1. Iraqi Police: A Hard Place Between State and Society
- Author:
- Afzal Ashraf
- Publication Date:
- 03-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- Experts suggest that a police force should closely reflect its state’s constitution and its societal fabric.1 It follows, therefore, that the design of a new policing system or the reform of an old one will be affected by the ideas and the realities of power within the state and by the nature of its society. Nowhere are these principles more visible than in the reconstruction of a post–conflict country. The underlying assumption in such situations is that police reform is a fundamental element of conflict management because a police force, supported by society, can mitigate insecurity and play a significant part in the economic and political development of a country.2 This assumption has one fundamental flaw. For a police force to help deliver security and development in a post–conflict situation, there should exist at least a modicum of security and economic and political development. This “chicken and egg” situation is most starkly evident in the attempts to reform the police service following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The security sector reform programs in Iraq, of which police reform is a component, not only challenge some assumptions upon which international development is based, but also provide potential insights into the relationship between the police, power, economic security, and society in general. These relationships could also apply to developed countries as their political and eco- nomic systems are challenged or changed by global events.
- Topic:
- Development, State, Police, Society, and Post-Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Middle East