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2. Public Perceptions of Palestinian Security Sector Governance
- Author:
- Arnold Luethold, Luigi de Martino, and Riccardo Bocco
- Publication Date:
- 10-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The Graduate Institute for Development Studies (IUED) in Geneva and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) conducted in July 2005 a survey in order to measure public perceptions of Palestinian security sector governance. The survey involved 1,500 individuals living in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Government, and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Geneva, Middle East, Palestine, Jerusalem, and Gaza
3. Restoring Policing Systems in Conflict Torn Nations: Process, Problems, Prospects
- Author:
- Otwin Marenin
- Publication Date:
- 06-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The goal of reconstructing policing systems which embody and embrace democratic norms has achieved an honoured place on the global security agenda. The need to secure minimal levels of security in transitional, developing, war-torn and post-conflict societies, and to keep local violence and conflicts from spilling over into regional arenas, has led to numerous efforts by international actors and donors to help local states and societies construct effective and fair public security systems. The paper examines efforts by the UN but also be regional organizations, NGOs, bilateral donors and domestic political and police actors to promote and structure reforms. Sufficient examples now exist to extract and suggest lessons on the process required to establish functioning and democratic policing systems. The paper will draw on existing academic literatures, reports by governments, international organizations and NGOs, and personal interactions with actors in this field to summarize what we know, and what we still lack information on, about how to plan for and implement the restoration of policing systems.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United Nations
4. The New 'Double Challenge': Simultaneously Crafting Democratic Control and Efficacy Concerning Military, Police and Intelligence
- Author:
- Felipe Agüero
- Publication Date:
- 04-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Military or security forces today are more likely to endanger democracy by lessening its quality and depth than by threatening its outright and swift overthrow. While the stability of new democracies is certainly not assured, the strongest concern lies with their ability to advance the rule of law and guarantee the basic liberties and needs of their citizens. In regard to the armed forces, the police, and intelligence agencies, new democracies are often poorly prepared to face up to a double challenge: developing firm institutions for the democratic control of those services, and turning them into effective tools for the protection and security of their citizens. The source of these difficulties is to be found not only in those services but also, and often primarily, in the inaction, complicit stance or active encouragement of non-democratic behavior by civilian actors in government or political society.
- Topic:
- Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Democratization, Government, and Intelligence
5. Providing Security. The Division of Labour. Armed Forces, Gendarmerie, Police
- Author:
- Alain Faupin
- Publication Date:
- 02-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- This topic is quite uneasy as the security tasks of all three organizations, namely armed forces, police and gendarmerie, are either very different, or very intermingled. The only common point is the primacy of the civilian authority, a rule of good governance and of democracy scrupulously applied and overseen.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Government, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Europe
6. 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
7. 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
8. Ukrainian Democratic Development and Euro-Atlantic Integration: A Natural Convergence, But A Difficult Path
- Author:
- James Green
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- For over a thousand years, Ukraine\'s national strength and independence has been linked to democratic self-governance. In the Kyiv Rus, popular assemblies called \'vetches\' elected representatives and provided popular input into governmental policy. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Cossack hetman and foremen were elected by the Cossack Radas, which also debated and approved government policies. Beginning in the 14th century and lasting until the early 19th century, many Ukrainian towns and cities – Lviv, Kyiv, Vinnitsa, Zhytomyr, Chernigiv, Glukhov, Lubny, Poltava – flourished under the political and economic self-government provided by Magdeburg Law, which offered liberation from feudal duties, the election of city authorities, and rule of law. This link continues to the present; the modern Ukrainian state was born out of the convergence of movements for national independence and democracy that brought down the Soviet Union. Although neither of these attributes is yet fully consolidated in the young Ukrainian state, the country\'s best hope for success lies in its democratic elements: a system, albeit imperfect, of electing government officials and legislators, elements within the judiciary willing to uphold human rights and the rule of law, journalists and editors willing to take risks to report the truth, non-governmental organizations that provide a means for citizens to mobilize in order to advance their common interests.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Ukraine, and Soviet Union
9. Democratic Control of Armed Forces in Military Interventions: A Challenge to Global Governance
- Author:
- Herbert Wulf
