In Good Company
The role of business in security sector reform
Although security sector reform (SSR) is a growing part of the security and development agenda, we still know surprisingly little about the nature and extent of business involvement in SSR and lack a framework to regulate and govern these contracts. In Good Company? argues that all involved agencies, including government departments, international organisations, recipient governments and private contractors, need to work together to put an effective governance framework into place.
Security sector reform (SSR) is a growing part of the security and development agenda. It combines a wide range of activities that reform the security institutions of the state – the military, police, intelligence services and criminal justice system. It has been applied extensively, from India to Nigeria, the Balkans to the Caribbean. In recent years, there has been an increase in the amount of SSR work being outsourced to the private sector.
In Good Company? shows that, despite its growth and the farreaching impact of its work,we still know surprisingly little about the nature and extent of business involvement in SSR and there is no framework in place to regulate and govern these contracts.
The report argues that donor agencies such as the UK Department for International Development, international organisations, recipient governments and private contractors must work together to create an effective governance framework to cover their work.This must involve a combination of legislation, regulation, guidelines and blacklists for rogue companies.
Francesco Mancini is Senior Program Officer at the International Peace Academy (IPA). He teaches a graduate seminar on conflict assessment at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, New York.
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