Recommendation.
In the immediate aftermath of civil war, when a "golden hour" or "window of
opportunity" is presented to lay a foundation for peacebuilding and to impact and
include the (former) warring factions, leaders/practitioners should immediately
address the following areas of the security sector:
1. Consolidate the state's monopoly of force to uphold the rule of law.
2. Maintain momentum of reform and peace.
3. Integrate DDR and SSR in the transformation of military and police forces.
4. Operationalize "human security."
5. Mobilize "networks for peace" to counterbalance the "networks for war."
Implications.
If a post-conflict state does not gain a monopoly of force through prompt reform
of its security sector, then it will lack the means to uphold the rule of law and may
face renewed competition from insurgents, militias, organized crime, and
revolutionary movements – who can challenge the state's legitimacy, threaten
citizens/communities, and potentially push the state back into wide-scale conflict.
Event Description.
This lesson is based on the article "Wider Lessons for Peacebuilding: Security
Sector Reform in Liberia," by John Blaney, Jacques Paul Klein, and Sean
McFate, a policy analysis brief from the Stanley Foundation, June 2010.
Comments.
A related document, which discusses security sector reform in Liberia and the
importance of incorporating non-state security actors and community-based
approaches, is "Security Sector Reform: A Case Study Approach to Transition
and Capacity Building," by Sarah Meharg and Aleisha Arnusch, Strategic Studies
Institute, January 2010.
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