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Since the end of the Cold War, numerous developments have significantly changed the position of the armed forces. Firstly among these developments is the fact that the vast majority of wars are no longer fought between states. Rather, today's wars and violent conflicts tend to have mostly inner societal causes (Kaldor 2001). Additionally, the observation of present day realities, especially in big urban centres of the world, shows that more people die from the day-to-day exertion of criminal violence than from warrelated causes. Inner-societal insecurity and violent conflict sometimes leads to the international community turning to military means to control and pacify the areas concerned.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United Nations
10. Civil Society, Democracy and the Law
- Author:
- Ian Leigh
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- This paper first discusses the meaning of civil society and, in particular, its strengths and limitations. The second section considers what civil society can add to the representative democratic process. In the remaining sections, I discuss how civil society interacts with the law in a democratic state. There are two distinct aspects to this. Firstly, there are the legal and constitutional pre-conditions that allow civil society to flourish. These include issues about group autonomy, freedom of the press and of protest, including the place of civil disobedience. Secondly, there are the specific ways in which civil society can use the legal process to further its ends.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe
11. DCAF Security Sector Governance Status Report and Needs Assessment on Timor Leste
- Author:
- Philipp H. Fluri
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The DCAF Security Sector Governance Status Report and Needs Assessment on Timor- Leste was planned and implemented on the initiative and on behalf of the Foreign Minister of Switzerland Madame Micheline Calmy-Rey.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Development, and Government
12. Before and After 1998 - A Romanian Short History
- Author:
- Mircea Plangu
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Bitter impressions can be presumed if we are to acknowledge that society is somehow divided into two categories: military and civilians, or vice-versa. Or if we understand that the civilians involved in security policy are a scarce resource. Reading about the concept, we can perceive hints about some obstacles existent in the activity of civilians at the interface with their military colleagues.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe
13. The Role of Civilians in National Security Structures - The Bulgarian Experience
- Author:
- Velizar Shalamanov
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The strengthening of the democratic and civilian control of the security sector has been an important policy issue on the agenda of the international community throughout the last decade. A key dimension in this respect is the role of civilians in the formulation and conduct of national security policy.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Bulgaria
14. The Role of Civilians in Security and Defence Policy Making - The Case of the Czech Republic
- Author:
- Marie Vlachová
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Formal and institutional framework of democratic control of armed forces has been installed in the Czech Republic – roles, responsibilities and powers of security sector institutions/actors are determined by law.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Czech Republic
15. Intelligence Practice and Democratic Oversight - a Practitioner's View
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Democracy is founded on every citizen's right to take part in the management of public affairs. This requires the existence of representative institutions at all levels and, as a cornerstone, a parliament in which all components of society are represented and which has the requisite powers and means to express the will of the people by legislating and overseeing government action.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Economics, Government, and Politics
16. Comparing Frameworks of Parliamentary Oversight: Poland, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine
- Author:
- David Betz
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- It is a truism that the nature and limits of parliamentary oversight in any state are determined by the constitutional and political structure unique to that state. That is to say, a state's constitutional and political “framework of legislative oversight” ultimately constrains the extent to which its parliamentarians may regulate their defence establishment. In some countries, parliament has the legal wherewithal to exert a high degree of scrutiny and control over developments in the defence sector. In others, parliaments possess only limited legal prerogatives in this respect because the executive dominates the defence sector.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Civil Society, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Hungary
17. Monitoring of the Norwegian Secret Services
- Author:
- Leif Mevik
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- In Norway, monitoring of the secret services (EOS services) is carried out by a parliamentary monitoring body, the Committee for Monitoring of Intelligence, Surveillance and Security Services. The Committee conducts continuous monitoring of the Norwegian Police Security Service, the Norwegian Intelligence Service and the Norwegian National Security Authority (NoNSA). The monitoring arrangement is independent of the EOS services and the remainder of the administration. The Committee's members are elected by the Storting (the Norwegian parliament), and the Committee reports to the Storting annually. The arrangement was established in 1996. The continuous monitoring takes the form of regular inspections of the secret services. The Committee also deals with complaints from private individuals and organizations that believe the secret services have committed injustices against them.
