SSR Resource Center

• Philippines' Security Sector and the War on Drugs By: Alix Valenti Although the Republic of the Philippines is not generally recognised as a violent or fragile state, since ex-Davao mayor Rodrigo Duterte was elected President on 30 June 2016, the country has been regularly making the headlines. CSG Senior Fellow Alix Valenti explains why Duterte's war on drugs has proved to be particularly bloody. Article

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Although the Republic of the Philippines (hereafter referred to as ‘the Philippines’) is not generally recognised as a violent or fragile state, since ex-Davao mayor Rodrigo Duterte was elected President on 30 June 2016, the country has been regularly making the headlines. The war on drugs Duterte has been waging since becoming President, and to which he partly owes his victory, has proved to be particularly bloody.

The UN defines security sector reform as a process which goal is: “the enhancement of effective and accountable security for the state and its peoples, without discrimination and with full respect of human rights and the rule of law”. As reports continue to flow of extra-judicial killings and police impunity, and as Duterte continues to shrug away concerns from international institutions such as the United Nations (UN) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), questions arise as to the stability of the Philippines in the coming years.

People killed in the war on drugs

People killed in police operations

People killed by unknown suspects

A bloody war on drugs

One of the key messages of Duterte’s presidential campaign was his promise that, if elected, in the first six months of his campaign he would kill 100,000 drug users and pushers. Seven months later, the numbers are telling: according to the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), as of 14 December 2016 a total of 6,095 people had been killed in the war on drugs. However, perhaps even more worrying than the number of people, are the details of these deaths.

According to the breakdown of the statistics reported on the ICTJ website, of the total death toll, 2,102 people were killed in police operations while 3,993 were killed by unknown suspects. The police often justify these killings as a consequence of resisting arrest. While there is little evidence to prove the veracity of the statements made by the police, witnesses tell the media that victims are actually given little to no warning. There is little evidence to sustain these claims too, however in a relationship between the state and its citizens, it’s the citizens’ feeling of trust in their institutions that will ultimately determine state stability.

This trust is also being eroded by the fact that, although the government has given drug abusers the opportunity to surrender and join community rehab programmes, the 700,000 people who have thus far taken this opportunity are not safe either. On 2 September 2016, the Financial Times (FT) reported that Gilbert Camiguel, who had surrendered to the authorities in a bid to get clean, was shot one month later just outside his house in a low-income neighbourhood of Quezon City, in the Manila metropolitan area. According to other local sources, this is far from being an isolated incident, and while the police and the drug pushers are busy accusing each other, no investigation is taking place.

A documentary by journalist Jason Motlagh of the Pulitzer Centre on Crisis Reporting, ‘Philippines: The Execution Beat’, may contribute to shedding a light on the reported 3,993 deaths by unknown suspects, of which Mr Camiguel seems to be part. Broadcasted on Al-Jazeera, the documentary reveals that a large share of the killings are carried out by contract killers, “some of whom are on the payroll of corrupt officials involved at the higher levels of the drug trade”, outlines the project’s web page. Amongst others, it features a young woman who, helped by her husband who drives the motorbike, kills for $150 per hit, up to $400 for renown pushers. These extra-judicial killings carried out by vigilantes are increasingly harming societal cohesion in the poorest areas of the country, where strong inequalities can push people to undertake lucrative illegal activities, such as drug pushing or killing for money.

Civil society rising up

As the death toll continues to increase, civil society is increasingly voicing its concerns through the publication of statements in traditional and social media.

For instance, the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO), one of the largest umbrella body of civil society organisations in the Philippines, recently held a general assembly during which it passed a resolution calling on all government arms (legislative, executive and judiciary) to respect human rights in this war against drugs. Additionally, there are on going discussions amongst CODE-NGO members on educating their partner communities about the legislative tools at their disposal to protect themselves and assert their rights against house searches or arrests without warrants by the police. Similarly, The Task Force Detainees of the Philippines is regularly publishing media statements condemning the extrajudicial killings carried out under the blanket of the war on drugs.

Activists working for the protection of human rights are also forming networks focusing on promoting human rights and the rule of law against the war on drugs. This includes, for example, the Network Against Killings in the Philippines (NAKPhilippines), which also regularly issues media statements, and the In Defence of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDefend), launched by thirty Filipino human rights groups to provide legal services to families of victims of extrajudicial killings.

