1. Security Sector Reform, Democracy, and the Social Contract: From Implicit to Explicit
- Author:
- Mark Knight
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Security Sector Management
- Institution:
- Centre for Security Sector Management
- Abstract:
- This paper asserts that there is a tension between traditional development paradigms and the post-Cold War leitmotif of democratisation which is as yet unresolved within the present SSR discourse. This tension is identified between what the paper describes as the developmental objectives of SSR, and its inherent democratic articulation. The paper argues that democratic principles remain the organisational logic within which SSR processes are conceived as taking place; and that a democratic environment is supported in order for the purpose of SSR – development – to be achieved. The paper takes issue with this model, and advocates for two alterations in the present SSR discourse. First, that SSR should be viewed as a democratising endeavour, specifically focused upon the security and justice processes, but retaining democracy as its intended measurable output. Second, that the conceptual device of the 'social contract', that describes the citizen/state relationship, should become a pivotal consideration when conceiving and delivering support to SSR processes.
- Topic:
- Cold War, Development, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Europe