- Topic:
- Security, Government, and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- Europe
18. The Integration of Women into the Czech Armed Forces
- Author:
- Marie Vlachová
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- In the mid-1980s, only three per cent of Czechoslovak women served in the professional corps. By the turn of the millennium, their number had increased to ten per cent. The process of a slow, but steady integration of women into the Czechoslovak/Czech armed forces, its present state and future perspectives are described in this study.
- Topic:
- Security, Gender Issues, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe
19. The Professionalisation of the Czech Armed Forces
- Author:
- Marie Vlachová
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Throughout modern history, the fate of the Czech nation has always been determined by politicians and not the armed forces. Czech soldiers have seldom fought for "their cause", i.e. one with which they are able to identify fully. The existence of Czechoslovakia's pre-war army, which was supposed to guarantee national sovereignty, was too short-lived, ending unimpressively when the political representation decided to demobilize prior to the country's occupation by the Nazis. The First Republic tradition was not sufficient to overcome widespread anti-military sentiments, which were personified by the infamous Czech literary character known as "Soldier Shweik" - whose origins lie in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the Communist era, most people were unable to identify with a fight against imperialism, that was designed by the Communist regime as the main reason for compulsory service in the military. The fact that the army stayed away from the public resistance to the 1968 occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact forces, only exacerbated the common perception that the military was no more than an obedient instrument of the Soviet Union's power politics. Even after the collapse of communism, doubts about the necessity to have an army persisted within Czech society. After November 1989, the armed forces drifted from the public.s and politician.s centre of attention for a short time. However, once it became apparent that the army would not intervene in the political transformation process; both the population and the new political representation shifted their focus towards political, economic, and also social issues.
- Topic:
- Security, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Czech Republic
20. Democratic Control of Security and Intelligence Services: A Legal Framework
- Author:
- Ian Leigh
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- This paper is a contribution to a continuing project of the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF): to provide a map or 'matrix' of legal norms to govern security sector reform. Previous contributions have addressed civil-military relations and work remains to be done on policing. The focus here is on the implications of this approach for the norms governing security and intelligence agencies.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Geneva
21. Management of National Security Sector - Bulgarian Experience
- Author:
- Anyu Angelov
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The notion of national security could be perceived in a narrow meaning or in an exceptionally broad meaning. Using this term in broader sense creates opportunities of binding mutually the functions and the responsibilities of almost all state institutions, local administration and municipalities in almost all spheres of public life. But such a perception hides a danger of dilution and chaotic shift of responsibilities between agencies for some of their paramount activities. And sometimes the broader sense could mislead even governments in their decision-making process. Let me give you a brand new Bulgarian example. Recently the Supreme Administrative Court stopped temporarily one of the biggest privatisation deals- those on Bulgarian tobacco holding known as "Bulgartabac". Striving for acceleration of the privatisation process and finding no other opportunity to overrule the court's decision about a concrete buyer, the government passed a bill, in which only the parliament is authorised to make decisions on the privatisation of fifteen of the biggest state companies, among them Bulgarian Tоbacco Holding, Bulgarian Railways, Bulgarian Airlines. Those decisions cannot be protested by the prosecution and overruled by the court. The only motivation of such exclusive procedure was the "exceptional importance of these companies for the national security". The bill was adopted by the National Assembly with shake majority, but was vetoed by the President.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Bulgaria
22. Oversight and Guidance: the Relevance of Parliamentary Oversight for Security Sector Reform
- Author:
- Hans Born and Philip Fluri
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- There is a widespread belief that security policy is a 'natural' task for the executive as they have the requisite knowledge and ability to act quickly. The decision to go to war, to contribute troops to multinational peace support operations, to conclude international treaties or to raise defence spending, to mention just some of the most important governmental security responsibilities, are regarded to be executive decisions. The stubborn perception exists that parliaments should be kept out of these decisions. Parliament tends to be regarded as a less suitable institution for dealing with security issues, especially given its often time-consuming procedures and lack of full access to the necessary expertise and information. Additionally, parliaments are regarded as ill-suited institutions for keeping classified information secret. However, this is a misperception. The past teaches us that parliaments do play a major role in matters of security in democratic states, both in times of war and peace. In the times of the Roman Republic, the Dutch Republic in the sixteenth century, Great Britain in the Second World War, or, more recently at the outbreak of the Second Gulf War, Parliaments across the globe have debated, influenced and exercised oversight over security policy and security sector reform, even in the middle of war.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Romania, and Dutch
