Capacity Building and Security Sector Reform

Abstract

Many of the threats facing Western interests are transnational but depend, to a greater or lesser extent, on sanctuary in failed, failing or weak states. The desire to manage problems as far as possible from our shores and to deny freedom of action to organised criminals, and their ilk, will require a renewed commitment to capacity building, particularly given politicians’ reluctance to engage in costly, open-ended expeditionary warfare. Security sector reform (SSR) has been an integral element of intervention in conflict and post-conflict environments for some years, and has been the chief vehicle for the development and enhancement of intelligence, policing and security capability of local and regional security forces. However, the results of SSR programmes are at best mixed, and frequently show conflicts in programming between global and local approaches, national and human security, technocratic programmes and political problems, and state and non-state structures. With an increased level of knowledge driven by a series of field evaluations and reassessment of approaches, the international community is currently searching for more effective approaches in this type of environment. In addition, the development of hybrid approaches alongside security sector programming are leading to a major change in approach in SSR that may be termed ‘second generation’.