Security Sector Reform & Governance

This sub-section examines the concept of security sector reform (SSR) and governance in relation to peacebuilding. The first section clarifies and outlines the origins of the term SSR and the various activities that have come to be considered part of SSR. The following section explores the relationship among SSR and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), small arms and light weapons reduction (SALW), and justice and rule of law activities.
 
The sub-section also examines the kinds of actors involved in SSR and governance activities, as well as the challenges to the operational implementation of this sector. The cases of East Timor, South Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Nepal are presented to illustrate how different actors and conceptions of SSR and the governance of security activities have led to different outcomes. Overall, although there have been increasing efforts to define, systematize, coordinate, and harmonize SSR-related activities, the resulting recommendations have not led to lessons learned being used to pinpoint precisely the kinds of activities most appropriate under specific conditions.
 

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