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SSR Resource Centre
The Afghan National Police: A study on corruption and clientelism
In this new contribution to the Academic Spotlight blog series, Danny Singh identifies the underlying conditions of the Afghan state from the outset of the late 2001 Bonn political arrangement that has resulted in deep-rooted corrupt clientelistic networks within the Afghan government. This has trickled to the majority of the ministries including the Interior Ministry. Corruption is systemic and hard to combat despite police reform. This is due to the nature of four interrelated explanations of corruption: (1) the structural causes of corruption, patronage and nepotism, (2) low pay, (3) state capture, and (4) ethnic favouritism.
Who’s afraid of plural security? New research on security provision beyond the state
In this blog post, Megan Price and Bart Weijs summarize a recent conference on plural security. Security in fragile and conflict-affected contexts is provided by a multitude of actors, with varying relationships to the state (plural security provision). The event offered academics, practitioners and policymakers a platform to present and dialogue around empirical cases of plural security provision at city level, focusing on how state and international development actors can engage with plural actors in ways that contribute to strengthening citizen security.
Centre for Security Governance
Eseminar - Refugees, IDPs and Peacebuilding in the Contemporary Middle East
Conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen continue to fuel a regional refugee crisis on an unprecedented scale. The situation of refugees and IDPs is both a humanitarian catastrophe and a complex and ongoing challenge to peace and security in the region. In this context, the Centre for Security Governance, in partnership with the Balsillie School of International Affairs and Wilfrid Laurier University’s Global Studies Department, will host the third event in our ‘Contemporary Debates on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding’ eSeminar series on the theme of Refugees, IDPs and Peacebuilding in the Contemporary Middle East. Our distinguished panelists will discuss how the refugee and IDP crisis should factor into peacebuilding approaches throughout the region.
The event, which will take place on Wednesday November 25 from 12:00PM to 1:30PM EST, will be open to the public and free to attend. To register, please visit the eSeminar website.
News
IGAD says security agreement officially ends South Sudan war
Mediators from IGAD, the East African regional bloc, brokered a deal on security arrangements between South Sudan’s rival factions. As part of this agreement, the government and opposition determined how integrated police and security forces will be deployed in the capital. – Tesfa-Alem Tekle, Sudan Tribune.
Albania Parties Split on Key Judicial Reforms
The main political parties in Albania have failed to agree on a draft of constitutional changes that will be presented for a vote in parliament in December. The changes are part of the country’s effort to reform its corrupt judicial system on the path to candidate status for the European Union. – Fatjona Mejdini, Balkan Insight.
In Tunisia, a Mission of Justice and a Moment of Reckoning
President Beji Caid Essebsi has proposed a new law on reconciliation that could reduce the mission of the Truth and Dignity Commission. The law would remove the commission’s ability to investigate the system of corruption and cronyism that served as the base of the country’s dictatorships. – Carlotta Gall, New York Times.
EU Donates Eur 23-Million for Security Sector Reform in Tunisia
As part of a pilot programme to support the reform and modernization of the security sector in Tunisia, the European Union has donated EUR 23 million. The assistance provides for the establishment of operational rapid response centres, the training of security officers, and the development of security forces’ operational capacity. – All Africa.
Amid Ceasefire in Colombia, FARC Proposes US Military Funding Go To Peace-Building Fund
In a list of recommendations on ending the civil war, FARC negotiators stated that military aid from the United States should be directed to a peacebuilding fund. The negotiators recommended that the fund be valid for a period of ten years and supported by a shift in the country’s structure of public expenditures. – Michelle Mark, International Business Times.
Ukraine’s national police gains force, replaces Soviet-style system
This article describes the law on the new national police force that came into effect this month. This new Ukraine police force is meant to replace the old Soviet-style police. – Isobel Koshiw, Kyiv Post.
East Ukrainian city begins accepting applications for police patrol
The city of Sumy in Eastern Ukraine has started the recruitment process for the new police patrol program, the flagship law-enforcement reform already launched earlier this year in more than half a dozen Ukrainian cities. – Ukraine Today.
Egypt ranked in high risk category for corruption in defense, security sectors
Egypt ranks in the highest risk category for corruption in the defense and security sectors in Transparency International’s Government Defense Anti-Corruption Index for 2015. The country’s defense budget is classified as a state secret and there is a lack of public and parliamentary scrutiny of the military’s economic activities. – Nourhan Fahmy, Daily News Egypt.
Brazil Saw Over 500% Rise in Female Prisoners
Between 2000 and 2014, the number of female prisoners in Brazil rose by 567%, amounting to a total female inmate population of 37,380. A recent Ministry of Justice report found that 68% of female inmates are imprisoned for low-level drug trafficking crimes as a result of punitive drug policies. – Mimi Yagoub, Insight Crime.
Analysis
The ‘soft vengeance’ of peace in Colombia
The author argues that the transitional justice process in Colombia will advance victims’ right to truth and address abuses by all parties to the conflict. By requiring perpetrators to contribute effectively to redress their victims, the Colombian framework goes farther than the South African model and makes the expected peace agreement the first to specify restorative justice mechanisms. – Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito, Open Democracy.