23. Parliamentary Control of Security Policy - The Experience of Poland
- Author:
- Agnieszka Gogolewska
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- In representative democracies, parliaments play a crucial, albeit sometimes neglected or underestimated role in assuring a proper functioning of the democratic civilian control of the security sector. In that sense, parliaments represent an important link in the chain of democratic institutions exercising such control. It would be wrong however to assume that the controlling functions of the legislatures are realised in much the same way as the executive or civilian bureaucracy exercises them. In democratic systems parliaments are an institutional expression of popular legitimacy and accountability, therefore their controlling role is more general and principle-driven that is the case of other institutions, directly responsible for managing security sector.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, Government, and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Poland
24. Officer Career Management in a Peacetime Democracy
- Author:
- Jack Petri
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- I have been asked to present brief comments on the subject of officer career management in a peacetime democracy. As I have spent much of my 30-year military career involved either directly or indirectly in the management of officers in a democracy (mostly in peace, but also in war), I am very happy to be able to share my thoughts and experience with you today.
- Topic:
- Security, Democratization, Government, and Peace Studies
25. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Chapter: Central Asia
- Author:
- Philipp Fluri
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Unlike in many other developing countries on the way to democracy, the military plays a more limited role than other security providers, notably the Ministry of the Interior whose forces are much more powerful than the military and have their own armed units. They pose the greater potential threat to security and stability, and thus form a graver potential impediment to economic and political reform than the military. Whereas the economic, social and even some of the defence systems in the post-Soviet republics have gone through reforms, the forces and institutional structures of the Ministries of the Interior have remained more or less the same; change has occurred only in their size which again does not imply larger or more transparent budgets.
- Topic:
- Security, Government, and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Central Asia
26. Former Soviet Union: Security Sector Reform in the Southern Caucasus
- Author:
- Philipp Fluri
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The countries of the Southern Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) experienced seventy years of one-party centralized management of the security sector – a heritage they share with all other former Soviet Republics (though precise time spans vary). Independent state-building can be expected to be slow, and it has further been vexed by armed conflicts which are far from being permanently settled and which have led to considerable numbers of IDPs and refugees in Georgia and Azerbaijan. This specific situation has naturally slowed the build-up of security sectors much different from the local post-Soviet replica of the once union-wide complex of security services.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia
27. Control and Oversight of Security Intelligence in Romania
- Author:
- Larry Watts
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- According to March 2002 poll, 60% of the Romanian population believe that their intelligence services – in particular the SRI (Serviciul roman de informatii – domestic security intelligence) and the SIE (Serviciul de informatii externe – foreign intelligence) – have been “transformed into democratic institutions on the western model.” 52% believe that the services are serving national interests in a politically-neutral fashion as opposed to partisan aims of the sitting government (32%), and 55% had a generally “good opinion” concerning their performance. 73% of the population believes that the services do not have too much power, and half of those believe they have too little power, while 74% believe that intelligence specialists remaining from before 1989 – about 15% of the SRI and 18% of the SIE – should be retained. Periodic polling by other agencies regularly rank the SRI just behind the church and the army, and ahead of the government and police, in terms of public trust.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Romania
28. New Constitutional Position of the Army
- Author:
- Miroslav Hadzic
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Unwilling to establish the principles of future relations in the joint state, the heads of the Federal, Serbian, and Montenegrin authorities, after being pressured by the European Union (EU), finally signed the Belgrade Agreement. Afterwards, they began to draft the Constitutional Charter of the joint state of Serbia and Montenegro. The entire project is based upon the supposition that this supra-national creation will only have delegated powers agreed to by member states. This infers that the Union will not have original sovereignty; rather Serbia and Montenegro will have it. The implementation of this solution will sever all ties with the federal organization of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and its predecessors, only simplifying matters, as Montenegro has already unilaterally excluded itself from the authority of federal bodies, and in that way, has practically abolished this state.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Serbia and Montenegro
