Security Sector Reconstruction And Reform In Peace Support Operations

This volume provides a framework for analyzing security sector reform under international tutelage.Following violent conflict and military interventions, international organizations or coalitions of countries increasingly engage in post-conflict reconstruction. Part of the international post-conflict agenda is thereconstruction orreform of th

"Security sector reform (SSR) is widely recognised as key to conflict prevention, peace-building, sustainable development and democratisation. SSR has gained most practical relevance in the context of post-conflict reconstruction of so-called failed states' and states emerging from violent internal or inter-state conflict. As this volume shows, almost all states need to reform their security sectors to a greater or lesser extent, according to the specific security, political and socio-economic contexts, as well as in response to the new security challenges resulting from globalisation and post-9/11 developments. Contributions from academics and practitioners elaborate on both the conceptual underpinnings and the practical realities of security sector reform and - a crucial aspect of post-conflict peace-building - security sector reconstruction. "

The authors explore the definition of Security sector reform (SSR) as it has emerged in the international community. The makeup of the security sector is examined, principles are identified for implementing SSR, and outcomes SSR is intended to produce are specified. Supporting case studies assess specific SSR programs. The authors conclude that those conducting SSR programs must understand and continually revisit the policy goals of SSR programs so as to develop concepts that support a transitional process that moves forward over time. State actors must acknowledge and often accommodate nonstate security actors more effectively in SSR planning and implementation, while recognizing both the advantages and the risks of collaborating with such actors. The authors also note the need for more flexible and better integrated funding processes. (Originally published by the Strategic Studies Institute.)

Support for security and justice institutions has become a crucial instrument of international engagement in fragile and conflict-affected states. In attempts to shore up security as a precondition for sustainable peace, international actors have become deeply engaged in reforming the security agencies and security governance institutions of states emerging from conflict. But despite their increasing importance in the field of international peace- and state-building, security sector reform (SSR) interventions remain both highly political and deeply contentious processes. Expanding on this theme, this edited volume identifies new directions in research on the domestic consequences of external support to security sector reform. Both empirically and theoretically, the focus lies on the so far neglected role of domestic actors, interests and political power constellations in recipient states. Based on a wide range of empirical cases, the volume discusses how the often conflictual and asymmetric encounters between external and domestic actors with divergent interests and perceptions affect the consequences of international interventions. By taking into account the plurality of state and non-state security actors and institutions beyond classical models of Weberian statehood, the contributions make the case for engaging more closely with the complexity of the domestic security governance configurations that can result from external engagement in the field of security sector reform. This book was published as a special issue of International Peacekeeping.

Although the United Nations has only recently taken initial steps in developing a common approach to security sector reform (SSR), it has been involved for many years in supporting SSR processes in member states. This is particularly true in cases where UN peacekeeping operations are deployed as part of a comprehensive, multidimensional assistance effort to build peace in post-conflict environments. This volume examines the experience of UN integrated missions in supporting SSR in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti and Kosovo. Based on the lessons drawn from these case studies, the volume develops a set of recommendations for future UN engagement in post-conflict SSR.

This book considers contemporary international interventions with a specific focus on analyzing the frameworks that have guided recent peacekeeping operations led by the United Nations. Drawing from the work of Michel Foucault and Foucauldian-inspired approaches in the field of International Relations, it highlights how interventions can be viewed through the lens of governmentality and its key attendant concepts. The book draws from these approaches in order to explore how international interventions are increasingly informed by governmental rationalities of security and policing. Two specific cases are examined: the UN's Security Sector Reform (SSR) approach and the UN's Protection of Civilians agenda. Focusing on the governmental rationalities that are at work in these two central frameworks that have come to guide contemporary UN-led peacekeeping efforts in recent years, the book considers: The use in IR of governmentality and its attendant notions of biopower and sovereign power The recent discussion regarding the concept and practice of international policing and police reform The rise of security as a rationality of government and the manner in which security and police rationalities interconnect and have increasingly come to inform peacekeeping efforts The Security Sector Reform (SSR) framework for peacebuilding and the rise of the UN's Protection of Civilians agenda. This book will be of interest to graduates and scholars of international relations, security studies, critical theory, and conflict and intervention.