Finding the Right Security Sector Strategy: The Goldilocks Problem in Post-Conflict States Open Access

Abstract

For over a decade, researchers have been studying how to achieve peace after a civil war. One of the key insights in this literature is that creating functional and effective domestic institutions, such as a reformed security sector, is important for long-term stability. This dissertation builds from this foundation and investigates how institutional reforms in the security sector can achieve "quality" peace by restoring the social contract between citizens and the state. It does so by developing a novel way to categorize security sector reforms along two dimensions--capacity and constraint. It then develops the conditions under which reforms might lead to enhanced legitimacy, specifically suggesting that capacity-increasing and constraint-increasing reforms will be most effective in restoring the social contract, as these help overcome potential "effectiveness-restraint tradeoffs." It then develops the conditions under which states adopt reforms that increase their legitimacy. The dissertation explores these mechanisms using a field experiment in Liberia, which randomized police patrols to gauge civilians' perceptions of and support for security sector reforms, and through macro-level, original data collected on security sector reform in conflict and post-conflict countries from 1989-2012. The micro-level findings show that reforms that professionalize the police and that increase women's representation in the police force, to varying degrees, help enhance perceptions of effectiveness and restraint. The macro-level results show that peacekeeping missions help states adopt capacity and constraint-increasing reforms. The overall results imply that security sector reforms can be a valuable state building tool to help conflict-ridden countries restore legitimacy and achieve "quality peace."

Table of Contents

1 Quality Peace, The Social Contract, and Security Sector Reform. 1

2 Conceptualizing Security Sector Reform. 35

3 Micro-Level Analysis: Professionalization of the Security Forces. 90

4 Micro-Level Analysis: Female Ratio Balancing Reforms. 174

5 Macro-Level Analysis: Security Sector Reform in Conflict and Post Conflict Settings. 237

6 Conclusion. 291

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Political Science
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Military Studies Political Science, International Relations Peace Studies
Keyword	Political Violence Security Sector Reform Security Conflict Peace Peacekeeping Police
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Beardsley, Kyle, Duke University Reiter, Dan, Emory University
Committee Members	Jung, Danielle F, Emory University Scully, Pamela, Emory University

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