Finally, the catholic community has been increasingly vocal in its criticism against the drug war, with organisations such as the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines and the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines publishing statements. This is of particular importance in a country where 81.03% of the population is catholic, according to the website catholic-hierarchy.org.

Institutional responses

There are four bodies in the Philippines responsible for ensuring police accountability: the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR), the Office of the Ombudsman, the People’s Law Enforcement Board and the Internal Affairs Service (IAS). There is no online publicly available information regarding cases handled by the Office of the Ombudsman, the People’s Law Enforcement Board or the IAS, which makes it difficult to assess to what extent these bodies are being effective in addressing the concerns of the victims of the war on drugs. Nevertheless, a bill was filed last January by Senator Panfilo Lacson to strengthen the IAS and ensure that, if an investigation against an erring police officer has not been concluded within 30 days, appropriate administrative and/or criminal charges will be filed immediately.

The CHR, on the other hand, regularly publishes statements condemning the war on drugs. More specifically, a statement from 16 February 2017 welcomes the Philippines’ Court of Appeals decision to grant a permanent protection order to victim survivors of the war on drugs. The court order ensures that the respondent policemen in the cases are not allowed within one kilometre of the petitioners’ homes or work addresses and that they be reassigned to offices in other areas. This represents, according to CHR, “a strong message from the Judiciary of its adherence to the rule of law and its commitment to upholding human rights in the country”, the press release states.

In addition, a Senate committee on justice, human rights and public order carried out an investigation on the extrajudicial killings that took place in Davao during Duterte’s terms as a mayor, as well as the alleged Davao Death Squads (DDS) carrying them out,. It included six hearings during which witnesses came to testify that the extrajudicial killings are state sponsored. In its final report, the committee concluded that none of the victims had succeeded in providing enough evidence for their claims, effectively clearing Duterte. The panel, however, urged him to exercise more caution with his rhetoric regarding the war on drugs, as it may easily be interpreted as an endorsement of extrajudicial killings.

Author

Alix Valenti is an independent consultant and a freelance journalist focusing on issues of governance, defence and security.  She writes articles on naval procurement and security in the Asia Pacific for defence magazines such as Armada International, Asian Military Review and Asia Pacific Defence Reporter. She also writes on military procurement in the US for Special Operations International, and on country security (France, Papua New Guinea) for Jane’s Intelligence Review.

She holds a PhD in development planning from University College London, and her thesis focused on understanding the impact of international statebuilding on state-citizen relations through an analysis of social cohesion in post-conflict urban spaces. She lived in Timor Leste for ten months to carry out her PhD field research, interviewing government officials, staff members of INGOs and CSOs, and community leaders as well as community members.

Alix has ten years of experience working as a consultant for ICF International, carrying out especially evaluations and impact assessments of European migration regulations for the European Commission Directorate General of Migration and Home Affairs (HOME). As a full-time member of staff, she managed large teams, including country experts, and carried out stakeholder consultations in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain. As a sub-contractor, she has continued to focus on stakeholder consultations in France, Italy and Switzerland.

The Centre for Security Governance (CSG) is pleased to announce that Geoff Burt has been named Executive Director. Geoff will join the CSG as of April 1, 2017.

Geoff served as the Deputy Director of the CSG from 2013 to 2016. Along with his work at the CSG, he was the co-founder and Vice President of the Security Governance Group from 2012 to 2016. Prior to joining the CSG, Geoff was a researcher at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), and a member of CIGI’s Security Sector Governance project.

An experienced researcher and project manager, Geoff’s work has focused on security sector reform, transnational organized crime, migration and counter human trafficking, with an emphasis on fragile and conflict-affected countries. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Stability: International Journal of Security and Development.

The CSG looks forward to working with our fellows and partners to enhance the effectiveness of donor assistance and support to SSR programs through our research, events, training and direct policy advice.

For further information please contact Andrew Koltun, Project Officer at akoltun@secgovcentre.org.

Mark Sedra

Senior Fellow

The co-founder of the Centre for Security Governance, Mark is currently the President and Research Director of the Canadian International Council (CIC) an independent, member-based council established to strengthen Canada’s role in global affairs.

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Mark’s research has focused on peace building and state building processes in fragile and conflict-affected states. He has conducted research on several countries and regions, including Afghanistan, Northern Ireland, the Middle East and the Balkans. Mark has been a consultant to governments, intergovernmental organizations, and NGOs, including the United Nations, Global Affairs Canada and the UK Department for International Development.

