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12. From Militants to Policemen: Three Lessons from U.S. Experience with DDR and SSR
- Author:
- Alison Laporte-Oshiro
- Publication Date:
- 11-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Consolidating the legitimate use of force in the hands of the state is a vital first step in post-conflict peacebuilding. Transitional governments must move quickly to neutralize rival armed groups and provide a basic level of security for citizens. Two processes are vital to securing a monopoly of force: disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration and security sector reform. Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) involve disbanding armed groups that challenge the government's monopoly of force. Security sector reform (SSR) means reforming and rebuilding the national security forces so that they are professional and accountable. U.S. experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo yielded three crosscutting lessons: go in heavy, tackle DDR and SSR in tandem, and consolidate U.S. capacity to implement both tasks in a coordinated, scalable way.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Violence, Armed Struggle, and Insurgency
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti, and Liberia
13. Congress and Parliaments in Security Sector Reform
- Author:
- Robert M. Perito
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Legislative oversight of the security sector is crucial to ensure that security policies and expenditures are undertaken with full transparency, accountability and concern for other national priorities and popular attitudes. This is important in conflict states, particularly during peace or stability operations. Establishing legislative oversight is difficult in conflict countries because of the absence of historical tradition, the complexity of security agencies, the technical nature of the issues, secrecy laws and the lack of expertise among parliamentarians and their staffs. The U.S. Congress provides a model for effective legislative oversight of the security sector for other countries to emulate. Congress has developed the legal authorities and the traditions required to form an effective partnership with the Defense and Justice departments, the U.S. military forces and civilian security services. Due to the importance of legislative oversight of the security sector to the democratic process, the U.S. Congress provides advice and training to foreign parliaments and parliamentarians in security sector reform. Congress has important partnership arrangements with parliaments in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Georgia, Kosovo and other conflict countries.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Violence, International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, and War
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Georgia
14. Health Initiatives and Counterinsurgency Strategy in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Leonard Rubenstein
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- An initiative by the Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan to expand health services throughout the country, including rural communities, and supported by donors including USAID, has vastly expanded access to primary health care services, significantly reduced child mortality, and increased the capacity of the Afghan government to provide an essential service to its people. The program is based on principles of equity, national ownership, community engagement, and women's equality, and it warrants continued development. Many challenges remain, not least expanding services in insecure areas, and a more stable environment could better enable the Ministry of Public Health to achieve its goals. The U.S. military has supported health services development for the Afghan army and also offers significant emergency care services to civilians in insecure regions, training for health workers, construction of health facilities and other health-related programs. The military's civilian health initiatives, largely disconnected from the Ministry of Public Health, are short term, ad hoc, and unsustainable, and to date have lacked a consistent rationale or strategy, and have not been subject to evaluation. U.S. counterinsurgency strategy seeks to mesh development and security objectives through activities that enhance the legitimacy of the Afghan government in the eyes of its people. In the field of health, there are considerable tensions between counterinsurgency and development strategies, which must be addressed to increase the capacity of the government and meet health needs of the people.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Health, and Counterinsurgency
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and United States
15. The Private Sector in Security Sector Reform: Essential But Not Yet Optimized
- Author:
- Robert Perito
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- While the U.S. and world economies are slowing markedly, Security Sector Reform (SSR) is a growth industry for the private sector. U.S. government employees may set SSR policy and design projects, but implementation is extensively outsourced to private contractors. With the forthcoming surge of U.S. military forces into Afghanistan, the U.S. Army has announced contracts worth $1.1 billion for the construction of military bases and training centers for Afghan military and police. Private firms supply everything from construction materials to trainers and administrative staff. Private contractors operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan are required to provide their own security. Up to 15 percent of the cost of construction will go to private security firms, which guard convoys, facilities and personnel.
- Topic:
- Security, Economics, Government, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, and United States
16. Establishing Leadership on Civilian Assistance to Afghanistan
- Author:
- J Alexander Thier and William B. Taylor
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- By all accounts, the civilian role in creating a stable Afghanistan, capable of protecting its citizens and providing essential services, is at least as important as the military operation.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
17. Evaluating Iraq's Provincial Reconstruction Teams While Drawdown Looms: A USIP Trip Report
- Author:
- Sam Parker and Rusty Barber
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Since their 2005 inception in Iraq, PRTs have struggled to fully define their mission, overcome structural problems, learn to work alongside their military counterparts and assist Iraqis down the path to self-governance and stability so that U.S. forces can withdraw. While the concept was born in the Afghan conflict, PRTs in Iraq bear little resemblance to their Afghan cousins, which are led and largely staffed by military officers. PRTs in Iraq are largely civilian-led and are required to address a host of issues including local governance, economic and women's development, health, agriculture, rule of law and education. In this respect, they resemble mini development task forces, harnessing civilian expertise sourced from the U.S. and augmented by military civil affairs officers.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Economics, Health, Terrorism, War, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and Middle East
18. Afghanistan's Economy: On the Right Road, But Still a Long Way to Go
- Author:
- Beth Ellen Cole
- Publication Date:
- 11-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Afghanistan has now laid the foundation for a market-based economy. A new economic system, based on the state as a regulator, not a producer, of goods, with a clear separation between the public and private sectors, stands in place of the centralized economy of the past. An independent central bank, a liberalized foreign exchange system, and laws permitting foreigners to wholly own property characterize the new economic landscape. A doubling of the gross national product and per capita income, a 13 percent growth rate in 2007, and modest inflation paint a vibrant picture.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Asia
19. Bridging Modernity and Tradition: Rule of Law and Search for Justice in Afghanistan
- Author:
- J Alexander Thier and Leigh Toomey
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- A legitimate, functioning and coherent justice system is urgently needed to establish peace and stability in post-Taliban Afghanistan. After three decades of war, continued insecurity, endemic corruption, and lack of resources hobble the formal justice system. Informal, community-based dispute resolution mechanisms—which are more readily accessible and understood than formal courts by most Afghans, particularly outside urban areas—are widely used to resolve both civil and criminal matters. These mechanisms are critical to maintaining stability within communities, and at present handle over 80 percent of disputes in Afghanistan. At the same time, informal or traditional practices may fall short of due process and human rights standards.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Asia