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1. Proximity to riots: Spatial exposure and attitudes toward the police in Africa

Author:
Souleymane Yameogo
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Riots have devastating consequences for communities, including the destruction of infrastructure, businesses, and human lives. The police, tasked with restoring order, are often perceived as either protectors or sources of threat and incompetence. This research investigates the impact of riot exposure on public trust in the police by incorporating both temporal and spatial dimensions of exposure, diverging from previous studies that focused solely on temporal effects. Using the terror management theory (TMT) framework, extended to inter-group conflict, this study conceptualises the police and the public as distinct groups whose behaviours and attitudes may conflict during riots. Matching geocoded Afrobarometer data with the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and employing a spatial difference-in-differences analysis, the study reveals a complex relationship between riot exposure and public trust in the police. While exposure to riots negatively impacts trust among residents living closer to riot sites – driven by heightened anxiety and direct exposure to violence – it increases trust among those living farther away. Furthermore, riot type and severity play crucial roles. Mob violence, with its chaotic nature, tends to bolster trust in the police, while violent demonstrations, which are more organised and often pursue political goals, do not. Moreover, lethal riots erode public trust in police more than non-lethal ones do. These findings underscore the importance of context-sensitive policing strategies that address the security concerns of riot-affected communities while maintaining trust across diverse populations. Policy makers must balance suppressing violence with building resilience and protecting vulnerable communities.
Topic:
Political Violence, Governance, Law Enforcement, Institutions, Police, Professionalism, and Civil Unrest
Political Geography:
Africa

2. Law enforcers or law breakers?

Author:
Matthias Krönke, Thomas Isbell, and Ronald Makanga Kakumba
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
In late 2020, Nigerians gripped the world with massive protests against police brutality and impunity, focusing on the country’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) (Al Jazeera, 2020; George, 2020). Three years after pictures of the #EndSARS demonstrations went viral and the SARS unit was disbanded, at least 15 protesters remain in arbitrary detention, and reports of police abuses continue unabated (Agboga, 2021; Amnesty International, 2021, 2023a; Uwazuruike, 2021). Elsewhere in Africa, and in other parts of the world, the media frequently report on unprofessional behaviour, selective enforcement of the law, unlawful arrests, corruption, use of excessive force, and other human-rights abuses by the police (New York Times, 2022). These violations are not limited to suspected criminals and public protests against the police, as in the case of #EndSARS, but also occur during pivotal moments of democratic accountability (e.g. elections), health emergencies (e.g. COVID-19), and routine citizen police encounters (e.g. traffic stops). For example, recent elections in Zimbabwe (2023), Uganda (2021), and Tanzania (2020) were marred by police repression and brutality targeting opposition politicians and their supporters (Reuters, 2023; Human Rights Watch, 2023a; Kakumba, 2022; Salih & Burke, 2020). During the 2021 election campaign in Uganda, security forces killed at least 54 people (Amnesty International, 2020).
Topic:
Corruption, Public Opinion, Professionalism, Polls, and Police Brutality
Political Geography:
Africa

3. Oversight and Accountability to Improve Security Sector Governance in Africa

Author:
Dan Kuwali
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The security sector is equally subject to the law and oversight institutions as any other public agency. Weak security sector oversight institutions inhibit security sector professionalism in Africa. Stronger internal and external oversight is an essential element of enhancing security sector effectiveness. Security organs should construct institutional frameworks that nurture professionalism and a consistent apolitical posture. When security actors allow themselves to become politicized, they erode the credibility of security institutions among the population and can themselves become a security threat to citizens.
Topic:
Security, Governance, Accountability, and Professionalism
Political Geography:
Africa

4. On the Experience of the Sudanese Professional Association: Personal Testimonial

Author:
Mohamed Nagi Alassam
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
Despite the divisions that plagued the SPA, trade unions and professional associations have since the coup retained a complementary and supportive role to the resistance committees. However, they remain marginal. Despite continuous strikes in various sectors, the collective and joint action of unions has remained underwhelming and failed to meet the hopes and expectations of the Sudanese.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Community, Professionalism, and Labor Unions
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

5. Mapping state capacity in Africa: Professionalism and reach

Author:
Matthias Krönke, Robert Mattes, and Vinothan Naidoo
Publication Date:
01-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Whether depicted as bloated, extractive, or remote from the lives of ordinary citizens, the African state is widely seen to lack the necessary capacity to provide for the physical and material security of its citizens or to command legitimacy. Yet scholars have rarely attempted to assess the performance of the African state through the prism of the lived experiences of those whom the state is meant to serve – its citizens. Most studies rely on data supplied by national statistics agencies or the judgments of expert observers. And while scholars acknowledge that the quality of the African state is likely shaped by geographic and ethnic differences within countries, few have measured how state capacity varies at the sub-national level. In this paper, we address this situation by using survey research measures of respondents’ proximity to state services and actual experiences with civil servants to measure two distinct dimensions of the state salient to the African context: its reach, or physical presence at the grassroots across the breadth of a country, and its professionalism, or ability to deliver public services in a proficient and ethical manner. The results reveal new perspectives on which states excel on either or both dimensions. They also illustrate how widely state performance varies at the sub-national level. Finally, we use survey data to assess the performance of the state, and show that it is the degree of professionalism, and sometimes reach, that enables the state to provide security and welfare, satisfy demands, and secure popular legitimacy. But in contrast to usual expectations, the size of the state at senior levels has no impact.
Topic:
Nationalism, State Formation, State Building, Professionalism, and Subnationalism
Political Geography:
Africa

6. The Antiquity of Public Relations in South Asia: A Historical Perspective on the Evolution of Public Relations in Pakistan

