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Security Sector (security + sector)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Police Reform and the Peace Process in Guatemala: the Fifth Promotion of the National Civilian Police

BULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 4 2001
Marie-Louise Glebbeek
After 36 years of mostly authoritarian rule and often bitter civil conflict in Guatemala, the December 1996 Peace Accords prepared the ground for a new phase of reconstruction, democratisation and social and institutional reform. Prior to the Peace Accords, policing in Guatemala had been often violent, repressive and subordinated to the counterinsurgency logic of the military. Security sector reform intentions included the abolition of existing police forces and the creation of a new National Civil Police (PNC). The PNC was meant to give substance to a new way of policing in tune with the building of democratic governance and effective law enforcement. This paper examines the general background of the reforms, discusses the limitations of the results so far, and takes a particular and critical look at one of the key components of the police reform: the recruitment and training of PNC aspirants, using the case of the 1999 Fifth Promotion that entered the Academy of the PNC. [source]

Community-based Security and Justice: Arbakai in Afghanistan

IDS BULLETIN, Issue 2 2009
Mohammad Osman Tariq
This article discusses the successful bottom-up justice and security institutions in south-east Afghanistan that are delivering justice and security to the people in a complex atmosphere characterised by a weak and contested state, high levels of corruption, massive international and regional intervention, internal conflict based on ideology and ethnicity, and exclusion of one ethnic group and overrepresentation of others in the political arena. These local-level institutions are called Jirga and Arbakai. They have their own conceptual and contextual principles, which differentiate the Arbakai from private security companies, militias, or warlord-related armed groups. In effect, the Arbakai serves as an alternative system to the state security sector, delivering physical security to individual members of a tribe and community. [source]

Intelligence bound: the South African constitution and intelligence services

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2010
LAURIE NATHAN
This article explores the functions and impact of the South African constitution in relation to the country's intelligence services. The constitution has proved to be a powerful instrument for transforming, controlling and constraining the services, safeguarding human rights and contributing to the management of political conflicts and crises. Yet the constitution's relevance for the intelligence community is also contested and contradictory. Paradoxically, the executive, parliament and the intelligence services believe that it is legitimate for the services to deviate from constitutional provisions because their mandate to identify and counter threats to national security is intended to protect the constitution. The article contributes to filling a gap in the literature on security sector reform, which is concerned with democratic governance but ignores the role of a constitution in regulating the security organizations and determining the nature of their governance arrangements. Intelligence agencies around the world have special powers that permit them to operate with a high level of secrecy and acquire confidential information through the use of intrusive measures. Politicians and intelligence officers can abuse these powers to manipulate the political process, infringe the rights of citizens and subvert democracy. While a constitution cannot eliminate these risks, it can establish an overarching vision, a set of principles and rules and a range of mechanisms for promoting intelligence transformation and adherence to democratic norms. [source]

Strengthening democratic governance of the security sector in conflict-affected countries,

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2005
Nicole Ball
Security for people, communities and states is essential for sustainable development, democratisation and conflict mitigation. Politicised, badly managed or ineffective security bodies and justice systems often create instability and insecurity, largely due to the lack of effective democratic systems. Strengthening democratic security-sector governance after conflict presents enormous challenges, particularly: (1) developing and implementing a legal framework consistent with international law and democratic practice; (2) developing effective, well-functioning civil management and oversight bodies; (3) developing viable, accountable and affordable security forces; (4) ensuring that the institutional culture of the security forces supports the legal framework, international law, good democratic practice and civil management and oversight bodies. Addressing these challenges requires professional security forces, capable civil authorities, rule of law and regional approaches. Reform activities should be guided by local ownership, sensitivity to the politics of reform, local capacity, local context and a comprehensive sector-wide framework. Local stakeholders must make hard decisions about priorities on the availability of domestic resources available and the costs and benefits of accepting external assistance. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]