> Each battalion and police station aims to maintain reasonable peace in their own district (in cooperation with local authorities) and ignores other orders. W

> Each battalion and police station aims to maintain reasonable peace in their own district (in cooperation with local authorities) and ignores other orders. Well, considering that this is how domestic police and national guard already operate in the US—with police operating under municipal authority, or under the authority of the local elected sheriff, and with national guard operating under the authority of each state governor—I don't think observing this would give you any indication that the republic is under threat. In fact, your points 1, 2 and 3 seem to describe the normal operation of American democracy for the past 200 years or so, with regards to most domestic affairs.