Thanks, Tequila!

Quote Originally Posted by tequila View Post
A rather longer list of countries with no standing armies.

I would not count Hamas as having a standing army as opposed to a militia force. Hizbullah comes much closer.

A far better non-state example than either as far as success in levying taxation and progress towards a professionalized army would be the LTTE, which also has a small navy and air force. The LTTE also does not enjoy state sponsorship in the way that Hamas and Hizbullah do.
I've got to agree with you on the LTTE as well.

I think the entire point behind this pat of the discussion is really to look at the question: what defines a nation state and are their entities that have all the core characteristics that are not nation states.

Marc