1. Application of Principal-Agent Theory to Security Sector Reform
- Author:
- James Cohen
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Security Sector Management
- Institution:
- Centre for Security Sector Management
- Abstract:
- The goal of this paper is to propose principal-agent theory (PAT), a methodology adapted from economics to analyse the relations of a buyer and a seller, as a possible tool for an SSR practitioners' assessment toolbox. The added value of PAT is its capacity to analyse the relationships between actors of the security sector based on observable, measurable and tangible mechanisms that the actors utilise in controlling, resisting, and allying with other actors. This capacity to analyse these relations has been sought out in both academic critiques of SSR and from practitioners themselves. This paper is an initial proposal on the added value of PAT, in addition to demonstrating how it could be used, gaps are also identified on how to potentially take this tool forward to aid the SSR community.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- United States