29. Practical Confidence-Building Measures: Does Good Governance of the Security Sector Matter?
- Author:
- Heiner Hänggi
- Publication Date:
- 01-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Good governance of the security sector, when considered from a disarmament perspective, indicates linkages between two principal issue-areas in contemporary international politics, i.e. those of 'security' and 'governance'. These two issue-areas are closely intertwined, contributing to evolving definitions of the terms themselves. During the bipolar period, security was generally defined in 'hard' military terms. Following the end of the Cold War, the concept was broadened to include 'soft' and human security concerns. This was paralleled by a broadening of the concept of confidence-building measures to include, inter alia, the role of security forces in the society. The fundamental principles of good governance include transparency and accountability of the exercise of state power. The implementation of good governance of the security sector (including military, paramilitary, internal security forces, police, border guards, and intelligence services) is a long and often difficult process, and whether this can be achieved is dependent on the capability and willingness of the individual countries.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, Government, and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Europe
30. Democratic and Parliamentary Accountability of Intelligence Services after September 11th.
- Author:
- Peter Gill
- Publication Date:
- 01-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- In the past thirty years throughout Europe, the Americas and more sporadically elsewhere the issue of how to institute some democratic control over security intelligence agencies has steadily permeated the political agenda. There have been two main reasons for this change. In what might be described as the 'old' democracies (North America, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand) the main impetus for change was scandal involving abuses of power and rights by the agencies. Typically, these gave rise to legislative or judicial enquiries that resulted in new legal and oversight structures for the agencies, some of these achieved by statutes, others by executive orders. The best known examples of these are the U.S. congressional enquiries during 1975-76 (chaired by Senator Church and Representative Pike), Justice McDonald's enquiry into the RCMP Security Service in Canada (1977-81) and Justice Hope's into the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Australia, North America, New Zealand, and Western Europe
31. Security Sector Reform in Bulgaria
- Author:
- Velizar Shalamanov
- Publication Date:
- 01-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Security Sector Reform (SSR) is an essential part of transformation of the totalitarian states to democratic ones. Security was motive, tool and excuse for the Communist Parties to control totally the state, economy and society at all. As a result security sector - named Armed Forces was extremely large, powerful, secret (un-transparent), under communist party control and separated from society even using all the resources of the society, including young men for 2-3 years.
- Topic:
- Security, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Bulgaria
32. A Casual View into the Future: Reform of Military Education in the Czech Republic
- Author:
- Marie Vlachová and Ladislav Halberštát
- Publication Date:
- 01-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- There is no doubt that the security situation in Europe changed dramatically during the last decade. Whilst total war has disappeared from the inventory of security threats, regional wars with devastating consequences for affected countries, are still topical. With ethnic hostility, organised crime and the world-wide terrorism list of non-military threats has become much wider. A widening gap between rich Western countries and their poor neighbours in Eastern and South Eastern Europe represents another serious danger, as well as do uncontrollable corruption in politically and economically weak regimes, the inability of states to protect their borders efficiently against trafficking, smuggling, illegal immigration and weapons proliferation, including weapons of mass destruction. Information warfare which results in serious damage being caused by attacks on the information systems of developed countries represents another relatively new security threat. Expertise in security political decision-making has become very important, and thus in the future, a shortage of competent specialists in governmental and parliamentary structures could affect states' ability to anticipate threats and make an adequate decision.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Government, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Czech Republic
33. Between Efficiency and Legitimacy: Democratic Accountability of the Military in the US, France, Sweden and Switzerland
- Author:
- Hans Born
- Publication Date:
- 11-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- During situations of national emergencies, natural disasters, conflict and war, state institutions have to act quickly and decisively in order to divert dangers. Every state and its society need to have a competent political leadership and government agencies that are able to act efficiently. From a democratic governance point of view, however, it is equally important that the decision-making process and the resulting outcome is both accepted and valued by the people. In other words, it is essential that the processes and outcomes of the state institutions are legitimate within a democracy.
