ABSTRACT
While statebuilding under international auspices is a relatively new agenda, security sector reform (SSR) is an even newer concept within it, having first emerged in the late 1990s. Three main developments have contributed to the rise of SSR as an important policy concept. These include the growing recognition among the donor community of security as a developmental issue; the appreciation of SSR as an important element of democratization, as most recently shown in the context of the political transitions initiated by the revolutions of the ‘Arab Spring’; and, finally, the involvement of international stabilization operations in post-conflict security sector (re)construction. Thus the SSR concept increasingly shapes international development cooperation, democracy assistance, and peacebuilding efforts. It has also become a centerpiece of international efforts to restore state authority in post-conflict contexts, as demonstrated, for example, by the integration of SSR support across the United Nations system. SSR has become central to international support to statebuilding in post-conflict contexts because the theoretical argument for SSR is compelling in the context of the liberal paradigm based on democratic governance, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. Yet looking back over a decade of interventions of this kind, examples of unqualified success are difficult to find. Despite many isolated instances of impressive transformation, SSR remains an inherently challenging reform agenda.