In 2012, Mark established the Security Governance Group, a private research consulting firm, which specializes in international security issues.

Mark has held a variety of positions in the international affairs field both in Canada and globally, including: Senior Researcher and Program Leader at the Centre for International Governance Innovation; Cadieux-Léger Fellow at Global Affairs Canada; Visiting Research Fellow at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom; and Researcher and Project Manager at the Bonn International Centre for Conversion.

Mark is also currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo and Balsillie School of International Affairs.

He has published widely and is a regular commentator on security issues in the Canadian and international press. His most recent book, Security Sector Reform in Conflict-Affected Countries: The Evolution of a Model, was published by Routledge in the fall of 2016. He has a PhD in Political Science from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.

Matthew Brubacher

Senior Fellow

Matthew Brubacher currently works with the United Nations Mission to Libya.

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Previously, he has worked with the African Union supporting their peace support operations in CAR and Somalia and prior to that as a DDR officer with the UN mission in DRC.

Matthew also worked as a cooperation adviser for the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and as an officer in the Palestine Liberation Organisation where he supported the Camp David II negotiations.

Matthew has an LLM in Public International Law from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor’s from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service.

• A New Leader in International Support to Security Sector Reform: Exploring the Experience and Potential Role of Japan By: Christopher Sedgwick Few countries have undergone security sector reform more profoundly than Japan after World War II, yet Japan has not been a leading voice in this field, despite a foreign policy centered on human security and institution building. A new international SSR assistance platform would enable Japan to support enhanced governance, oversight, and professionalism of the security sectors of fragile states while further raising its profile in UN peacekeeping and the sustaining peace agenda. Article

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I. Security Sector Reform and Japan

Head to any major intersection or train station in Japan, and you will likely encounter one of the country’s 6,000 koban police mini-stations.  These police boxes, generally housing 2-3 officers on rotating shifts, go largely unnoticed by passers-by, except when they stop in to ask for directions or to look at the district map.  Yet these innocuous koban also play a key role in police vigilance, crime deterrence, community relations, and rapid response, forming a cornerstone of Japan’s successful postwar reform of its security sector.

This unobtrusive manifestation of community policing is a symbol of Japan’s larger potential as a leader of international support to nationally owned security sector reform (SSR) processes.  Indeed, perhaps no country has experienced SSR more profoundly than Japan after World War II, where the secret police and rampaging military of the war years gave way to community policing and a Self-Defense Force with strong civilian control and constitutional limits on the use of force abroad.  Japan has a powerful story to tell.

An expanded SSR support agenda focused on strengthening the professionalism, accountability, and governance of the security sector in fragile states fits neatly within Japanese policy priorities.  Japan promotes the rule of law as a pillar of its foreign policy,[1] strongly emphasizes institution building in its UN activities,[2] and vigorously backs the human security concept.  Many of these policies are realized through active participation in the UN, where Japan is the second-largest contributor to the regular budget and the third-largest provider of assessed contributions to peacekeeping.[3]

However, SSR as a discipline remains largely unknown in Japan.  While Japan has provided component-level support to international SSR-related activities based on the priorities described above, it has not yet engaged in transformative sector-wide approaches to bolster strategic governance and oversight.  Japan should align its experiences and priorities under a new SSR platform offering guidance, best practices, and technical and legislative assistance.  This would promote Japan’s diplomatic and UN policy objectives while simultaneously allowing it to assume a position of leadership as an authoritative, non-Western champion of SSR.

 

II. Building on Existing Experience and Capacities

Police and Justice
As mentioned above, Japan’s justice sector demonstrates the positive results of what was a massive postwar SSR process, albeit not labelled as such at the time.  Since then, the koban model has been successful enough to have been exported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the government’s international assistance arm, as well as by the Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation, to both developed and developing countries.  In January 2016, Atul Khare, UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, praised the effectiveness of the koban system and Japanese police manuals, both of which have been employed in Timor-Leste.[4]  Certainly, there are limitations to Japan’s justice model, including its overly powerful prosecutors, indefensibly high conviction rates, and overreliance by police on individual confessions.  Yet the positive aspects of the postwar reform of Japan’s justice sector constitute a model worth spreading.

