Elite Troops to keep the Elites in line, an Administrative division, a Science section, an Occult section, a Propaganda network, Judicial branch, the Horse Riding Club, a Social Engineering committee, and its own teen groups. Hard core personnel are obsessed with their ideology, considering any other viewpoints as treasonous, and relentlessly hunt down enemies of the empire with zealotry that would make the SS or Stalinist NKVD blush.
- There are at least three state sec agencies in Troperitania, and they spend as much time watching each other as watching everyone else. This was deliberately engineered by the Glorious Supreme Leader to keep them from getting out of hand.
- Downplayed:
- State Security is a small special investigation division under the Interior Affairs Ministry of Troperitania. Most of its personnel are civil investigators, with a few squads of Special Ops troopers attached to conduct raids on high-profile targets. They also have an armored corps of a few dozen Tankettes and IFVs, a fleet of a dozen river patrol small boats, and an air arm of several army hand-me-down helicopters. While its firepower is formidable against street gangs (even relatively large and well-equipped ones), the military could easily defeat it in open combat. Ideology is largely unimportant, though they quite dislike violent extremism of any political color and flavor.
- The Special Ministry has its own magic-using troops, but their main purpose is investigating and research, not warfare or playing politics.
- State Security is a benign and rather silly imitation of a far worse organization that existed back when The Empire was forming. It consists of people who like wearing fancy uniforms and having torchlight parades and talking of the "glory days" but who do nothing more evil then start a Bar Brawl when someone reminds them of what their supposed spiritual ancestors were like. The Emperor tolerates it because it keeps his subjects happy.
- Justified:
- Evulz decides he can't trust the Troperitarian military. To check their power, he arms his Security agency.
- Evulz decides that he needs to shape the world in his image. He creates StateSec, expanding his small bodyguard to create loyal tools to do his bidding.
- State Security regularly deals with enemies that require large amounts of firepower to handle.
- The Special Ministry is the only agency that knows anything about magic. Because of the paranormal nature of their enemies, The Ministry is the only ones with the knowledge / weapons that can deal with them.
- The post-war treaty limits the size of military forces, but doesn't specify anything anything about gendarmeries or other pararmilitary groups.
- Inverted:
- Troperitarian Military started off as the Secret Police. When their responsibilities expanded to include National Defense, the agency armed itself, changed its mandate and structure to become a regular armed force.
- As the war drags on and The Empire slides further and further into militarism, the military's role expands until they're basically running all of society (think Imperial Germany in the last couple years of WW1).
- Subverted:
- StateSec has over ten thousand troopers, plus their own tanks, ships, and aircraft. However, the vehicles are obsolescent, the soldiers poorly equipped and held in low regard, and their only duty is basically glorified border patrol.
- Despite the uniforms, military grade resources, and even its name StateSec is not a government organization at all. Not even as a formally abolished organization, The Remnant, or even a disputed government in civil war. They are nothing but a group of delusional terrorists with dreams of fascism that the actual democratic government works to eradicate.
- Double Subverted:
- After years of being a minor unknown agency, StateSec comes to center stage and becomes a major power player.
- StateSec are nothing but a group of delusional terrorists with dreams of fascism that the actual democratic government works to eradicate... or at least that's what the corrupt government wants you to think. In reality, the secret service has regular liaisons with them and regularly contracts them to do their dirty work. That's strictly classified, of course. Right up until The Coup happens, anyway.
- Parodied:
- The Post Office has their own army, due to the Ruler mistakenly assuming that the Postmaster-General was part of his Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- The ruler's maid has her own army. Keeping the palace clean is Serious Business!
- Zig Zagged: The nature and strength of StateSec is constantly shifting due to erratic political climate.
- Averted: The Dictatorship oddly lacks a StateSec, keeping the Secret Police a strictly civilian agency.
- Enforced: The author writes a book that is basically World War II in Space. To keep the historical allegories, he has his Evil Empire employ a StateSec.
- Lampshaded: "Seems like overkill to have the police run around with tanks."
- Invoked: Prime Minister Bob creates StateSec, hoping that it will enhance the image of his government. "And we'll have cool uniforms and every other country will respect us!"
- Exploited:
- A character creates StateSec, knowing that it could be manipulated to further the character's agenda.
- A character actively encourages the formation of StateSec in order to discredit the government as a "totalitarian dictatorship".
- The Four-Star Badass of the enemy army concentrates his attack on the State Sec forces knowing that they are incompetent soldiers who will be easily crushed and hoping that there will be a mutiny in the enemy camp once it becomes safe.
- The new ruler, knowing how much State Sec is hated forces all his political enemies to join State Sec. Then he orders The Purge, which mysteriously only kills said political enemies, but buys him popularity. He then abolishes State Sec only to form a new and scarier one that no one knows about except through rumors.
- Defied: Evulz realizes the unfortunate dangers of such an all-powerful organization, and works to make sure the Secret Police never has their own army. Should they need any firepower support, the secret police supervisor better have good relationships with the local police, army and/or gendarmerie units.
- Discussed: Bob and Alice discuss the pros and cons of their nation's StateSec.
- Conversed: "Why is it that all StateSecs seem to have the same dress code?"
- Implied: The Orange Section troopers who show up in the story every once in a while wear their own uniforms (which include armbands), have their own ranks and hierarchy, can do whatever they want regardless of the law, and regular military officers must obey them "or else". The astute reader will notice these hints, which suggest that Orange Section is a StateSec.
- Deconstructed:
- StateSec is more dangerous than the enemies they're supposed to fight. Their rivalry with the Military leads to greater tensions and reduced efficiency. Their zealousness may cause the populace to hate the government, which results in uprisings. And their political influence could make them a threat to the Ruler's power.
- Despite their fearsome reputation, StateSec troops regularly get slaughtered in battle. Being the "Elite", they're used to being treated like winners and are overconfident. Being led by political hacks with little to none experience or skill does not help. Also, a bunch of street thugs or bureaucrats used for political bullying are no match for trained soldiers.
- Reconstructed:
- StateSec is aware of the dangers itself can pose, and takes steps not to alienate the military, people, or government. Though they may be powerful and ruthless, they're at least respected (if not loved) by everyone.
- Because of the lack of military prowess, StateSec soldiers are used for garrison duty. While not as glamorous as being in battles, the Security troops are much better at policing than fighting.
- Played For Laughs: The government's policy of Bread and Circuses has resulted in a very high loyalty to its leadership, there's no war going on, and so the StateSec troopers are left with a lot of free time on their hands. Hilarity Ensues as they start detaining people for petty reasons, misuse military equipment for entertainment purposes, and generally fool around because they've got nothing better to do.
- Played For Drama: The story centers around a rank-and-file bureaucrat in the Empire who discovers that the StateSec is plotting to overthrow the Ruler, and must decide whose side to take before it is too late.
Back to State Sec.
