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52291. Security Sector Transformation in Afghanistan

Author:
Mark Sedra
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The U.S.-led Coalition's swift victory over the Taliban regime in October 2001 created a security vacuum across Afghanistan that the international community was unprepared to fill. Winning the peace in Afghanistan has proven to be a much more complex, costly, and protracted endeavour than winning the war, an imposing burden that has severely tested the resolve of the international donor community. With only 11,000-13,000 Coalition troops mandated to eradicate the last remnants of al-Qaeda an the Taliban in the south and a limited NATO presence of 6,000 troops deployed in the capital to insulate the fledgling political process, the onus for maintaining security in the country fell on the Afghan government and its fledgling security forces. After 23 years of civil war the country's security sector was in a state of disarray, its infrastructure destroyed, resources limited, and facing a shortage of human capacity. To bolster Afghanistan's beleaguered security institutions and ensure they conform to international standards, the major donors engaged in the country launched a security sector reform (SSR) process. Security sector transformation rather than reform seems more appropriate to describe the task of creating efficient, effective, and democratically accountable security forces in Afghanistan, for the bulk of the country's formal security apparatus ceased to function over a decade ago. In spite of the massive challenges that face program, it has been portrayed as the primary means to redress Afghanistan's immediate security woes. What by its very nature is a gradual, long-term process has been thrust into the position as short-term panacea.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and NATO
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Middle East, and Taliban

52292. Challenges to Security Sector Governance in the Middle East: the Libyan Case

Author:
Hanspeter Mattes
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The U.S.-led Coalition's swift victory over the Taliban regime in October 2001 created a security vacuum across Afghanistan that the international community was unprepared to fill. Winning the peace in Afghanistan has proven to be a much more complex, costly, and protracted endeavour than winning the war, an imposing burden that has severely tested the resolve of the international donor community. With only 11,000-13,000 Coalition troops mandated to eradicate the last remnants of al-Qaeda an the Taliban in the south and a limited NATO presence of 6,000 troops deployed in the capital to insulate the fledgling political process, the onus for maintaining security in the country fell on the Afghan government and its fledgling security forces. After 23 years of civil war the country's security sector was in a state of disarray, its infrastructure destroyed, resources limited, and facing a shortage of human capacity. To bolster Afghanistan's beleaguered security institutions and ensure they conform to international standards, the major donors engaged in the country launched a security sector reform (SSR) process. Security sector transformation rather than reform seems more appropriate to describe the task of creating efficient, effective, and democratically accountable security forces in Afghanistan, for the bulk of the country's formal security apparatus ceased to function over a decade ago. In spite of the massive challenges that face program, it has been portrayed as the primary means to redress Afghanistan's immediate security woes. What by its very nature is a gradual, long-term process has been thrust into the position as short-term panacea.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Politics, and Governance
Political Geography:
Africa and Libya

52293. The Saudi Security Apparatus: Military and Security Services - Challenges and Developments

Author:
Anthony H. Cordesman and Nawaf Obaid
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Both Saudi Arabia's security situation, and the Saudi security apparatus, are undergoing major changes. Saudi Arabia no longer faces a major threat from Iraq, but must deal with the growing risk that Iran will become a nuclear power. This confronts Saudi Arabia with hard strategic choices as to whether to ignore Iran's efforts to proliferate, seek US military assistance in deterring Iran and possibly in some form of missile defense, or to acquire more modern missiles and its own weapons of mass destruction.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Development, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Iran, Middle East, and Arabia

52294. Iran's Security Sector: An Overview

Author:
Wilfried Buchta
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The intention of this paper is to give an overview of the internal structure of the security sector of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), one of the few states in the Islamic world in which in general the security sector is submitted to the control of the civilian leadership. This paper will not deal with the issues of WMD, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran's open and covert support for militant Islamic groups abroad, the system's fight against exiled militant opposition groups or Tehran's policy towards Iraq prior to and after the US invasion, although some aspects of the security sectors' tasks are connected to these issues. Instead the paper will focus on the relationship between civilian leadership and the influential heads of the different branches of the security sector, a relationship which is extremely complex and often defies explanation. Therefore it is vital to offer some explanatory remarks on the overall political structure of the system and its main features.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Islam, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Iran, Middle East, and Israel