Leadership through an international SSR platform with a major focus on koban/community policing and police accountability standards would greatly benefit recipient states, while also helping Japan to offer more effective police participation in UN rule of law and peacekeeping activities than through traditional patrols.  The Japanese public has been extremely sensitive to deaths on mission ever since the killing of a Japanese police officer dispatched to the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in 1993.  The Japanese police have not joined peacekeeping operations in meaningful numbers since then, despite their wealth of knowledge and experience.  Expanded Japanese support to local efforts to enhance police oversight, professionalism, and community relations could strengthen Japanese leadership in this field while also largely avoiding political sensitivities at home.

Defense
A Japanese SSR leadership role holds similar potential in the defense sector.  Japan’s constitution renounces war, and its highly capable Self-Defense Force (SDF) today is subject to full civilian control with an emphasis on public service.  It is increasingly associated domestically with disaster assistance, especially following Japan’s March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

At the same time, SDF contributions to UN peacekeeping face limitations under their current modality.  The SDF participates in peacekeeping by way of Japan’s 1992 Act on Cooperation for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Other Operations (“PKO Act”), but with legal restraints that have traditionally curtailed the use of force except in self-defense.[5]  Even a 2015 reinterpretation of the constitution and corresponding new security legislation, which enable Japanese peacekeepers to come to the rescue of partners under fire (presumably by using force), do not enable robust protection of civilians tasks which are increasingly part of peacekeeping mandates.  Major political challenges exist as well.  Passage of the 2015 legislation was deeply unpopular domestically, putting conservatives who implemented the change in the curious position of trumpeting the SDF’s new rescue capabilities while simultaneously assuring the public that Japanese peacekeepers will be in safe locations and unlikely to use these very capabilities.[6]

Given this context, Japanese peacekeeping personnel have long been considered risk-averse.  Much of Japan’s role in peacekeeping has been in engineering and logistical support, together with a growing focus on providing training and technology to less capable troop-contributing countries through triangular partnerships with the UN.  This configuration alone is not ideal for achieving Japanese policy interests as they relate to the rule of law, institution building, and human security.  The ongoing deployment of several hundred Japanese SDF engineering personnel to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is a case in point.  Japan wishes to be seen as a proactive contributor to the UN and to peacekeeping, but UNMISS’ priorities have shifted from state building to protection of civilians since the dramatic deterioration of the security situation beginning in December 2013, leaving Japanese personnel facing dangers for which they are ill-prepared.

As a whole, Japan’s defense sector represents a positive model that demonstrates the results of governance-focused SSR efforts.  At the same time, changes in peacekeeping tasks, together with political and legal restrictions, make troop contributions a less compelling means of Japanese involvement despite the SDF’s achievements.  An SSR leadership role offers Japan a way forward. The SDF has much to offer in the SSR realm based on its own history and development.  This could include guidance on best practices and support aimed at improving the professionalism and command and control structures of the defense sectors in fragile states.

 

III. A New Support Platform

A new Japanese SSR platform would align closely with Japan’s existing diplomatic and UN policy priorities, maintaining its international engagement and avoiding the limitations described above, all as a compelling non-Western advocate.

While Japan is not well-positioned to oversee narrow train-and-equip exercises nor to deploy personnel to increasingly dangerous missions, it can be a prime implementing leader for sustained, sector-wide reform, as outlined in Security Council resolution 2151 (2014) on SSR.  Japan’s abovementioned experience, geopolitical alignment, and capacity would enable it to support fragile and post-conflict states in the security legislation drafting process, national security dialogues, security sector public expenditure reviews, enhanced civilian oversight, and community policing development.

This governance-focused SSR platform would promote people-centered security through more democratic and resilient institutions, all in support of a sustaining peace agenda.  These interventions could be made through long-term assistance to national security sectors, including through Japan’s membership on the Peacebuilding Commission, strong leadership in the UN Group of Friends of SSR and other international fora, and sustained bilateral engagement.  Japan should seize this leadership opportunity.

Author

Christopher Sedgwick [christopher.sedgwick@tufts.edu] is a researcher and analyst specializing in UN affairs, Japanese foreign policy, and security sector reform. He is a graduate of Princeton University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and was also a Japanese Ministry of Education Scholar at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate Schools for Law and Politics. He has authored case studies for an African Union-commissioned report on peacekeeping from the World Peace Foundation focusing on conflict drivers, peace processes, and SSR, and previously served as Special Assistant for Political Affairs at the Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco.

Notes

[1] Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Bluebook 2016, p. 155; available from: http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook.

