CIAO DATE: 04/04

Georgian Security Sector: Achievements and Failures

Abstract

Currently, the term security sector is not only understood in terms of traditional military-political institutions such as army, external intelligence, and command and control systems. As the edition of the UK Department for International Development "Understanding and Supporting Security Sector Reform" puts it: "[...] in broad terms the security sector comprises all those responsible for protecting the state and communities within it." Accordingly, police, justice, public and nongovernmental organizations and human rights protection institutions can also be included in the security actors' list.

The understanding of security policy has been broadened over the years and thus also the definition of what the security sector is. This can be illustrated by the fact that security becomes a field of interest and activity not only for national defense ministries, security councils or regional military-political organizations. Nowadays, the international or national developmental agencies also pay attention to this area, which traditionally belonged to the sphere of the so called 'high politics' and was associated with the military build-up and strategic planning. Recent conferences dedicated to developmental issues are not content to simply condemn armament and excessive military spending, but also address the subject of best practices in building security institutions, the transformation of roles and missions of defense and security agencies, civil control and the development of a national strategy.

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