52295. Jordanian Security Sector Governance: Between Theory and Practice

Author:
Nawaf Tell
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The security sector has played a vital role in the establishment and the survival of the Jordanian State ever since its creation in the early 1920s. The function of Jordan's security sector has varied and evolved over time depending on both the domestic and the regional considerations. Indeed, from enforcing state authority within the state in the early stages of the Jordanian State, the security sector has now moved to protecting the sovereign integrity of Jordan and maintaining the country's stability in the shadow of regional upheavals.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Politics, and Governance
Political Geography:
Middle East

52296. The Best Papers from the 2003 DCAF-IISS Young Faces Conference

Author:
Nicu Popescu, Margareta Mamaliga, and Ivan Zverzhanovski
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Following a decade of devastating conflicts, the countries of South Eastern Europe have now intensified their efforts to reform the security sector, foster security cooperation in the region and move more swiftly towards the membership in Euro-Atlantic integrations. Beyond any doubt, to succeed in these efforts, the whole region will have to develop and heavily rely upon a new generation of civilian security and defence experts.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
Europe

52297. Democratic Decision-Making and Deployments:The Case of the Netherland's Peacekeepers in Srebenica and Iraq

Author:
René Moelker
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The question posed in this paper is whether the lessons learned from Srebrenica and the experiences of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) have led to a cultural change in civil-military relations. To demonstrate evidence of cultural change the decision-making process during this period was studied. The decision-making process at the time of UNPROFOR is exemplary of a clash between military and civilian cultures. After a parliamentary inquiry into Srebrenica, decision-making procedures regarding deployments were improved by use of a set of criteria called the 'Toetsingskader'. Parliamentarians use these criteria to question the government about many important issues regarding deployment. The criteria were adequately applied to the deployment in Ethiopia and Eritrea, however, Ethiopia and Eritrea was a 'classical' first generation peacekeeping situation, which perhaps made it easier to apply the criteria for decisionmaking. The criteria in the 'Toetsingskader' were put to a more severe test in the decision-making process regarding participation in the Stabilisation Force Iraq (SFIR) in 2003. On the one hand, the 'Toetsingskader' proved to be a useful tool for parliamentary control, being able to bridge the gap between military and civilian political culture. On the other hand, the risk of teleological reasoning remains. The criteria can easily be used to justify participation by rationalising goals of the deployment and/or ignoring critical questions.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, and Netherlands

52298. Adaptation of Security Structures to Contemporary Threats

Author:
Theodor H. Winkler
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
International security has entered into a period of profound change. This process was initiated by the end of the Cold War and its rigid, yet stable bipolar power structures. It was further accelerated by the attacks of 11 September 2001 as well as the US war against Iraq. This new security environment is bound to require a no less profound corresponding reform of the security sector and renders the principle of good governance of the security sector even more imperative.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and NATO
Political Geography:
Europe and United Nations

52299. Watching the Watchdogs: The Role of the Media in Intelligence Oversight in Germany

Author:
Antje Fritz
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Free media and unhampered and impartial journalism are crucial elements of any democracy. Journalists provide the information which a society needs to debate current policies, public issues, societal threats, the potential failings of its institutions as well as necessary reforms. In so doing, journalism fulfils a major democratic function, which includes, as a crucial responsibility, the duty to make issues transparent and therefore to help citizens to gain information about and exert oversight of the state's executive bodies (Ward 2004). But even if those pre-conditions are satisfied, some societal areas, especially those which concern security related issues, tend to resist efforts to provide transparency and public oversight. This is especially the case when intelligence services and intelligence related issues are involved.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Germany

52300. Under Pressure. Falintil - Forças de Defesa de Timor Leste. Three Decades of Defence Force in Timor Leste: 1975-2004

Author:
Edward Rees
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Timor Leste is faced with a major challenge in consolidating its nascent democracy, this being the overdue establishment of a national security framework supported by legislation. In conjunction, civilian oversight and management structures for the security sector are weak to non-existent in Timor Leste. This is most pronounced in the case of Timor Leste's defence force and police services, and especially so in those areas where their responsibilities overlap. A major obstacle to overcoming this challenge are political divisions that exist between those who identify themselves as being “veterans of the resistance” to Indonesia's occupation 1975-99. The role of veterans dominates the country's political equation from the villages to the capitol. These divisions are manifested in the ill-advised and ongoing creation of the state's security institutions. That the United Nations' security forces' withdrawal from Timor Leste will be complete in May 2004 underscores the pressing nature of this problem. The below paper will examine the development of the defence force with some allusion to the police services. I will view the development of defence forces from the inception of an indigenous armed force in 1975.
Topic:
Security, Government, Peace Studies, and Politics
Political Geography:
Indonesia