[2] Statement by Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Peacebuilding (28 July 2016); available from: http://www.un.emb-japan.go.jp/statements/Kishida072816.html.

[3] See UN document A/70/331/Add.1; Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Bluebook 2016, p. 202.

[4] Statement by United Nations Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare, “Fostering Future Leaders in International Peace Cooperation,” delivered at the 7th International Peace Cooperation Symposium (Tokyo: 22 January 2016); available from: http://www.shasegawa.com/archives/14082.

[5] The PKO Act established five principles for Japanese participation in PKOs, which include the need for a ceasefire, consent of parties to deployment, and strict impartiality, as well as caveats that weapons are to be used for a minimum level of self-defense and that Japan may withdraw if any of the first three conditions cease to hold.

[6] A 15 November 2016 government memo justifies the Japanese UNMISS engineering contingent’s new capabilities as enabling the rescue of partners and Japanese nationals in extremely limited cases, while simultaneously noting that the South Sudanese government and UNMISS infantry provide primary protection and that Japan’s contingent is not equipped for security tasks; available (Japanese) from: http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/headline/pdf/heiwa_anzen/kangaekata_20161115.pdf.

The Centre for Security Governance (CSG) is looking for talented academics, practitioners, analysts, and researchers to contribute to our dynamic blog. Entries should focus on security sector reform and security governance in fragile, failed and conflict-affected countries, including related issues such as disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), transitional justice, etc. This is a great opportunity to discuss your work/insights and contribute to the blog’s growing collection of great articles.

The CSG Blog is an informative and interactive forum for peacebuilding, statebuilding and security academics, researchers, analysts and practitioners. It provides an innovative place to discuss key issues of security governance, security sector reform (SSR) and security assistance as well as a space to debate new approaches to security and justice programming, including 2nd generation approaches to SSR.

The CSG is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to the study of security and governance transitions in fragile, failed and conflict-affected states. Based in Canada, the CSG maintains a global, multi-disciplinary network of researchers, practitioners and academics engaged in the international peace and security field.

If interested, please contact Andrew Koltun, Project Officer – CSG, at info@secgovcentre.org for further details. Please include “Call for Blog Contributors” in the subject line of your email.

 

The Gradual Emergence of Second Generation Security Sector Reform in Timor-Leste

CSG Paper No. 16

KITCHENER, CANADA – The Centre for Security Governance (CSG) is pleased to announce the publication of a new CSG Paper by CSG Senior Fellow Sarah Dewhurst and Lindsey Greising. It is the second of two papers on Timor-Leste and the product of a wider series of papers that has come out of the CSG’s multi-year research project, titled Exploring the transition from first to second generation SSR in conflict-affected societies. Led by CSG Executive Director Mark Sedra, the project assesses and evaluates the impact of orthodox security sector reform (SSR) programming in conflict-affected countries. Employing a common methodology, the project features original research on four case study countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina, El Salvador, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste.

The project has produced two reports per case study country—eight in total. The first phase of the project answered: a) to what extent and how have SSR efforts in the case study countries followed the orthodox SSR model as described in the OECD-DAC Handbook on SSR; b) in assessing SSR efforts in each case study country, how have orthodox SSR approaches succeeded and failed and why. The second project phase, which this paper captures, explores what alternative approaches or entry-points for security and justice development are available. Are they used, and if so, how? If not, why?

Orthodox SSR in Timor-Leste focused on importing administrative structures and improving the technical capacity of security institutions, but failed to adapt to the political realities and dynamics of the new state. In recent years, however, some initiatives that can be described as second generation SSR efforts have emerged. These approaches have been characterized primarily by their ability to work politically to engage with national actors. They are adapted to the local context and employ more holistic and reconciliatory approaches to security governance, leveraging civil society and engaging both formal and informal security providers. The Gradual Emergence of Second Generation Security Sector Reform in Timor-Leste argues that they have fostered slower, but deeper, more multifaceted and therefore more sustainable societal, political and cultural transformations of the role of security sector institutions in Timorese society.

Funding for this project was provided by the Folke Bernadotte Academy.

Download the Report

The peer-reviewed CSG Papers series provides a venue for comprehensive research articles and reports on a variety of security sector reform and related topics. The series endeavors to present innovative research that is both academically rigorous and policy relevant. Authored by prominent academics, analysts and practitioners, the CSG Papers cover a range of topics, from geographic case studies to conceptual and thematic analysis, and are based on extensive research and field experience.

