The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies
Security sector reform (SSR) is a central pillar of peace strategies, closely linked to but not i... more Security sector reform (SSR) is a central pillar of peace strategies, closely linked to but not interchangeable with state-building and democratization. There is a broad consensus that sustainable post-war peace needs a stable security environment and thus institutions that are able to inhibit non-legal manifestations of violence. The main elements of SSR are reforms in the state security institutions (military and police) as well as in the judiciary. The first generation SSR was characterized by Western blueprints and a lack of context sensitivity, with the empirical record being rather weak. As a consequence, programs moved away from “one size fits all” to a greater attention to local contexts. The need to include local, non-state actors has been acknowledged, but designing and implementing new approaches on the ground is neither easy nor going to happen in the immediate future. A further step in the evolvement of post-war SSR can be an approach to decolonize reform aspects: to radically question the origins of knowledge and practice of SSR and to center efforts more in the communities affected by reform than with ideals of the security sector that resemble more those in the Global North
Following the killing of George Floyd in May, ‘Defund the Police’ has become a rallying cry for m... more Following the killing of George Floyd in May, ‘Defund the Police’ has become a rallying cry for many protestors in the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Sabine Kurtenbach and Nadine Ansorg look at what lessons can be learned from police reform in the Global South.
People tend to agree on the vital importance of peace, but there is no consensus on what peace is... more People tend to agree on the vital importance of peace, but there is no consensus on what peace is and even less so on how it can be accomplished and secured. International peace-building strategies privilege a concept of peace that stems from Western experiences of a centralised democratic state. A global approach to peace needs to include the experiences of the Global South and to focus on reducing various forms of violence rather than simply ending war.
Das Friedensabkommen und seine Umsetzung müssen den ausgeprägten regionalen Unterschieden in Kolu... more Das Friedensabkommen und seine Umsetzung müssen den ausgeprägten regionalen Unterschieden in Kolumbien Rechnung tragen. Auch wenn die Gewalt immer wieder die großen Städte erreichte, fand der Krieg vor allem im ländlichen Raum statt. Je nach Präsenz und Verankerung nichtstaatlicher Gewaltakteure sind die Herausforderungen für den Friedensprozess sehr unterschiedlich. Auch die Verfügbarkeit zentraler Ressourcen wie Drogen oder Land spielt eine wichtige Rolle.
Der Zusammenhang zwischen Gewalt und politischen Transformationsprozessen wird vor allem für die ... more Der Zusammenhang zwischen Gewalt und politischen Transformationsprozessen wird vor allem für die Phase des Übergangs von einem autoritären zu einem demokratischen System diskutiert. Während sich die politischen Regime verändern, sehen sich gleich zeitig auch die staatlichen Sicherheitskräfte beträchtlichem Reformdruck ausgesetzt. Die zentrale Herausforderung in dieser Phase besteht in der Einhegung von Gewalt mit Mit teln, die die politische Transformation nicht gefährden.
Conflict and violence have become an important context for development cooperation during the las... more Conflict and violence have become an important context for development cooperation during the last decade. The termination of armed conflict is related to the hope for sustainable peacebuilding. While the immediate post-war/post-conflict period can be a window of opportunity for fundamental changes, experiences on the ground show highly complex and politicised specific social spaces where social change, the consequences of war and violence and peacebuilding converge. The Policy Brief calls for an expanded and integrated approach. Even if development cooperation cannot address all relevant issues due to a lack of resources and possibilities to influence developments on the ground, it needs to support solutions that address current needs but remain open for future change.
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies
Security sector reform (SSR) is a central pillar of peace strategies, closely linked to but not i... more Security sector reform (SSR) is a central pillar of peace strategies, closely linked to but not interchangeable with state-building and democratization. There is a broad consensus that sustainable post-war peace needs a stable security environment and thus institutions that are able to inhibit non-legal manifestations of violence. The main elements of SSR are reforms in the state security institutions (military and police) as well as in the judiciary. The first generation SSR was characterized by Western blueprints and a lack of context sensitivity, with the empirical record being rather weak. As a consequence, programs moved away from “one size fits all” to a greater attention to local contexts. The need to include local, non-state actors has been acknowledged, but designing and implementing new approaches on the ground is neither easy nor going to happen in the immediate future. A further step in the evolvement of post-war SSR can be an approach to decolonize reform aspects: to radically question the origins of knowledge and practice of SSR and to center efforts more in the communities affected by reform than with ideals of the security sector that resemble more those in the Global North
Following the killing of George Floyd in May, ‘Defund the Police’ has become a rallying cry for m... more Following the killing of George Floyd in May, ‘Defund the Police’ has become a rallying cry for many protestors in the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Sabine Kurtenbach and Nadine Ansorg look at what lessons can be learned from police reform in the Global South.
People tend to agree on the vital importance of peace, but there is no consensus on what peace is... more People tend to agree on the vital importance of peace, but there is no consensus on what peace is and even less so on how it can be accomplished and secured. International peace-building strategies privilege a concept of peace that stems from Western experiences of a centralised democratic state. A global approach to peace needs to include the experiences of the Global South and to focus on reducing various forms of violence rather than simply ending war.
Das Friedensabkommen und seine Umsetzung müssen den ausgeprägten regionalen Unterschieden in Kolu... more Das Friedensabkommen und seine Umsetzung müssen den ausgeprägten regionalen Unterschieden in Kolumbien Rechnung tragen. Auch wenn die Gewalt immer wieder die großen Städte erreichte, fand der Krieg vor allem im ländlichen Raum statt. Je nach Präsenz und Verankerung nichtstaatlicher Gewaltakteure sind die Herausforderungen für den Friedensprozess sehr unterschiedlich. Auch die Verfügbarkeit zentraler Ressourcen wie Drogen oder Land spielt eine wichtige Rolle.
Der Zusammenhang zwischen Gewalt und politischen Transformationsprozessen wird vor allem für die ... more Der Zusammenhang zwischen Gewalt und politischen Transformationsprozessen wird vor allem für die Phase des Übergangs von einem autoritären zu einem demokratischen System diskutiert. Während sich die politischen Regime verändern, sehen sich gleich zeitig auch die staatlichen Sicherheitskräfte beträchtlichem Reformdruck ausgesetzt. Die zentrale Herausforderung in dieser Phase besteht in der Einhegung von Gewalt mit Mit teln, die die politische Transformation nicht gefährden.
Conflict and violence have become an important context for development cooperation during the las... more Conflict and violence have become an important context for development cooperation during the last decade. The termination of armed conflict is related to the hope for sustainable peacebuilding. While the immediate post-war/post-conflict period can be a window of opportunity for fundamental changes, experiences on the ground show highly complex and politicised specific social spaces where social change, the consequences of war and violence and peacebuilding converge. The Policy Brief calls for an expanded and integrated approach. Even if development cooperation cannot address all relevant issues due to a lack of resources and possibilities to influence developments on the ground, it needs to support solutions that address current needs but remain open for future change.
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Papers by Sabine Kurtenbach