ENEMY OF THE STATE

An 'enemy of the state' is a person accused of certain crimes against the state, such as treason. Usually, describing individuals in this way is a manifestation of political repression. For example, an authoritarian regime may purport to maintain national security by describing social or political dissidents as "enemies of the state".

★ In the case of Ancient Rome, see "Proscription".

★ In the Soviet Union during the period of Stalinism, the corresponding term was Enemy of the people.

★ For a prominent example in fiction, see Emmanuel Goldstein.

★ ''An Enemy of the State'' (ISBN 1-57392-809-7) is the title of a book about Murray Rothbard by Justin Raimondo.