All CSG publications are freely accessible and downloadable on our website at www.secgovcentre.org.

CONTACT:

Andrew Koltun, CSG Project Officer
Tel: +1-226-241-8744, Email: akoltun@secgovcentre.org

_______________

The CSG is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to the study of security and governance transitions in fragile, failed and conflict-affected states. Based in Canada, the CSG maintains a global, multi-disciplinary network of researchers, practitioners and academics engaged in the international peace and security field.

The Gradual Emergence of Second Generation Security Sector Reform in Sierra Leone

CSG Paper No. 15

KITCHENER, CANADA – The Centre for Security Governance (CSG) is pleased to announce the publication of a new CSG Paper by CSG Senior Fellow Ibrahim Bangura. It is the second of two papers on Sierra Leone and the product of a wider series of papers that has come out of the CSG’s multi-year research project, titled Exploring the transition from first to second generation SSR in conflict-affected societies. Led by CSG Executive Director Mark Sedra, the project assesses and evaluates the impact of orthodox security sector reform (SSR) programming in conflict-affected countries. Employing a common methodology, the project features original research on four case study countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina, El Salvador, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste.

The project has produced two reports per case study country—eight in total. The first phase of the project answered: a) to what extent and how have SSR efforts in the case study countries followed the orthodox SSR model as described in the OECD-DAC Handbook on SSR; b) in assessing SSR efforts in each case study country, how have orthodox SSR approaches succeeded and failed and why. The second project phase, which this paper captures, explores what alternative approaches or entry-points for security and justice development are available. Are they used, and if so, how? If not, why?

Sierra Leone’s initial approach to SSR was state-centric, ad-hoc and shaped by immediate events, as the country was mired in a civil war. However, the post-war period opened space for the adoption of a human security lens to SSR, which, in turn, enabled greater opened public participation and leadership in the process from civilians and non-state actors. The Gradual Emergence of Second Generation Security Sector Reform in Sierra Leone argues that the new direction and opportunities this second generation SSR process presented leaves little doubt that orthodox interpretations of security sector reform are ill-suited to achieve systemic change in contexts like Sierra Leone. The second generation SSR model can refocus transition countries towards prioritizing the needs and aspirations of their people within a wider security context, rather than limiting reforms to serving the exclusive needs of the traditional political elites.

Funding for this project was provided by the Folke Bernadotte Academy.

Download the Report

The peer-reviewed CSG Papers series provides a venue for comprehensive research articles and reports on a variety of security sector reform and related topics. The series endeavors to present innovative research that is both academically rigorous and policy relevant. Authored by prominent academics, analysts and practitioners, the CSG Papers cover a range of topics, from geographic case studies to conceptual and thematic analysis, and are based on extensive research and field experience.

All CSG publications are freely accessible and downloadable on our website at www.secgovcentre.org.

CONTACT:

Andrew Koltun, CSG Project Officer
Tel: +1-226-241-8744, Email: akoltun@secgovcentre.org

_______________

The CSG is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to the study of security and governance transitions in fragile, failed and conflict-affected states. Based in Canada, the CSG maintains a global, multi-disciplinary network of researchers, practitioners and academics engaged in the international peace and security field.

Security Sector Reform in Conflict-Affected Countries: The Evolution of A Model

By Mark Sedra

KITCHENER, CANADA – The Centre for Security Governance (CSG) is pleased to announce the publication by Routledge of a new book written by CSG Executive Director Mark Sedra. The book examines the evolution, impact, and future prospects of the security sector reform model in conflict-affected countries in the context of the wider debate over the liberal peace project. It is part of the series “Routledge Studies in Conflict, Security and Development”.

Learn More at Routledge Store Summary

This book examines the evolution, impact, and future prospects of the Security Sector Reform (SSR) model in conflict-affected countries in the context of the wider debate over the liberal peace project.

Since its emergence as a concept in the late 1990s, SSR has represented a paradigm shift in security assistance, from the realist, regime-centric, train-and-equip approach of the Cold War to a new liberal, holistic and people-centred model. The rapid rise of this model, however, belied its rather meagre impact on the ground. This book critically examines the concept and its record of achievement over the past two decades, putting it into the broader context of peace-building and state-building theory and practice. It focuses attention on the most common, celebrated and complex setting for SSR, conflict-affected environments, and comparatively examines the application and impacts of donor-supported SSR programing in a series of conflict-affected countries over the past two decades, including Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The broader aim of the book is to better understand how the contemporary SSR model has coalesced over the past two decades and become mainstreamed in international development and security policy and practice. This provides a solid foundation to investigate the reasons for the poor performance of the model and to assess its prospects for the future.