- Topic:
- Security, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe
34. Democratic Control of Armed Forces: the National and International Parliamentary Dimension
- Author:
- Wim F. van Eekelen
- Publication Date:
- 10-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Democracy takes many forms. The basic notion that governments derive their legitimacy from the freely expressed votes of their citizens is translated in many different parliamentary practices. Even the conceptual distinction of the three main functions of government – legislative, executive and judicial – as defined in Montesquieu's Trias Politica, seldom resulted in a complete separation of powers. In many countries the members of the executive also sit in parliament. In the US the separation between legislature and executive is the most complete. The President has wide-ranging authority; his ministers are not responsible to Congress. Nevertheless it works, because of a complicated system of checks and balances affecting both legislationand budget appropriations. In France the President of the Republic regards foreign affairs and defence as his special domain in which the cabinet, let alone parliament, has little influence. A common characteristic of Western democracy, however, is its pluralistic character in which the people elect their representatives and have a choice between different political parties. In some cases the decisions reached in parliamentary assemblies are subject to a referendum as a form of direct democracy.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe and France
35. Democratic and Parliamentary Oversight of the Intelligence Services: Best Practices and Procedures
- Author:
- Hans Born
- Publication Date:
- 05-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Intelligence services are an instrument in the hands of the state institutions, which can be used both for the better and the worse. If the intelligence services are in the hands of responsible democratic leaders, then intelligence contributes to the democracy's ability to function well. This is can be learnt from the history of the 20th Century: intelligence played a crucial role in helping to defeat Hitler, it played a significant role in preventing the Cold War from turning into a nuclear war and intelligence kept the super power arms race from getting totally out of hand2. On the other hand, if intelligence services are in the hands of those who are interested in conflict and coercion, intelligence can be used for the worse. Therefore, it is essential to secure democratic and parliamentary oversight of the intelligence services.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Government, National Security, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
36. Legal Aspects of Security Sector Reform in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
- Author:
- Zoran Pajic
- Publication Date:
- 04-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The broadening and deepening of the concept of security has focused renewed attention on the appropriate role of the security sector in the political and economic systems of the states. Bloated and poorly regulated militaries are seen as a primary cause of severe distortion in the allocation of national resources between the security and non-security sectors. The negative development impact of a dysfunctional security sector is magnified in countries that have experienced a significant deterioration in their capacity to deliver services and in war-torn societies. In such cases, there is an urgent need to restore physical security, to optimise the use of scarce public resources, and to attract sustained external support for the recovery process.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Yugoslavia
37. On Police Reform in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia
- Author:
- Budimir Babović
- Publication Date:
- 04-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Apart from the principal question of their content, reforms in general pose a twofold preliminary question: is there a sufficient quantum of willingness to proceed with the reforms and how speedily should they be carried out. A public opinion survey carried out by The Center for Policy Studies (Belgrade) in the period from August 25 to 28, 2001 has demonstrated that only 38 percent of interviewed persons consider the reforms should be quick and thorough, even painful for most citizens. At the same time, 47 percent of those interviewed believe that reforms should be conducted gradually, so they are less painful. The first question left 35 percent of persons without a response or undecided, the second left 30 percent.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Yugoslavia and Serbia
38. The Russian Federal Border Service: Lessons for Planning and Establishing Border Security Systems
- Author:
- Vladimir Mochalov
- Publication Date:
- 03-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Following the disintegration of the USSR, there was no decrease in the total length of the Russian border in comparison with that of the Soviet Union (more than 60'000 km²). The number of bordering countries rose from fifteen to sixteen. Furthermore, 13'500 km² of new boundaries were created. This figure represented a fifth overall length of the border). Yet, the new boundaries were not formalised in legal terms, they were not appropriately equipped and, in fact, lacked border guard control.
- Topic:
- Security, Government, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union