Author:
Mudassir Mukhtar and Waseem Ishaque
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
Applying a historical lens, this article describes public relations presence from ancient to modern times in Pakistan. The article is based on a descriptive analysis of the available literature of public relations scholarship in Pakistan. Pakistan inherited public relations from British colonial powers and early growth of the field in the country is widely affected by this legacy. Later, post modernistic traditions and globalizations created its impact on the patterns of professional recognition and maturity of the profession of public relations. Although the field has evolved professionally in Pakistan, but the craft PR practices are still on the rise as compare professional practices that hold a less share in public sector but witness a major portion of practice prominently in private sector corporations.
Topic:
Post Colonialism, Colonialism, Public Relations, Modernization, and Professionalism
Political Geography:
Pakistan and Middle East

7. Future warfare, future skills, future professional military education

Author:
Andrea Gilli
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Created in 1951 by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to endow NATO Allies’ officers with a forum for strategic education and politico-military re- flection, this year the NATO Defense College is cele- brating its 70th anniversary. In a world of rapid change and growing uncertainty, the best way to honor the past is to prepare for the future. This Policy Brief contributes to this goal by looking at the future of Professional Military Education (PME). Based on the recent Con- ference of Commandants,1 the discussion is divided into three parts: what the future of warfare is, what skills future warfighters will need to possess, and how professional military education will have to change ac- cordingly.
Topic:
NATO, Education, War, Military Strategy, Leadership, and Professionalism
Political Geography:
Europe and North America

8. Sudanese Professionals Association: Structure, Evolution, Roles and Coalitions - Challenges and Future Prospects

Author:
Mohamed El Agati, Omar Samir, Abdel Moneim Sayed Ahmed, and Zeinab Srour
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
Strong trade unions and professional associations are among the most important forms of civil society organizations. These organizations are the best suited to contribute to overcoming dictatorships, driving democratic transformation, promoting freedoms, and ensuring that economic and social rights are maintained in the various sectors which they regulate. These include health, education, housing, transportation, labour and employment, freedom of association, as well as the right to protest and strike. Professional associations, such as labour unions, have always been a target for totalitarian regimes in the Arab region. Autocratic regimes aim to control organizations and unions, void them of any substance and goals, and exclude them along with their leadership from professional and political participation that might potentially lead to networks and connections that could threaten those regimes or even advance the interests of union members. Nonetheless, the Arab region has seen a few experiences where efforts were mobilized to organize, overcome the aforementioned context, and impose successful attempts to change it. Among these experiences is the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) – the most prominent organized effort in the protests that led to al-Bashir’s resignation on 11 April 2019 after years of networking attempts among independent trade unions and months of various means of protest. This study explores how we can understand the role of independent trade unions in the democratic transition based on the Sudanese experience. It also looks at the capacity of these organizations to challenge attempts by dictatorial regimes which prevent associations that may drive or lead any social chance that opposes them. This paper will also examine various dimensions of the current experience based on the previous historical context of trade unions in Sudan before the SPA and subsequent mobilization efforts. Additionally, it seeks to analyze the SPA’s structures, alliances, development before, during, and after the December Revolution, as well as decision-making mechanisms. The study also considers the SPA’s role in the movement, negotiations with political forces and the army during the transitional phase, organizational challenges in the current political context, and its structural alignment with the assumed roles as well as potential prospects. This study uses an analytical approach based on desktop research and the analysis of articles and texts concerning the SPA. It also reviews the SPA’s discourse during the transitional period, relationships with other parties based on firsthand accounts, statements and documents it issued, and written views of its members. A series of interviews with some members and key figures have been conducted, taking into account the gender and age diversity within the SPA community.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Professionalism, Professionalization, and Labor Unions
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

9. Professionalization, Local Military Context, and Reconstruction of the Army in Afghanistan

Author:
Cenker Korhan Demir
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
Security sector reconstruction is a long-debated topic in the peacekeeping and state-building literature. The primary goal of any reconstruction program in conflict-ridden countries is to build up security institutions, which are prerequisites for sustainable development and democratization. This study aims to examine how security sector institutions, specifically the army, have been reconstructed by intervening actors in post-conflict countries like Afghanistan. It argues that army reconstruction programs that are developed without any elaboration of the peculiar conditions of the related post-conflict countries, are unlikely to be successful. As such, initiatives aimed at security sector reconstruction need to take account of the idiosyncratic characteristics of the conflict affected country and its institutions, and the program should be devised conforming to the case-specific circumstances. This research aims to identify reliable evidence to support this argument by analyzing data collected from both primary and secondary resources. It also aims to contribute methodologically by building upon the first-hand impressions of practitioners from various countries over their reconstruction activities.
Topic:
Security, Reconstruction, Military Affairs, Army, and Professionalism
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and South Asia

10. Good for the Military - Bad for the Nation?

Author:
George Fust
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Department of Social Sciences at West Point, United States Military Academy
Abstract:
Has an overreliance on the military as a one-size-fits-all solution become so engrained that we no longer consider alternatives? Are domestic politics so intertwined with foreign affairs that the citizenry has no choice but to accept veterans to fill the ranks of the executive branch? Is there hope for the future? Can we rebalance the general orientation of our government? The outcome to all these questions can be arrived at in a favorable way if our military continues to embrace the Huntingtonian notion of objective control. If professionalism continues to guide the actions of our military’s senior leaders and those who serve in decision making bodies such as the National Security Council, there is hope for a reversal in what Lasswell describes as a “picture of the probable.”
Topic:
Civil Society, Military Affairs, Leadership, and Professionalism
Political Geography:
Global Focus