Women in the Men’s House: The Road to Equality in the Algerian Military
Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck analyzes the integration of women into the Algerian military, which reflects public relations move more than shift in the People’s National Army (PNA) approach. While progress has been made in the recruitment of women, most continue to serve in traditional fields like communications and social services, and remain excluded from combat units. – Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Solutions to conflict in CAR: a better understanding for a lasting peace
The author delves into the underlying dynamics of the conflict in the Central African Republic and outlines potential paths forward for peacebuilding. As an alternative to failing disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) processes, Arnaud Pont proposes the integration of anti-Balaka armed groups into the state security system at the village level. – Arnaud Pont, Insight on Conflict.
In this opinion piece, the authors assert that Thailand’s military regime faces an opportunity to undertake police reforms and prevent future abuses of power. A series of high-profile cases involving police officers exposed the pervasive nature of corruption within the police force. – John Draper and Peerasit Kamnuansilpa, Bangkok Post.
What lies behind Mozambique’s renewed crisis?
To explain the roots of Mozambique’s current crisis, the author highlights the liberal peacebuilding approach taken in 1992. While some political reforms were made, the judiciary and electoral actors remain under the ruling party’s de facto control, and distrust has prevented significant progress from being made on the demobilization and reintegration of Renamo rebels into the army and police force. – The World Weekly.
Palestinian Security Forces: Living on Borrowed Time
This article discusses the ongoing challenges and dilemmas faced by the Palestinian security forces (PSF). The author argues that ‘faced with the everyday reality of their inability to secure their own people against Israeli settlement and security designs, and Israeli demands to enforce law and order, the PSF are caught in a policy and political trap.’ - Geoffrey Aronson, International Relations and Security Network (ISN).
In Burma, a Tale of Two Lawsuits
Base on their personal experience with the justice and rule of law system in Mynamar, the authors describe the long road ahead before achieving the full respect of the rule of law and argue that ‘justice will continue to be blocked by a judiciary that serves entrenched military interests. They also highlight how the international community can help change the current system. - Tikha Nyana and Aung Nay Paing, The Irrawady.
Ukraine Pins Hopes for Change on Fresh-Faced Police Recruits
The author analyzes the impact of the police reform process in Ukraine and the development of a new, modern, less abusive police force. This reform is seen as a crucial first step in reforming a corrupt and inefficient justice and rule of law system. In this context, ‘the new patrol officers are envisioned as the independent wedge that will begin to transform the entire system.’ – Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times.
Private Security Firms Fill a Void in Haiti (video)
This video provides a useful overview of the private security sector and the ‘security puzzle’ in Haiti, including its origins, impact and key challenges associated with the privatization of security governance. – War Is Boring.
Neo-paramilitaries, not guerrillas are Colombia’s primary human rights violators: Report
Citing a report published by the National Center of Historic Memory, the author describes how groups emerging from former paramilitary organizations have become the primary violators of human rights in Colombia. Neo-paramilitary groups are present in more than 200 municipalities in the country and maintain a network of alliances with national impact. – Claire Dennis, Colombia Reports
Breaking the cycle: rule of law programming in Mali
In this blog post, the author discusses a recent event that brought together organizations in the Netherlands that work on rule of law in Mali. The participants agreed that there is a need to better understand customary law in the country and to move beyond the ethnic patronage system. While corruption remains the primary problem, social media may be used to reach citizens and encourage them to place pressure on the government to reform the structures of governance. – Bart Weijs, Secretariat of the Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law.
Publications
Security Sector Reform and the Paradoxical Tension between Local Ownership and Gender Equality
Coauthored by Eleanor Gordon, Emmicki Roos, and Centre for Security Governance (CSG) Senior Fellow Anthony Cleland Welch, this article analyzes the tension that exists between the guiding principles of local ownership and gender equality in security sector reform programs when the local environment is characterized by patriarchal values and gender discrimination. The authors conclude that local ownership without gender equality is meaningless and the failure to promote gender equality undermines the extent to which SSR programs result in representative and responsive security and justice sector institutions. – Eleanor Gordon, Emmicki Roos, and Anthony Cleland Welch, Stability: International Journal of Security & Development.
Whose Security? Building Inclusive and Secure Societies in an Unequal and Insecure World
In this paper for the Institute of Development Studies, Robin Luckham explores the interface between security and development in map-making. The paper argues for a historical perspective to be employed when considering the intertwined nature of security and development in the post-Second World War world order. Luckham then looks at the contradictions at the heart of the security-development nexus, finding that security is equally shared and socially inclusive in principle, but not necessarily in practice. – Robin Luckham , Institute of Development Studies.
A Force for Good: Mapping the private security landscape in Southeast Europe
The first publication from the Private Security Research Collaboration Southeast Europe (PSRC) explores and assesses the origins and current state of the private security sector in Southeast Europe, with specific reference to principles of good governance and the protection of human rights. The authors examine the development, economic importance, and employees of private security companies, and address questions on whether companies are able to provide quality security services. – Franziska Klopfer and Nelleke van Amstel, editors, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces.
Overview of SSR policies of multilateral organisations
This 3-page backgrounder provides an overview of United Nations (UN), African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) security sector reform policies. - International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT).
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