Research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world

Past Event
Seminar

Military and Police Reform After Civil War: Political Survival and the Impact of Intervention on Postwar Security

Open to the Public

This seminar explores the politics of state-building to examine the effects of intervention on the governance of security forces. Viewing the security sector as a central component of state authority reveals how the nature of internal political threats shapes the way security forces are governed and the opportunities for external actors to influence them. The seminar will explore the implications of these findings for the study of violence and intervention in weak states and for the design and conduct of peacekeeping, stabilization, and security assistance programs.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.

Date: Time: - Location: Littauer Building - Belfer Center Library, Room 369
Pvt. Jacob Pharr, a radio operator with U.S. Army Europe's 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and his Bosnian-Herzegovinian partner pull security while on an ambush Situational Training Exercise held at the Slunj Training Area 1 June 2012.

About

Despite increased focus on building effective police and military forces to stabilize countries in the aftermath of conflict, results of these efforts have been mixed. There is substantial evidence that professionalizing security forces and strengthening civilian oversight can underpin peace and democracy in war-torn countries, while the failure to do so has been central to renewed violence.  Yet scholars have not explained when such efforts succeed or fail.

This seminar explores the politics of state-building to examine the effects of intervention on the governance of security forces. Viewing the security sector as a central component of state authority reveals how the nature of internal political threats shapes the way security forces are governed and the opportunities for external actors to influence them. The seminar will explore the implications of these findings for the study of violence and intervention in weak states and for the design and conduct of peacekeeping, stabilization, and security assistance programs.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.

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