Security Sector Reform (SSR) and Peace Operations: "Improvisation and Confusion" from the Fieid

2008 Journal of International Peacekeeping  
Executive Summary The reform and/or development of security sector institutions in the context of peace operations, either under the auspices of the United Nations or otherwise, is a relatively new and challenging field. While the international community has managed to achieve some occasional and limited successes, it has to date not been able to sustain a record of consistent and sustainable change in this area. It is in part due to the absence of a clear understanding or consensus of what
more » ... rity sector reform (SSR) is or how to carry it out. This is largely due to the inherent difficulties attendant to engaging with some of the most sensitive and controversial institutions, political processes and personalities in a crisis, conflict or post-conflict setting. However, it is also a result of the fact that the international community has yet to develop a coherent strategy for the execution of SSR in the context of the peace operations it embarks upon. 1 Furthermore, even as it approaches the design of a standard approach (i.e., a doctrine), the international community finds itself without the necessary instruments and tools to implement a coherent SSR strategy. In general most successes have occurred in the operational implementation of the design and establishment of large bodies of security sector practitioners. Concurrently, the greatest failures have occurred in the design and execution of strategies to provide for the civilian management and oversight of these security sector practitioners and its attendant connections with the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants and the broader rule of law continuum. The following study examines SSR in the context of a number of UN and non-UN peace operations with a view to highlighting some best and bad practices, establishing successful trends and identifying strategic gaps -particularly in the civilian management and oversight of the security sector. This study has examined some peace operations in greater detail than others -specifically UNTAET/UNMISET and UNMIK. This is a function of the fact that this study is founded primarily on field experience in these peace operations. It is also due to the fact that sufficient time has elapsed to make critical observations. Other peace operations (UN and otherwise) are referred to in an effort to place the Timor Leste and Kosovo experiences in the context of a broader SSR debate. This debate will be at the heart of many of the future activities of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Support Office established in December 2006 by the Secretary General.
doi:10.1163/18754112-90000059 fatcat:euprco7mmjgypppsv3sgiyewxu