Security Sector Reform/Governance
Security Sector Reform/Governance (SSR/G) focuses on developing sustainable security forces and supervising institutions that are effective, legitimate, apolitical and accountable to their citizens.
USIP's Programs related to SSR/G:
- The SSG Center strengthens the SSG community through research, conferences, advising, education and training.
- The SSR Working Group convenes public forums on critical and timely issues, such as the role of police in counterinsurgency.
- Justice and Security Dialogues build trust between civil society and security officials.
- Grants and Fellowships are awarded to individuals and organizations exploring SSR/G.
Latest from USIP on Security Sector Reform/Governance
- May 22, 2013 | Publication
A May 21 panel at USIP assessed the reasons for a largely peaceful election this year in Kenya, where more than 1,000 people had been killed in post-election violence in 2007-08.
- May 21, 2013 | Publication
Despite pledges to carry out the principle of the responsibility to protect against mass killings, the U.S. and the EU have struggled how to respond to Syria, even as the scale of human loss eclipses that of Libya before the international community intervened. A USIP panel considers how to move forward.
- May 21, 2013 | Publication
The USIP Director of Afghanistan and Pakistan Programs gave the following testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs. Wilder discussed his views on the critical importance of the 2014 elections in Afghanistan.
- May 21, 2013 | Publication
In April 2014, voters in Afghanistan will go to the polls for the most important elections since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Given that international security forces are scheduled to leave the country by the end of 2014, a legitimate election is essential for the country’s stability. Afghan electoral official Zekria Barakzai outlines steps Afghanistan can take now to prevent electoral fraud in 2014.
- May 21, 2013 | Course
Explore field‐tested methods for building military and police forces and oversight ministries in transition and post‐conflict states through “hands on” application of security sector assessment, strategic planning, and evaluation tools.
- May 1, 2013 | Publication
The May 2013 Prevention Newsletter features a Q&A with the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, on the Responsibility to Protect and highlights the role of security sector reform as a tool for preventive action.
- April 29, 2013 | Publication
The United States is planning its withdrawal from Afghanistan as the country faces three interrelated challenges: a weak national state, rising Islamic radicalism based in Pakistan’s tribal belt, and zero-sum regional politics. The stage is set for a balance-of-power contest between India and Pakistan played out in Afghanistan that could fuel another civil war in the country. This report details the nature of the tension between India and Pakistan over Afghanistan and outlines steps that the U.S. government can take to avoid another conflict there.
- April 29, 2013 | Publication
In “Atrocity Prevention at the State Level,” Jonas Claes examines how states can mitigate the internal risk of atrocities through security sector reform and improved horizontal equality.
- April 16, 2013 | Publication
The daunting process of transforming police and other security forces after the fall of an authoritarian regime often is missing a key ingredient that would make the endeavor more effective – the perspectives and involvement of women. A new guide aims to change the dynamics.
- April 9, 2013 | Publication
A year after a political compromise ended popular protests in Yemen, the transitional government has met some benchmarks for reform. However, key demands for improved security and government services, for example, remain stalled. This report studies security and justice conditions in four governorates to assess how transition is progressing.
- April 5, 2013 | Publication
A neighborhood’s piles of trash or high dropout rates in schools may not seem like the most obvious topics for improving justice and security. But two communities in Iraq are demonstrating that establishing real justice and security means going beyond the standard discussions.
- March 29, 2013 | Publication
Leaders of Sierra Leone, Senegal, Malawi and Cape Verde explain their approaches to governing to achieve stability and economic development during a discussion at USIP. The group visited Washington as part of the Obama administration’s efforts to promote examples of good governance and economic growth in Africa.
- March 26, 2013 | Publication
This Peace Brief is based on the author’s three-week research mission to Yemen in January 2013. Holger Albrecht is assistant professor of political science at the American University in Cairo and Jennings Randolph senior fellow (2012-2013). His main research focus is on political opposition in the authoritarian regimes, transition to democracy, and civil-military relations in the Middle East and North Africa.
- March 19, 2013 | Publication
In Iraq, Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) were civilian-military organizations designed to operate in semi-permissive environments. PRTs were intended to achieve political objectives, counterterrorism and promote social and economic development.
- February 14, 2013 | Publication
In Pakistan’s struggle against violent extremism, Pakistan police officers have sacrificed their lives to save the lives of those around them. Heroic acts by the police have occurred in Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi, the cities impacted most by the spread of terrorism from the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. In Pakistan’s cities, police are responsible for confronting the threat from extremists groups.