CICS has wide experience in the related areas of Security Sector Reform (SSR) and Conflict Prevention.

In addition to specific projects and research programmes listed below, CICS also delivers a training course for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) under the auspices of the Chevening Fellowship for international participants from around the world on:

‘Reforming the Security Sector in Countries Emerging from Conflict’

This programme is a three-month residential course for twelve senior foreign government officials and civil society representatives under the British Chevening Fellowship scheme, funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It is seen as one of their flagship professional development and capacity building schemes. The FCO is committed to encouraging talented people from across the world to study and train in Britain at a crucial stage in their careers.

The aim of this course is for participants to develop an understanding of how security sector agencies and actors can be reformed and brought within democratically accountable structures of civilian oversight in countries emerging from conflict.

To meet this overall goal, the course has identified the following objectives.
It will develop knowledge and understanding of: 

(a) The roles and responsibilities of security, safety and law enforcement services in well-governed, democratic countries - including their contributions towards international, state and human security - and how they fit with wider governance and rule of law institutions;

(b) Models for, and experiences of, democratic and effective governance of the security sector and the laws, institutions, procedures, cultures and processes required to ensure that a country’s security needs can be met without compromising democracy, rule of law or human rights;

(c) The actual roles that security sector actors play in many countries, particularly conflict prone countries, and their complex and problematic implications for regional, state, community and human security, as well as good governance, social development, democracy and respect for human rights;

(d) The experience to-date with efforts to promote security sector reform and its relationship with wider political and economic contexts and reform processes;

(e) The security priorities and challenges in countries that are either emerging from conflict or are particularly conflict-prone and the characteristics and roles of security actors in such countries and contexts;

(f) The experience with security sector reform in countries emerging from conflict; including the roles and responsibilities of the: government, parliament and other key stakeholders in the country concerned; neighbouring countries and regional organisations; international peace support missions; humanitarian and development aid agencies; and the international community;

(g) The relationships between the negotiation and content of peace agreements, post-conflict stabilisation and peace-support missions, including Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) and related programmes, and security sector reform processes in countries emerging from conflict;

(h) The priorities, challenges and experiences with efforts to promote and ensure effective and transparent democratic accountability, including appropriate civil oversight and control, in countries emerging from conflict;

(i) The relationships between DDR and security sector reform programmes in the immediate post-conflict period and longer term processes of security sector reform;

COURSE APPROACH

The course will offer a mixture of teaching styles including, formal presentations, seminar discussions, individual and group learning, study visits, and practical attachments. The course is broadly divided into five modules which run concurrently:

1. Core Concepts, Models and Themes;
2. The Security Sector in Established Democratic Societies;
3. Challenges for Countries Emerging from Conflict;
4. Designing and Implementing SSR Programmes in Countries Emerging from Conflict; and
5. Case Studies: Learning From SSR in Countries Emerging From Conflict;

Each module will synthesize the wider academic and practitioner literatures and experiences as well as the lessons from specific case studies and knowledge sharing amongst the students themselves. 

Finally, the Fellows will conduct an extended small group project to complete a ‘SSR Strategy’ on a country case study. In addition, the Fellows will also complete an ‘Individual Learning’ project over the course of the three months.

Specific Projects and Research Programmes:

CICS has been involved in the following SSR projects.

CICS led a project with Saferworld and the Clingendael Institute to develop an ‘Implementation Framework for Security Sector Reform’ (IF-SSR) for the OECD-DAC which has resulted in the recent publication of the Handbook on Security Sector Reform: Supporting Security and Justice in 2007.

Uganda – in 2004, CICS managed a team conducting an evaluation of British government support for the Ugandan Defence Review.

In 2003-04, CICS produced an evaluation of the UK Government´s Conflict Prevention Pools (a cross-departmental initiative, responsible for spending around £500m per year). This project involved around 500 interviews with Ministers and officials, review of around 2000 internal government documents, and frequent meetings with the evaluation´s management committee, chaired by the Cabinet Office. The results of the evaluation were published by the Government in July 2004, and the findings are having a significant impact on HMG thinking and practice.

Malcolm Chalmers designed and led a study on the cost-effectiveness of conflict prevention.

Owen Greene, has served as the facilitator of an advisory group preparing recommendations to the Jamaican government for a new National Security Strategy.

Service delivery in countries emerging from conflict from two perspectives: (i) the strategic role of service delivery in promoting social and political pro-poor change towards the avoidance of future conflict; and (ii) strengthening institutions in countries emerging from conflict. The project was based on evidence and experience from four SDDE-selected case studies of Mozambique, Uganda, Cambodia and East Timor, as well as other post-conflict countries and lessons learned experiences.