Guardia Civil in the National Security Structure of the Kingdom of Spain

Abstract

The objectives of the article are to analyze the origins of the Guardia Civil formation, to analyze the organizational structure of the formation, as well as the scope of its competence. However, the overarching research goal is to define the Guardia Civil as a police, military or hybrid formation. The paper will use the method of legal act analysis and institutional analysis. The analysis of will include Spanish legal acts, literature, journalistic texts as and Spanish public order formations with a special focus on the Guardia Civil. A comparative analysis of the Guardia Civil, Policía Nacional and Policía Local will become an element that will allow to situate the described formation in the national security structure of the country. In the chapter characterizing Spain's security structure, the comparative section will also include local services and the Armed Forces. The article consists of an introduction and seven substantive chapters, describing the issues addressed in turn. The work concludes with a summary, which includes conclusions, relating to the research objectives set.