This book will be of much interest to practitioners, analysts, academics and students of international security, peacebuilding, statebuilding, development studies and IR in general.

Alix Valenti

Senior Fellow

Alix Valenti is an independent consultant and a freelance journalist focusing on issues of governance, defence and security.

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She holds a PhD in development planning from University College London, and her thesis focused on understanding the impact of international statebuilding on state-citizen relations through an analysis of social cohesion in post-conflict urban spaces. She lived in Timor Leste for ten months to carry out her PhD field research, interviewing government officials, staff members of INGOs and CSOs, and community leaders as well as community members.

Alix has ten years of experience working as a consultant for ICF International, carrying out especially evaluations and impact assessments of European migration regulations for the European Commission Directorate General of Migration and Home Affairs (HOME). As a full-time member of staff, she managed large teams, including country experts, and carried out stakeholder consultations in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain. As a sub-contractor, she has continued to focus on stakeholder consultations in France, Italy and Switzerland.

Over the past two years, Alix has also been working as a freelance defence and security journalist. She writes articles on naval procurement and security in the Asia Pacific for defence magazines such as Armada International, Asian Military Review and Asia Pacific Defence Reporter. She also writes on military procurement in the US for Special Operations International, and on country security (France, Papua New Guinea) for Jane’s Intelligence Review.

This article delves into the ever-evolving field of gender security sector reform (GSSR), in order to uncover its shortcomings and subsequently provide novel to the discipline. It argues that practices within the subfield of gender sensitive police reform (GSPR) display radical alternatives to overcome SSR’s issues, specifically through its focus on ‘gender-mainstreaming’ as a transformative

The power of legitimacy is increasingly invoked by scholars, practitioners, and donors as a crucial prerequisite for any international peacebuilding project. This short article disenchants the almost magical powers accorded to legitimacy via three research findings: First, it shows the causal mechanism behind legitimacy’s impact; second, legitimacy works only in certain contexts and situations; third,

The new Academic Spotlight blog series features recent research findings on security sector reform and security governance published in international relations academic journals. It provides a venue to promote discussion within the academic-policy nexus and develop opportunities to share and exchange on key SSR issues and themes. The blog posts published in this series summarize

The Centre for Security Governance (CSG) is pleased to present a new three-part blog contribution from CSG Senior Fellow David Law which provides a security sector perspective on the ongoing crisis in Mali and focuses on stabilization and security sector reform challenges to address in this context. Introduction In late 2011, Mali was plunged into a

For the UN, the Mali deployment has been politically one of its most important to date, one of its largest in terms of numbers of deployed personnel, and one of its most deadly in terms of personnel losses.  At the time of writing, MINUSMA also appears to have been one of the least successful. Overall,

The African, European and International Responses to the Crisis After 2012, several different external military and civilian operations were deployed to Mali. The first major external deployment to the region was the French-led Operation Serval, initiated in January 2013 with some 5000 soldiers, 80% of them French, following an enabling resolution of the United Nations

Background In the 1990s, Mali was often put forward as a model of African democracy. It is not hard to understand why. Following an extended period of authoritarian rule after becoming independent in 1960, Mali held three elections as of 1992 in which power passed to the winner. An anomaly among the Sahelian states during

This article analyzes the impact on democracy and governance of the protests and the state of emergency in Ethiopia declared by the government. The author argues that, although messy, and perhaps disruptive to Ethiopia’s economic progress, what is needed is genuine democratic dialogue to solve this crisis.     Introduction With the Ethiopian government declaring

In his latest contribution to the Centre for Security Governance blog, CSG Senior Fellow David Law discusses new initiatives and ongoing efforts by the Canadian government as part of its overall strategy of re-engagement with peace operations. This article is a follow-up to the CSG blog series which explored the security sector reform (SSR) dimension

Poverty and socio-economic inequalities are inextricably linked with crime and conflict in Colombia. Unless they are addressed the current peace process will be unsuccessful and crime and insecurity will continue to afflict Colombia and its people, particularly the more vulnerable and marginalized.    Editor’s Note: This blog article features forthcoming research to be published in