Sean Jellow, a Research and Communications Intern at the Security Governance Group, explains the state of security sector reform in Zimbabwe in light of the upcoming elections. Click here to read the full post. Hope for security sector reform in Zimbabwe is disappearing quickly as the political crisis in the country drives a deepening wedge into the 
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Category | SSR
Fading Hope for SSR in Zimbabwe
By: Sean Jellow | Thursday, May 9th, 2013Reform by Incentives
By: Frederic Labarre | Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013In this new post, Security Governance Group Associate Frederic Labarre discusses incentivizing security sector reform by making it materially attractive. To read the full post, click here. Barry Buzan wrote in his seminal Peoples, States and Fear (2nd Ed., 1991), that states were internally “strong” or “weak” depending on the solidity of the bond
Transitional Justice and SSR: The case of Sierra Leone
By: Chris Bordeleau | Monday, April 8th, 2013Academics, think tanks, and non-government organizations (NGOs) alike are starting to take notice of the relationship between transitional justice and security sector reform (SSR). Transitional justice measures and SSR programs share the goal to have accountable security institutions, especially as a state’s security forces are often held responsible for human rights violations that occur during
New RAND Study on Capacity Building Across Contexts: A Brief Review
By: Nick Armstrong | Wednesday, March 27th, 2013Security Governance Group Associate Nick Armstrong reviews the recently published RAND study that aims to increase the effectiveness of capacity building in security assistance efforts. To read Nick’s full review, click here. - The RAND Corporation recently published a monograph on United States security assistance efforts since the end of the Cold War. The monograph questions how
Policing in South Africa: A State of Crisis
By: Charlotte Watson | Thursday, March 21st, 2013Security Governance Group Associate Charlotte Watson writes on the state of South African policing, calling for the need of a police service, not a police force. She is currently based in South Africa. - Policing in South Africa is once again in the spotlight after a series of incidents which are seen to highlight police brutality and corruption.
Bahrain: National dialogue continues, but reform is in doubt
By: Aly Verjee | Tuesday, March 5th, 2013New Security Governance Group blog by Associate Aly Verjee, reviews two recent reports on security and regional stability in Bahrain. - Some foreign ministries are quite keen to mark anniversaries. Solemn tones can be invoked, momentous events recalled, official steps in according historical weight taken (and the process of historical revisionism begun.) Already in
News Roundup: 22 Feb – 28 Feb 2013
By: Sean Jellow | Friday, March 1st, 2013Want to keep up to date on the SSR field? Once a week, the SSR Resource Centre posts pertinent news articles, reports, projects and updates on SSR related events over the past week. Be sure to come back every Friday to see what has been happening in the field in this SSR Weekly round-up!
New! A Women’s Guide to Security Sector Reform
By: Vanessa Humphries | Thursday, February 28th, 2013Women’s participation in security sector reform (SSR) is often stated on paper, but overlooked in practice. With the goal of addressing this gap, the Institute for Inclusive Security and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) has released a vital Toolkit: A Women’s Guide to Security Sector Reform. The guide concretely outlines ways for women in
Three Approaches to Security: Prevention, Protection, and Resilience
By: Michael Lawrence | Monday, February 4th, 2013A Security Governance Group Post. The Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas in Cartagena is the largest and strongest fortress the Spanish ever built in their colonies. Constructed between 1639 and 1657, then expanding considerably in 1762, the fort defended the “gateway to the new world” from multiple attacks and was never taken. The strategies employed to
Counterinsurgency and the Iron Clad Law of Second Order Consequences
By: Andrew Mackay | Thursday, January 31st, 2013A Security Governance Group Post. There are two rather over-used, if entirely accurate, rules in the UK Armed Forces. The first is von Moltke, the Elder’s maxim that “no plan ever survives contact with the enemy” (meaning be ready to adapt — and quickly — for every eventuality). The second is Dwight D Eisenhower’s observation that “plans
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